May 20, 2005

City Council votes to form new advisory EVP Task Force

Council action dilutes purpose of original EVP task force

By Mike McFerran
Staff Writer

Support EVP. Evergreen residents delivered that message over and over again at the May 17 city council meeting, where the council chambers overflowed with green badges and green, hand-held placards waving like the leaves of a single, strong oak.

Hundreds of Evergreen residents poured into the City Council chambers on May 17 to show their support for the two years of work completed by Councilmember Dave Cortese's Evergreen Visioning Project Task Force.

District 8 Councilmember Dave Cortese commented that this was the first time in a long time that the face of Evergreen had filled the council chambers in such numbers.

Yet after listening to a parade of almost 50 speakers—all but a few of whom urged the council to keep the planning process in the hands of District 8 residents—the council voted 7 – 2 to support the Mayor Ron Gonzales’ proposal to create a new Evergreen Visioning Project Task Force with broader city representation.

Councilmember Linda Le Zotte cast the lone vote in support of Cortese and the District 8 residents. Councilmember Cindy Chavez was not present.

One deferral enough
On Friday, May 13, Mayor Ron Gonzales’ staff informed the EVP Task Force that the mayor intended to move forward and seek council approval of the recommendations he authored with Councilmember Nora Campos and Councilmember Ken Yeager on April 29.

EVP Task Force members fear that the motion, made at the meeting by Councilmember Nora Campos, diminishes the ongoing significance of the original EVP Task Force by naming a new broader task force to continue their work of the past two years.

Although 14 members of the current EVP Task Force would serve on the new task force of 30, including Cortese to chair the group, Evergreen’s influence in decisions will be, at the very least, diluted.

The new task force will include Campos as vice chair, plus representatives from neighboring Districts 5 and 7, the owners of the four parcels of undeveloped land and several other representatives appointed by the mayor.

Vocal District 8
The council patiently listened to almost two hours of public comments that ranged from accusations of dirty politics and money grabs to more reasoned requests for the council to move slower.

Several speakers, including Task Force members Jim Zito and Alan Covington, echoed the words of Evergreen School District Superintendent, Tom Andrade, who urged the council to “Take the rational approach. Go through an entire study session before you take action.”

Alan Covington, Ike White, Scott Karstetter and Sylvia Alvarez were among about 50 residents who testified at the May 17 City Council meeting to voice their opinions about the future of development decisions in Evergreen.

Prior to passing the mayor’s motion, the council voted down an alternate motion proposed by Cortese. That motion asked the council to hold off on naming a new Task Force until they had completed a full study session. It would have added critical policy issues to the list of those to be studied. The additions included traffic, school impact and community outreach, all of which had been left out of the mayor’s proposal.

Speakers question motives
Many of the speakers expressed concern that the right to make decisions about quality of life in Evergreen was being snatched from the very residents who will need to live with the new development. They feel decision-making power would instead be turned over to people in other parts of the city who would feel little or no impact as a result of those decisions.

Lou Kvitek expressed a common theme of the public speakers, saying that the council has “…created an us-versus-them atmosphere,” and that “…they have undermined the process of involving the community.”

Ike White

Mel Dutra, an Evergreen resident of 28 years, testified, “This is the first time I have seen a comprehensive community planning effort.” Task Force member Dan Gould reiterated his pride in the EVP Task Force’s work as “…a product of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Retired educator Nick Leon pointed out, “The real tenet of democracy is due process.” In this action of the council, he said, “I see something different than democracy.” Many repeated the sentiment that the council’s action seemed to be a hijacking of local neighborhoods’ wishes.

Mayor Gonzales, on the other hand, started his comments by affirming, “It is an exciting community process” and that a new task force would build on the good work done by the original EVP Task Force.

Sylvia Alvarez

What is needed, according to the mayor, is to include broader community perspectives because the plan will ultimately affect many other parts of the city and other citywide concerns, such as the potential for job growth.

The result of the work of the current Task Force indicates that more than $200 million in developer fees would be generated by the planned development of the four parcels being studied. Some articulated a fear that this move by the mayor and other council members was motivated by their desire to redirect some of that money out of Evergreen.

Scott Karstetter

Don Connors warned that after Evergreen residents had done so much work, “…in comes the mayor and other council members to take away developer fees for their pet projects.”

With some members of the public questioning the motives of the move, Gonzales responded. “I’ll tell you what my motive is. My motive is that this plan works not only for Evergreen, but for the entire city.”

Among the many people offering public comment at the meeting, there was little support for the formation of a new task force. A few residents of the Palo Rancho neighborhood in the northern end of District 8 held signs that read, “We are not Evergreen,” and voiced their belief that “I do not live in Evergreen.”

Rhonda Garcia spoke in support of the mayor’s motion—saying that the Mt. Pleasant area is not equally represented on the current EVP Task Force—in hopes that the situation would be different with a new task force.

Property owners support new proposal
More significantly, the Evergreen Property Owners Group, developers and property owners who have been working with the EVP Task Force, expressed their support for the mayor’s motion.

In a letter addressed to the mayor and made public earlier on the afternoon of the council meeting, and in verbal comments at the meeting by Steve Dunn of Legacy Partners, the group expressed appreciation for Cortese’s leadership and the work of the EVP Task Force. But their message was supportive of the new proposal.

“The Evergreen Prop-erty Owner’s Group has been working for nearly two years on a comprehensive development plan known as the Evergreen Visioning Project,” stated the letter. “To date we have spent millions of dollars in anticipation of the city undertaking the necessary environmental, General Plan and Development Policy reviews. We are pleased to see this process move to the next step of a broader collaborative effort involving key stakeholders. Accordingly, we write to express our support for the recommendations put forward by you, Councilmember Nora Campos and Councilmember Yeager.”

Mayor challenged
Gonzales questioned Cortese’s involvement with the developers in a Mercury News Op-Ed piece published on May 17, the morning of the council meeting. In that essay, Gonzales charged that Cortese had openly admitted to holding private meetings with potential developers. The charge was repeated at the council meeting by Councilmember Chuck Reed.

A resolute Cortese answered that he had not had such meetings, but that Gonzales and other council members had certainly met in private with developers and/or their lobbyists. Cortese offered to open his appointment book for inspection and challenged the mayor to do the same. Gonzales did not respond.

Cortese went on to suggest that they hold a “Town Hall” meeting in Evergreen where he and Gonzales could debate the issues that divide them. Again, the mayor failed to respond.

What’s next for EVP Task Force?
The EVP Task Force is now faced with decisions regarding its future. Councilmember Forrest Williams repeatedly protested that he didn’t understand the concerns of the Evergreen residents, assuring them that their EVP Task Force could still advise Cortese.

Some members might just be reporting to the new task force that would advise the Council. “Nothing has changed,” he claimed.

Despite Williams’ comments, the continued viability of the current EVP Task Force is certainly at issue. The original task force could be gutted, since 14 of its members might sit on the new task force and may not be able, or willing, to serve both groups.

At an emergency EVP Task Force meeting held the night before the May 17 council meeting, Cortese considered the next move if the council voted to form the new advisory body. He said he would have to augment the membership of the EVP Task Force in anticipation that they would lose members to the new advisory task force.