According to Jim:
Old Mountain View Residents Will Soon Have to Pay to Park in Front of Their Own Homes!!!"

This means they will in fact have to pay. The decision has been made; done deal. Jim says they "WILL" have to pay; bnot they "May" have to pay, but they "WILL" have to pay

I don't think this is the case and I feel his headline is either misleading exaggerated, misinformed, or all of the above.

@Really -- I was at the council meeting last night so I am not reporting second hand information. I know from years of previous experience with the Council that they never ask for anything that they have not already decided to implement.

When the video of the meeting is posted on the city website, you can watch it and then tell me what you think instead of making "misleading,exaggerated, or misinformed" statements about what I said.


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
Resident of Old Mountain View
https://electneal.org (Campaign Website)
info@electneal.org

So Jim, if they WILL pay as you said. When does it start, how much and under what circumstances?
If these decisions have not been made, you misinformed us all with your exaggerated headline that residents WILL have to pay, meaning there is no way they will not have to pay. That is either a lie or misinformation.

I couldn't agree with you more, Jim. Everything you mentioned in your discussion rings true.

For such little money the city will spend so much to collect so little, and will make it's resident's lives so much more complicated! I've lived in communities where I had to move my car every few hours. I couldn't afford to be sick or distracted from this task. Life seemed no longer sweet...

I also agree that the council has their minds made up beforehand on almost any issue.

We all should speak out against this bad plan.

I am so glad we will have you on the ballot to vote for this November, Jim. You see through the bull and you stay up on what the council is up to. Very important.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Jim, please answer my question:
"if they WILL pay as you said. When does it start, how much and under what circumstances?"

If you cannot answer this with truthful facts about the fee program you stated is now in effect, you have misinformed people with an inflammatory headline.

@Really - Obviously you did not read my article. I never said that the program is "now in effect". I used "soon" in my headline which means "in the near future". I also stated in my article that the Council asked staff to draw up the ordinance for July 1st and include the changes Council Member Kasperzak asked for. That is why I am making people aware of this now, so we can try to stop it before it gets fast-tracked through.

As far as what people will pay, that too is contained in my article. People will pay in the form of parking ticket if they are parked in front of their homes or their neighbors homes on a game day. And yes, if you get a parking ticket, you MUST pay it, no if's ands or buts.

Lastly, you would not need to ask me anything if you came to the Council meeting last night or bothered to watch the video that is now posted on the City's website. They go into great detail about when the changes will start, what days and times, etc.


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
Resident of Old Mountain View
https://electneal.org
info@electneal.org

Wow Jim, great way to respond to people--people who may be voting for or against you.

If you are running under the Petulant Child Party, you've certainly shown it by belittling people.

Is that going to be your response to people when you are a city council member? "What is happening with ______?" "Well if you bothered to go to the meeting you would know"

Your arrogant, dismissive, and disgusting attitude towards people doesn't say much for how you would handle the actual position of city council member. In fact you seem to be annoyed that anyone would take the time to ask questions.

All your talk about working class folks-- you are aware that most stores/restaurants are open during the city council meetings right? Are you going to tell these downtrodden masses you invoke the same thing? "If you went to the meeting you wouldn't have to ask."

Should they call in sick just to go to city council meetings? Or are you happy with the fact that only 9-5 office workers can attend?

Do you "bother" to read your own posts before you click submit?

The city council video is here (Web Link skip to 2hours and 48 minutes into it to watch Councilman Kasperzak's comments and resulting discussion. Go to 3:15 for more discussion on specifics.

Economically, his argument makes sense, since free parking would entice people to park in Mountain View rather than pay $50 for game parking or whatnot. Pay parking would certainly offset that, especially if it was more expensive than alternatives.

Councilman Siegel talks about paid parking as a revenue stream which he wants to jump on as soon as possible, so as not to lose the money.

I watched the whole thing. I didn't get the impression that this is a done deal, and there's clearly council disagreement with Kasperzak, though he did indeed say that residents could park in their driveways. His opposition to permits isn't permits themselves, it's having to administer a permit program and have residents deal with having to get them, which is a lot more complicated than an all-out parking limit. Overall, though, it does sound like the council is very much for paid parking, so I'm sure this will come to pass, but what to do about residents is clearly up in the air.

However, I think you and I watched a different council meeting, Jim. It sounds like the city council wants to charge for parking in city parking lots, not on the streets, and to impose a parking restriction on the city streets to drive stadium traffic to the paid lots (JPB or otherwise). What would bite residents is the game day parking restriction. There was no mention of paid parking for residents in front of their own houses, other than indirectly by parking tickets.

@Sparty -- Hello old friend! How are you? If you find my responses belittling, that is your opinion. I simply responded with the truth to someone that started out by attacking me. If I am asked questions in a courteous manner, then I respond in kind. However, I have no intention of allowing someone to attack me without defending myself. I was merely pointing out the hypocrisy and silliness of my attacker's argument that I was misinforming people, when he had not bothered to attend the meeting or even watch the video.

Just because I am running for office does not mean that I have to let people abuse me.

As to your point about City Council meetings, as I mentioned, they are available on line so people can watch them at any time that is convenient.
I get up at 4 am to go to work, get home by 5pm, then go to Council and EPC meetings from 6:30 pm to as late as 11:30 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because it is important to me to know what is going on, and so I can try to make a difference.

As far as your comments about "working class people", I am a working class person and I worked in restaurants for 10 years so I know the amount of hard work they put in.

All that being said, This is not about me, this is about the City trying to force more regulations on us that we don't want and don't need, and that will make our lives more difficult and leave less money in our pockets.

Please email the City Council and come to the Council meeting to tell them that you don't want these new parking restrictions in your neighborhoods!



Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
Resident, Old Mountain View
https://electneal.org (Campaign Website)
info@electneal.org

This sounds like a lobbying effort by the chamber of commerce. Of course, this would greatly benefit local restaurants and bars if they can attract pre and post-game business. The question is..what benefit is there to the people that live downtown? There are certainly costs....

Should MV really turn into a parking lot for Santa Clara's stadium???

At the very least Jim, you are a poor communicator. You're headline used the word "Will" By the very literal definition it means "expressing inevitable events." Should I define inevitable as well?

Communicate better if you're going to use these boards as a cut rate campaign forum! We don't need a chicken little trying to stir up people with misleading headlines.

@MYOB -- Yes you are right, the parking tickets are exactly what I was talking about when I said:

"I was at tonight's City Council meeting where they were discussing moving the Farmer's Market on the Sundays when the 49ers play their home games, but towards the end of the discussion, the conversation turned to the parking issues and Council member Kasperzak proposed setting a 4 to 5 hour time limit for parking in Old Mountain View on Game days.

This means that if you are a resident in Old Mountain View, and you are out of town, or want to bike, walk or take public transportation to go see a movie on a Game day, or simply sleep in late, you will likely find a ticket on your vehicle!"

In my opinion, that is still paid parking because many residents will get the tickets and be affected by it. Council Member Kasperzak could simply have agreed to free residential permits if he did not want people to be charged for parking in front of their homes on game days, so that gives me a very good indication of what the real goal is.

Also, while it may seem that what to do about residential parking is "up in the air", I have been to enough Council meeting to recognize what I call the "razzle-dazzle". They will argue a point (like residential parking restrictions) and seem to be against it, then go round and round for an hour before they vote in favor of it 6-1 ( with Inks usually opposed).

If I didn't write this article and took a wait and see attitude, I am sure that it would pass through with no problems because "no one cares". Well this time, I care and I won't let it pass without a fight!

I sincerely want to thank you for your comments and questions and for treating me with respect even though you may still disagree with me.


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
Resident, Old Mountain View
https://www.electneal.org
info@electneal.org

jim-

"Please answer my question"

That is an attack? If you are too busy now to answer a question, how will you handle the added responsibility of being on city council?

Jim, I agree with you that pay parking is likely to happen, as is a parking restriction simply to prevent mountain view from being swarmed with stadium traffic on game days. However, rolling out a permit system couldn't be done in the very short term that the council is trying to take action. Kasperzak basically said we can't roll out a permit system in the short time we have, and that it's too much hassle for residents (which is BS, tickets are more hassle). Councilwoman Abe-Koga basically said we have to do something even if we don't have a plan in place. (sigh).

My impression is that the council is scrambling to do something about parking asap, without thinking it through fully. Implementing a parking permit system shouldn't be too hard, especially if some of the local tech talent can help the city do it quickly. This junk directly affects me, as I live in Old Mountain View and my driveway is small enough that it can only accommodate one of my family's two cars.

I do think that the council is right in their assessment that we will have a flood of stadium parkers looking to save parking money if mountain view has free parking lots and street parking on game days.

For anyone who would like to write the council about this, their contact info is here: Web Link

Why not do the same thing as Palo Alto does near Stanford stadium on game days? The streets are closed off and only residents can get through the barricades. Palo Alto High School makes money on game days by charging game attendees to park.

@PA Resident -- I was actually thinking of something along the same lines. The only problem is that there are many small (short) streets in Old Mountain View, but not many cul-de-sacs whereas if I remember correctly, there are a few cul-de-sacs and one-road in and out areas near Stanford stadium, which makes them easier to control.

The main problem is that Council is trying to jam through an ill-conceived last minute solution and I think we all know how successful those tend to be!

I didn't address this issue during the Council meeting because they dropped this bomb on us AFTER all the public comment had already been allowed. However, another issue that I raised was that of public safety and the need to have a significant police presence on these "Game Days" in downtown Mountain View.

The reason why I think this will be necessary is because Caltrain allows for people to drink alcohol on its trains, but the VTA (lighrail) does not. That means that it is very likely that rather than throw away perfectly good beer, wine, or whatever else floats their boat, people will likely decide to consume their adult beverages here in Mountain View at the connection point between the two rail systems. While most people will heed Jack's advice to "Drink Responsibly", there are always those few that will have a few too many. With the likelihood that we could see 5000 to 10,000 fans transferring through here, even a small fraction of those numbers could lead to big problems.

Of the entire Council, only Ronit Bryant even addresses this issue after I brought it up, but the Council appeared to be more interested in how to generate more parking and ticket revenues than addressing the safety aspect of the problem.

I intend to bring it up again before they make their final decision as well as reiterate that implementing a parking prohibition that will adversely affect residents is a really bad idea!


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
Resident, Old Mountain View
https://electneal.org
info@electneal.org

Let's just wait and see. Then, execute a plan that will address any problems. We really don't know what will happen.

Sunnyvale has a parking garage for their CalTrain lot.
Palo Alto has a parking garage for their CalTrain lot.
Mountain View is a transit hub (bus+light rail+train), but has no parking garage. Does that make any sense whatsoever?

I am wondering why the potential traffic and parking impact Levi Stadium will have on Mountain View and it's residents is only now being discussed, in June of 2014, when the stadium has a) been under construction for years and b) is set to host it's first event on August 2nd of 2014?

SomeoneS have either been asleep at the wheel - or maybe just too busy up-zoning the city and rubber-stamping new/re-development projects - to plan for the impact of this new stadium on the city of Mountain View and it's residents.

Pffffffft.

@MVResidebt67-

You are right about the city being "too busy up-zoning the city and rubber stamping new redevelopment projects."

I'm informed by an insider that if any of this slows down (like to a pace that people could actually stay aware of what's going on) some of the 13 planning staffers would have to be laid off due to less work for them.

But why would they lay off anyone, when their speeding along so fast (to install anything and everything they want) so effectively preludes the participation of we the citizens?

Only the very dedicated can stay on top of it & only if they give up their personal time to do so. Even their sleep.

Like at EPC last night, until nearly 1 AM, right, Jim?

Now that's dedication.

Someone willing to work that hard for their city is someone we need on our city council.

So, please, pretty please with sugar on top, stop trying to spark a fight, Sparty, or your name will need to be changed to "Sparky" instead of Sparty.

I so appreciate people who stick to the issues without distractions of minor, or even imagined, slights. Let's not make it personal.

So, thank you to all of you that stay focused on our city and on making it a better place. Or I should say, KEEPING it a better place. Continue this hard work. It is only going to intensify!We need to seriously work together to be effective in maintaining what we love about our MV.

No one here on top of the issues seems to have mentioned the newest offers to Milk Pail. Milk Pail certainly won't. It will detract from their victim status.

Please enlighten us Linda...

I don't perform on command, but I think you are wrong about their wanting to maintain "their victim" status. SO I will say it was the MG guy who tried to portray Milk Pail as seeking "40 parking spaces," not just the 11 they need to not have close. I believe he was referring to the fact that if they make the grade on the parking requirement (get the 11 spaces), they then will get the right, like everyone else there, to let their customers park all over that place. Yeah, so at any one time, this could result in, say 40 people parking wherever on the entire property, and all shopping at the Milk Pail.

At least EPC will recommend to the city council that they make a recommendation to the two parties work to find a resolution to accommodate both.

And, please Sparty, don't try to spark any sparing with me over these exact details, it they came after midnight last night, I'm still trying to recover.

@Linda - Thanks for the support and the encouragement. It is definitely not easy to work a full time job, commute by Caltrain, Muni, and Bart 2 hours each way, and then attend a 5 to 6 hour marathon EPC meeting, but I do it because I care about what is happening here and I want to make sure that residents can make informed decisions about what THEY want this city to be.

I encourage everyone to come to the City Council meeting on July 1 to express their views about the plan to restrict parking in Old Mountain View, The Milk Pail parking issue, or any other issues that are on your mind. I know that some people lead extremely busy lives, but these decisions are being made for you, and sometimes without your knowledge. Once they are implemented, it is far more difficult to get the Council to reverse a decision, than it is to get them to make the right decision in the first place.

I was there when the Feral Cat issue was discussed the first time and at the next meeting, many members of the community showed up to help point the Council in the right direction on this issue. Please join me on July 1 to let the Council know that placing restrictions on residents ability to park in front of their own homes is the wrong thing to do!

If you can't make it, be sure to send an email to the City Council ( citycouncil@mountainview.gov) and make your voice heard! Thanks for your support!


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
Resident, Old Mountain View
https://electneal.org
info@electneal.org

The Council went on the right direction with feral cats? They deferred a final decision to let a "task force" research the issue and report back. Who is on this task force??? When will they report back ?

In the meantime, the songbird population is being decimated by the constant transplanting and feeding of this non-native species. If the city can't be entrusted to fulfill their agreement to open a feral task force, then how can there be any expectation for them to do the right thing here ?

Yes, please show up yourselves. If you depend on Jim Neil to relay the info to you here on these boards, you're not going to get the full facts.
He uses phrases like "The plan to charge for parking"
Well, to be sure, there is no "Plan". Jim is not being a good communicator again when he says there is "A plan to charge for parking"
There isn't, they are discussing all options. There is no plan right Jim?
A council member needs to be a good communicator, not someone who phrases things for dramatic effect rather than fact.
Repeat, the council is discussing OPTIONS for a POSSIBLE parking problem on event days. Come and be part of the discussion of options. If you think there is already a plan to change, you have been mislead(again) by Jim exaggerated and ill-communicated statements.

I think the city should look at all options at this point, to be ready IN CASE there is an issue. We don't even know that there will be any issue at all, so in this case, it is all pre-planning, which is prudent.

Before everyone gets all excited about this problem, we should first see if there will be a problem, THEN we can decide on a plan(that was previously discussed) that will work best.

This is not the first time that the City Council has spoken about implementing parking restrictions in the neighborhoods, but this is the first time that I can recall that they have asked staff to draw them up into a series of "recommendations" to be put before Council.

If the Council had no intention of implementing these "recommendations" they would not be wasting time asking for them when there are so many other issues that require immediate attention.

I could sit back and wait until after they push it through as I have made the mistake of doing before, but then people would be wondering why no one told them about it. This time I have chosen to take the lead and try to stop bad policy before it starts.

No one will be happier than me if I am proven wrong and the Council decides that further restricting residents parking is not the right way to go.

I'm also looking forward to meeting all of you who have contributed to this conversation at the Council meeting on July 1. I would love to discuss your ideas with you at length and I will stay until all your questions have been answered.


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
https://electneal.org
info@electneal.org

I'm looking forward to the July 1st meeting for this discussion, and also, isn't that the meeting in which we can all give our input on the current rendition of Phase II of the San Antonio Project? I don't so much mind the thought of a fine dinner (at the supposedly classy hotel that's planned) and a movie (at the new cinema), but to build two 6 story office towers, to add yet even more jobs and ZERO housing, aggravates me.

If we can get a confirmation that july 1 is the date for the Phase II San Antonio meeting, let's turn out and talk about the parking AND get our two cents in on making MG turn those two office towers into two apartment buildings!

There will be a Council Study Session for the San Antonio Precise Plan this Tuesday, June 24 at 8pm (or as soon after 8 as the prior issues have been completed.

Also, I have created an online petition requesting that the City Council not add any new restrictions to resident parking. It can be found here:

Web Link


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
https://www.electneal.org (Campaign Website)
info@electneal.org

@Jim Neal,
Are Old Mountain View residents better than, let's say, residents of Mondrian community? They have ALL parking spaces designated as 'Visitors' and cannot park outside their homes at all. No parking is allowed on Evelyn and Moorpark streets either.

The reason I wrote this article is to prevent additional restrictions to resident parking throughout Mountain View. It just so happens that the City Council specifically mentions restricting parking in Old Mountain View, so that is what I have addressed here.

If the Council seeks to impose restrictions on residents in other areas of the City, I will oppose those as well.


Jim Neal
Candidate, Mountain View City Council
https://electneal.org ( Campaign Website )
info@electneal.org