Kirk Heinrichs (2017-05-01)1
Daniel Fama
From:Kirk Heinrichs <kheinrichs@att.net>
Sent:Monday, May 1, 2017 10:16 AM
To:Liz Gibbons; Paul Resnikoff; Jeffrey Cristina; Rich Waterman; Susan M. Landry
Cc:Paul Kermoyan; Daniel Fama
Subject:Item 10 on the City Council Agenda - C-3 Zoning Code Amendments
Mayor Gibbons & Council Members,
In the early 1990's, the City Council adopted a set of strategies to reinvent downtown Campbell. One
of those strategies included prohibiting ground floor office and personal service uses on Campbell
Avenue east of Second Street.
At the time, those markets were strong (as they are now) and could have easily dominated the
downtown landscape if it was allowed. But the community wanted to have a retail and restaurant
based downtown that would be active and vibrant.
Over the last 25 years, this strategy, as well as others, has paid off in dividends and downtown
Campbell is now the envy of many communities. In Scott Herhold's Sunday column he cited the
reinvention of downtown Mt. View in the 1990s as one of the most significant local decisions in the
last 50 years and said that " [Mt. View] has arguably come farther than any other city center in
the valley (Campbell has a claim as well)."
City leaders have invested significantly in molding the downtown into a gem, and with one sweep of
the ordinance amendments being proposed, the downtown's success could be placed in jeopardy.
Here are my concerns:
The C-2 zone by definition in the City Code is "automobile oriented." The zoning is prevalent
along the arterials of Hamilton and Bascom Avenues. The reason those areas are zoned
differently is because they are completely different in character, which needs no explanation.
The downtown is pedestrian oriented. No one will come downtown to stroll past uses such as
insurance, real estate, CPA, consulting, and medical office uses. These uses will not only kill
the "vibe" of activity on Campbell Avenue that retail provides, but will eventually replace the
retailers that are there because office and personal service uses can generally pay more
rent and property owners will follow the money. The proposed solution doesn't protect
retail space, it actually creates more competition for it. Also, office uses are generally closed
evening and weekends creating dead space (as an example, the State Farm Insurance office
adjacent to the Campbell Creamery).
There are other allowed uses in the C-2 zone that would also be inappropriate for Campbell
Avenue including ambulance service, laundromats, medical services laboratories, schools, as
well as a host of conditional uses.
2
The proposed approach is misguided and risky. The issue can be addressed with tweaking the
ordinance rather than making sweeping changes that will likely have unintended consequences.
Consider the following:
As the staff has suggested, repeal the parking exception for restaurants. It has served its
purpose. This will serve as a significant deterrent to new restaurants.
Require a CUP for a restaurant to occupy a retail space with specific findings that need to be
met before approval. You could require City Council approval with the PC making a
recommendation. You could prohibit it outright, but that leaves the Council no option should
that unique, very desirable restaurant come along that the community would like to have.
Amend the Downtown Development Plan or adopt a Council policy that discourages the
conversion of retail space to restaurant. That puts everyone on notice that the City is looking to
protect its downtown retail space and limit new restaurants.
The City spent two decades of time and resources to imagine and craft a downtown that has become
the jewel of the community and the envy of Silicon Valley. Protecting retail space from an expanding
restaurant market is a valid objective. The solution does not require a complete departure from the
strategy that made the downtown a success. Changing the formula that got you here needs to be
thought through with care and caution. The micro approach to tweaking policy is a much safer and
more effective approach than making radical changes that could have dire consequences and
irreversible affects.
Respectfully,
Kirk Heinrichs
1111 Lovell Avenue