Fremont Planning Commission Considers Re-Zoning Open Space

Tomorrow night, Thursday January 23rd, the Fremont Planning Commission is set to review two new housing proposals, including one in Niles.

The proposed Niles development is on a heavily wooded area across from the Historic Nursery. The land in question is currently designated as private open space and is not open to development as currently zoned. Zoning changes for the development will require approval by the planning commission and city council, as well as changes to the Fremont General Plan.

There are many problems with developing this land and it should not be considered.

First and foremost, the people of Fremont have a promise from the city that this particular piece of land will not be developed. Originally part of the California Nursery, the land was to be preserved as open space, an agreed upon condition for the development of the area. This has long been accepted and expected by the local community. To overturn this now would be a slap in the face to not just the residents of Niles, but all of Fremont. We must be able to trust the city will keep its word.

An additional reason that the land is zoned as open space is the proximity of an earthquake fault zone. It is simply not safe to build at that location.

Further, the proposed development is at the corner of Nursery and Niles Blvd, an intersection that has long been a point of frustration for residents and commuters alike. This intersection is a bottleneck for traffic. The main connector for Niles and Mission boulevards, this intersection is frequently overloaded, bringing traffic in both directions to a standstill. Much of the traffic is a result of commuters that overwhelm this intersection as Niles blvd becomes the connector between Mission and Decoto for those using the bridge. Building houses here will only make a bad situation worse.

The report on the proposal by city staff has indicated that the developer would be open to “the idea of affordable housing provided that the City would approve the amendment for residential development”. This is both insulting and absurd. For the developer to say that they would be “open to the idea”, provided the city do what the developer wants, is far from a guarantee they will do anything. Consider that the homes being proposed range from 3500 to over 4000 square feet. A 4000 square foot single family home as affordable housing? Please.

Finally, the city staff report indicates that development of this site will “benefit the community” by eliminating homeless encampments on the site. We will ignore the fact that this particular site has far fewer homeless encampments than many areas in Fremont, and simply ask the question, is that really how the city plans to address homeless encampments, by placing McMansions wherever encampments appear?

The local community is opposed to this. There is no benefit to people.The community will bear the cost, but share in no reward. Only the developer will benefit. The only question is, who does the city serve, the people who voted for them or developers? It appears we are about to have our answer.