The BPA and SCVWD worked actively to relocate Mickey so that he would be accessible to the neighbors once again. In the end it appeared that Mickey was happy in his regular field, so he was not moved.
Development along El Camino Real is continuing to occur, or at least be proposed. The addition to the Town House Motel at the corner of Maybell is completed and has been occupied since late summer. Digby's Sandwich & Juice Bar opened between Taco Bell and A-1 Liquors, and is doing very well. The Creekside Inn and adjacent Driftwood Market and Deli have been renovated and expanded. The addition to Jack-in-the Box has opened, changing the operation from drive-through-only, to one where people can sit and eat in comfort. Senior Taco completed renovation of the former Laundromat at El Camino and Kendall and opened this fall. Fuki Sushi added over 1000 sq. ft. to the back of the restaurant near El Camino Way. Little Garden restaurant (former A&W) got final approvals to add two apartments above the existing restaurant and a 1990 sq. ft. building for a restaurant in front. Work has not yet begun. Walgreens received final approvals for the new building to replace Chez Louis, which closed in June and was demolished in October.
Taco Bell is no longer open 24 hours a day. It closes at 11 or 12 most evenings. Closure of La Cumbre seems to have removed both a major nuisance and any need for restaurants in the area to be open all night. A Hollywood Video store is planned for the former La Cumbre site at 3901 El Camino.
Happy Donuts has begun renovation of the former AAA Muffler building at 3916 El Camino, and the Museum of American Heritage plans to move into the former Parnelli Jones Tire shop, across from Fresco's.
Arby's proposed a restaurant for the former used car lot at 4131 El Camino. The preliminary plans were rejected by the City with requests for better building appearance and more landscaping.
The BPA is preparing a database of all commercial properties along El Camino, so that we and the rest of the community can track changes in uses, vacancies, and opportunities for improvement to the area. City staff recently issued a list of available commercial properties in Palo Alto which, locally, showed only the Auto Sport building at 3606 El Camino. It omitted seven other available El Camino properties which have Realtors' signs on the sites. They include Rudolfo's, the Interiors store at 3505 ECR, the restaurant best known as La Terasse, Cameo Club, and the former used car lot next to The Island. These, and others will be added to our data base and shared with the City and all other interested parties. We may even post the list on our Web site.
The proposed Residence Inn on the Rudolfo's site was dropped because the developer did not want to reduce the height, scale and density. The BPA board made several suggestions for improvement which were rejected. A proposal for housing at Rudolfo's is currently pending.
A major neighborhood issue was the request of Barron Park Preschool at La Donna and Kendall for a revised use permit to expand from 24 to 45 students. The actual expansion occurred more than 2 years ago, but the previous permit was not amended.
There are significant parking, traffic and safety issues connected to the present school operations. Parents double park in the narrow street when dropping off or picking up children. On-site parking is insufficient, causing back-ups and even blockage of the street during rush hours. Occasionally children run across the street unsupervised. These conditions are of concern to neighbors and to the BPA Board. After a series of meetings with the community and City staff, the City denied the expansion request, and requires that no more than 25 children be allowed at the site effective next year. The owner/operator of the school withdrew his request for modification to the use permit.
There was significant damage to creek banks and to aquatic life as a result of vandalism in the creek Oct. 8 and 14. Someone turned the pipe carrying creek water past the construction site back upstream and at the banks. In addition to bank erosion, the construction area was covered with mud and silt, requiring several days to remove. The silt washed downstream and appeared to kill some of the fish and crayfish in the creek. As a result, the contractor placed an armed guard at the site for several weeks to prevent further vandalism.
The BPA and SCVWD worked actively to relocate Mickey so that he would be accessible to the neighbors once again. In the end it appeared that Mickey was happy in his regular field, so he was not moved.
The BPA also asked SCVWD, the School District and Palo Alto to improve drainage and flood control from surface waters by building a berm and drain parallel to the walking path behind McGregor and Cerrito, with a connection to the culvert near the phone booth on the bike path. SCVWD will install the berm at no cost next spring, during final grading for the project. The School District approved the drain and connection to the culvert, which was installed by the contractor, and will be connected to the drain next summer.
The last parts of the project will be regrading Strawberry Hill to it's previous height and slope, with modifications to improve runoff and minimize the chances of flooding on adjacent property, and major re-landscaping of the entire area.
Many of the neighbors adjacent to the project along McGregor and Ilima Way, suffered serious inconvenience and discomfort in the past year. In addition to construction noise, there was dust, and damage to paint and landscaping from the soils blown from the site to adjacent homes. The entire community owes these people a real debt. Their discomfort will afford hundreds of others to be free from the threat of flooding, and will allow the City to redraw the flood maps to remove homes from the flood zones. Removal from the flood zone maps means that homeowners will no longer be required to pay for flood insurance, nor will they have to disclose a possible flooding threat when selling their home.
SCVWD is receptive to sponsoring a rededication party in Bol Park after the project is completed next summer. Watch the newsletter and the kiosk for details.
In the past year there were few major crimes in Barron Park. Most complaints were for drunk-in-public on or adjacent to El Camino, bike thefts, thefts from autos, and vandalism, especially against vehicles. Please be alert to suspicious activities, or people acting strangely. Don't hesitate to call the police at 911 if you believe there is a crime in progress. Call the business number, 329-2413, to report non-urgent crimes or suspicious events. Be sure that your complaint is heard and logged. This is the best way for us and the police to be aware of crimes, and to try to identify crime patterns, "hot" areas, possible descriptions of criminals, etc. Community involvement really does work.
Four members of the BPA Board -- Art Bayce, John Benza, Inge Harding-Barlow, and Jack Paddock -- took a special course in police practices and procedures, called the Palo Alto Civilian Police Academy. It lasted for 10 weeks, and provided graduates with an excellent perspective on a wide range of police activities and solutions to public safety problems in Palo Alto.