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Founding Editor, Kate Wakerly
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THE OPINION OF THE VOICE
VOICE FROM THE COMMUNITY
Locked gates do not make good neighbors
City doing good job on owls, Audubon says
I
t is a shame that city zoning officials could not come to a decision last month that would preserve public access through a subdivision gate at the north end of Ortega Avenue, not far from Rengstorff Park. The issue began when the homeowners association at Ryland Towne Court, a townhouse development at the north end of Ortega and Leland Street, decided to block a pedestrian access point in the fence around their 60-unit complex. They later asked the city for a permit to install a locking gate for residents only, in order to keep out users who they said had a history of engaging in vandalism, theft, littering, loitering and other unwanted behavior. At a hearing attended by some 40 residents, Zoning Adminstrator Peter Gilli said the 24 people testifying were about equally split, but that his final decision — to permit the installation of a locked gate — was based on Towne Court’s original approval documents, which say nothing about public access through the back fence of the complex. Closure of this gate will definitely be a hardship on residents who live at the Crossings, or other subdivisions west of Ortega, and who want to walk to Rengstorff Park or downtown. Now, instead of taking a relatively straight path through Towne Court’s back fence, they will have to backtrack to California Street and then work their way back north to the park. In his notes on the meeting, Gilli noted how his decision runs counter to the city’s current policy, and that if a similar project were proposed today, public pedestrian connectivity would be part of the discussion. The only hope for the Towne Court neighbors who have been locked out is that the city is exploring alternatives to get pedestrians from the Castro City area to Ortega. Whatever options are discovered will be presented to the City Council, Gilli said, although he cautioned neighbors not to hold out hope for an easy solution. That may be true, but we urge the council to make it a priority to save a way for pedestrians and cyclists to get through this neighborhood without infringing on the rights of Towne Court residents. Surely there must be a way to give “outsiders� a way to walk or bike through this north Ortega neighborhood.
By Shani Kleinhaus
M
ayor Ronit Bryant, the City Council and city staff have demonstrated a sincere commitment to preserve burrowing owls at Shoreline by dedicating resources to update the existing burrowing owl management plan� and converting it to an owl preservation plan. On behalf of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, I want to thank the council for this effort and their recognition of the inherent value of preserving the remaining population of burrowing owls of Shoreline. It is apparent that the council members appreciate the
contribution the owls make to the richness of their city and its environment. The city is also working to plan and install burrowing owl habitat within the Shoreline golf course area. Recently, city staff members have engaged Audubon Society volunteers to protect the owls and to monitor bird populations within the park. The city staff continues to work with us to plan and design improved foraging and nesting habitat at Shoreline for the owls. At the Audubon Society, I have worked to find additional resources to support these efforts, See OWLS, page 14
N LETTERS
VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
DOCTOR DISGRUNTLED WITH THE NEW EL CAMINO After 41 years of practice in internal medicine and being a staff member of El Camino Hospital, I feel there have been major changes, some of which are disturbing to several of us in private primary care medicine. Call me old-fashioned but many of my colleagues and I miss the “old El Camino.� We also miss the camaraderie among doctors, nurses and staff; people seem uptight nowadays. There seems to be coldness in the new hospital, although it is state of the art among hospitals. Perhaps I am slow to catch on to such high technology. I wonder if less high tech and more “community� is needed these days?
I also have felt for a long time that this administration has not done all it could be doing to help those of us in private practice who are struggling. We constantly battle Medicare and the “big insurances� for better reimbursements. We have had very few new private primary care doctors come into the area. After graduation, most will join CMG or Palo Alto Medical Foundation and probably for a good reason. Other major issues are the outrageous charges for X-rays and labs. Many of us refer our patients elsewhere than El Camino to places where charges are drastically less. I also feel the hospital board See LETTERS, page 14
OCTOBER 8, 2010 â– MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE â–
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