News Digest News Digest (December 14, 2005)

Mayfield Mall project's environmental report up for public review

A report outlining the potential negative consequences of building 580 homes on the border of Mountain View and Palo Alto -- at a former Hewlett-Packard Company office and, before that, the former site of Mayfield Mall -- is available for public review from Thursday, Dec. 15 to Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The development at the northeast corner of Central Expressway and San Antonio Road includes about 20 acres within the City of Mountain View and 4.2 acres within the City of Palo Alto.

The company proposing the construction is the Toll Brothers, Inc.

As required by law, the draft environmental-impact report details how the development would affect everything from water quality to traffic to noise. The public is invited to comment on how adequately those effects have been identified and analyzed and the ways in which the effects might be avoided or mitigated.

Copies of the report are available at the City of Mountain View's Community Development Department Planning Division Office, City Hall, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. It can also be viewed online at www.mountainview.gov/citynews/pmn_mayfield_mall.htm.

Public comments will be incorporated into the final environmental-impact report. Legal challenges to the final report may only address concerns already raised during the comment period.

Feedback may be submitted at the public hearings and/or in writing to Lynnie Melena, senior project planner, at the Mountain View Community Development Department, 500 Castro St., P.O. Box 7540, Mountain View, CA 94039-7540. E-mail comments will be accepted at community.dev@mountainview.gov but the city suggests following up with letters.

Two public hearings on the project with the Environmental Planning Commission will be held Jan. 18 and 25, 2006, at 7 p.m. at the Council Chambers, City Hall, 500 Castro St. --Weekly staff
Hourly workers' contract approved

The first-ever contract for the City of Palo Alto's hourly workers was approved unanimously by the City Council on Monday night.

The contract will grant the workers a 4 percent pay raise, health benefits, up to 15 hours of sick leave, holiday pay and rights to appeal discipline. It will cost the city $250,000 this year.

Prior to the new contract, the workers received no health benefits and had last received a pay raise in 2002. They unionized in 2004, under the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 715, and have been negotiating the contract for about a year.

Earlier this year, the union distributed fliers to the community decrying the workers' plight, calling their treatment "Palo Alto's Dirty Secret."

The new contract defines an hourly worker as someone who works a minimum of 416 hours a year for the city. About 180 workers are included in the group. The workers perform day-to-day tasks that help run the city, such as teaching children at the Palo Alto Children's Museum and Zoo and sorting books at the libraries.

The workers voted to approve the contract last Friday.

The council also voted to give 206 non-unionized hourly workers a 4 percent pay raise, costing the city approximately $87,000. --Bill D'Agostino
City supports U.S. Department of Peace

The Palo Alto City Council approved a resolution in support of a U.S. Department of Peace on Monday night.

The proposed new cabinet-level department would "foster a culture of peace," "research, articulate and help bring about non-violent solutions to conflicts at all levels" and "provide resources for training in peace-building and conflict transformation to people everywhere," according to a city staff report.

"This is something that will bend history," said Mike Abkin, a resident who lobbied the city to approve the resolution.

The council's vote was 7-2 with council members Dena Mossar and Bern Beecham voting no. They said they never vote for issues outside the city's jurisdiction.

The city's Human Relations Commission recommended the council approve the resolution. At least 10 other cities nationwide have passed similar resolutions. --Bill D'Agostino

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