July 1, 2004

Community alarmed over Pierce Ranch Property development

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

In the quiet Pierce Ranch neighborhood located alongside Quicksilver Park, a group of 70 concerned residents attended a meeting Tuesday night on Whispering Pines Drive hoping to dispel rumors regarding the potential development of four separate projects on city and county lands. What remains to be seen is which developments will move forward and exactly where the Quicksilver Park parking lot for at least 75 cars will be situated.

“There are four projects going almost simultaneously,” noted resident Leonard Procker, “The building on the Mary Pierce Estate (at Woodcliff Court), the potential increase of houses in the barn area by Summerhill Development, a winery on ranch land near Camden Avenue, and the Quicksilver Park parking lot.”

On hand to answer questions regarding county land was Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department director Lisa Killough and manager Mark Frederick. According to Killough, since 1988, when the county first created a master plan for Quicksilver Park, the Parks and Recreation Department has been hoping to purchase the adjacent Pierce Ranch property from the Pierce family estate.

“We have been in discussions with the owners of that property for years,” noted Killough, “and have recently made progress. In our acquisition plan, we’re hoping we can attain the majority of the hillside area that is part of this parcel. [At the very least] our intention is to make enough purchase on that property to create the parking lot.

We’re very enthusiastic to work with the developer and have a strong desire to move forward with this.”

The county’s master plan calls for trails to be made open to mountain bikers and to alleviate residential street parking congestion by creating an additional parking lot. While the residents appreciate this, they would prefer that the parking lot was located inside the park, or hidden from sight, rather than becoming a neighborhood eyesore. “We prefer looking out at the old barn rather than a parking lot,” expressed one resident. “Maybe we could put the parking lot inside the barn,” joked another. In response to the introduction of mountain bikes to the park, several residents objected, concerned with their impact on traffic, and the safety of hikers and equestrians, as well as on native animals.

“There are people who live in this neighborhood who have been asking us to please open it up to mountain bikes,” responded Killough. “We’re getting a lot of different messages on how to use this park. We’re trying to balance all of those needs.”

Residents also pointed out that much has changed since the county’s master plan was originally drawn up 16 years ago, and queried whether revisions reflecting their input could be included. “To the extent possible, we can try to provide you with an idea of what we’re thinking about,” stated Killough. “But we can’t please everybody.”

The most immediate of the residents’ concerns focused upon a large wooden framework being constructed on a hillside beside contentedly grazing cows on Woodcliff Court, overlooking Skyfarm Drive. According to Santa Clara County planner Rob Eastwood, the Pierce family estate has granted permission to a family friend to build a barn there to house hay and tractors.

“Three or four months ago, the county approved a 4,000-square-foot barn on the property,” noted Eastwood. “In addition, they are also developing a two-lot subdivision—one is 41 acres and the other is 97 acres—for homes.”

However, although the subdivision is currently on file, the county is awaiting additional information, he said. When the county has enough information on the project, they will make a recommendation. Then, it will go for environmental review, and a public notice will be put out, followed by a hearing. “The only thing currently approved is the barn, and the only thing on file is the two-lot subdivision,” contended Eastwood. “As to the winery,” he added, “the builder would like to develop that in the future, but at this time there are no applications on file for it.”

Regarding the city-owned Pierce Ranch property (located between McAbee Road and Broadacres Drive), SummerHill Homes recently met with the city of San Jose Planning Department to discuss preliminary subdivision plans for 29 homes with approximately 6,000-square-foot lots. However, according to Vice Mayor Pat Dando’s legislative assistant Denelle Fedor, the Planning Department has not received any formal plan submittal at this time.

“It is very important to the Vice Mayor to keep the community informed,” remarked Fedor, “so we sent out a letter in April letting residents know that SummerHill Homes had contacted the city about developing property. It is part of the development that has existed since the subdivision that included Castillero and Pierce Ranch—it just wasn’t developed at that time. Now SummerHill is interested in developing large homes there, probably in the $700,000 to $1 million range, and we wanted to make sure everyone knew.”

Procker, who considered the neighborhood meeting successful, thanked the Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department representatives for attending and sharing their development plans, but said he hoped there wouldn’t be any future surprises. He also encouraged his neighbors to remain involved in the process, “I think if we all stick together, we can influence events and come up with a solution that everybody likes,” he enthused.