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Monday, April 7, 7:00p.m.
City Council Chambers
When the Council instituted the interim Historic Preservation Ordinance last November, they requested that the city staff come before them after a few months to discuss how the ordinance is working.
The biggest surprise for everyone is how MANY homes are being put through the process. The HRB has been swamped with the Landmark/Contributing/No-Merit review process. Each Wednesday morning the little room next to the council chambers is jammed with developers, realtors, homeowners and interested neighbors, all trying to persuade the HRB to see things their way.
The most common complaint has been that many of the homes don't have any particular architectural merit. The concept of "Contributing Structure" hasn't yet sunk in: even homes which are not particularly special by themselves can contribute to the look and feel of a neighborhood.
The compatibility guidelines have also drawn some fire: some builders and developers believe that the rules are too strict. In particular, the requirement for real roofing appropriate to the building style has been condemned in the building community. They will be actively trying to convince the council that composite shingles should be an acceptable alternative (despite the obvious visual difference).
If you can possibly attend this important council meeting, please do. We can be sure that the developers will be there! If we aren't well represented, the council may conclude that we've lost interest in this issue and give in to the development community.
You may also want to attend the Mayor's State of the CIty Address on April 14, 5:45. RSVP to 329-2571 by April 3.
The next neighborhood to get new trees is South Gate. The date for the planting is Saturday, April 5th. Call 964-6110 to volunteer. It's time for us to repay all the folks who came to help plant in College Terrace!
The council continues to discuss the proposed Sand Hill Road extension. Concerns about traffic, pollution, open space and school crowding continue to be raised.
Meanwhile, the Draft Comprehensive Plan is moving along in the background. This plan promises an emphasis on walkable communities! But one wonders how the city intends to implement this when El Camino Real continues to become more and more and more congested! Already it's dangerous for College Terrace residents to walk to our local shops on California Avenue. What will it be like once the developments currently on the drawing board are complete? The Stanford expansion, the new P.A.Medical Foundation facility, the new Hewlett Packard facility on Page Mill...?
While the Sand Hill Road extension is getting lots of coverage, very few people turned out to express opinions about the comprehensive plan. Both are important to the future desirability and livability of College Terrace! Get involved! Let's keep this city a great place to live!
For more information on Sand Hill Road issues, contact MPAC, 415/968-7251 or cfg@best.com.
Work is being done on an inventory of the buildings in College Terrace. This is the first step toward possible historic district status. The information is also being used to educate the docents of PAST Heritage about this "other" side of Palo Alto's history They will be touring the Terrace on April 19th so if you see a group walking around staring at houses, that's what's happening!
There's still lots of work to be done. We particularly need to find people who know interesting stories about the history of particular homes: the architecture and construction dates don't paint the whole picture.
Two months ago Richard Carter, the man known as the College Terrace Rapist, finished his parole and left California a free man. If he returns to this area to live, police will be able to tell us but without a nation-wide registration of sex-offenders, there is no requirement for him to keep authorities informed of where he has settled.
Carter's typical mode of operation was part stalker, part rapist. He operated at night, cutting telephone and electrical wires before entering the homes of his victims. The usual anti-rape measures such as running with a partner or walking children to school are ineffective against his type of attack.
It is everyone's hope that Carter will stay out of California and not return to College Terrace. But we must also be realistic about the fact that many sex-offenders repeat their crimes after being released. Local police have assured us that they will be watching for him but there is a limit to what they can do.
There are other measures we can take individually and as a neighborhood to ensure that Carter cannot terrorize us again. The most important thing we can all do is to report suspicious activity to the police: if you see someone prowling your street at night, CALL. That's how Carter was caught before! The police are there to protect us but they need our help to watch the neighborhood!
Other steps we might take include forming Neighborhood Watch groups or holding self-defence classes. The police and others are ready to help us. Please let me know if you are interested in either of these or have other ideas. I'll be happy to help get something started! (Pria Graves, 493-2153 or priag@ctra.org).
The photo below is from the February 6 edition of the Palo Alto Daily News.
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