"Lenny Siegel stressed that the area be a "family-friendly" neighborhood for the 600 children he says are expected to live there."
Yay, let's build more housing and forget about schools and other services needed to serve these houses.

I am very much for changing the two 6 story office towers into apartments instead. This puts people right where they need to be for easily getting to their jobs. Public transportation of all kinds are handy to this location. There is already discussion of building an elementary school on Showers Drive, so the comment above is based on limited information. And stores & restaurants will certainly be handy to those living among it. SO easy: Just two apartment towers instead of two office towers.

Too bad Mayfield went offices instead of housing, This was supposed to save the trees, which Google chopped down anyway, and during the wrong season, so all the many baby birds in their nests were slaughtered. What's the matter Google? Didn't you "Google it" to discover when nesting season is? This brash wasting of birds and trees that really didn't need to come down shows how much you really don't care, despite your many monetary bribes to convince us otherwise.

For San Antonio Phase II, I would really like to see the Ross and the very large BevMo return to this location. I hate to lose them, as I did the one level, ever so convenient Sears, where one could shop for almost anything. I'm wondering if either the Ross and/or the BevMo could be chosen to return. Why not, if they're thinking of including big box stores?
"...former mayor Matt Pear said a pair of big box stores would bring $2 million in annual sales tax revenue to the city." Sounds good for the city's money and good for serious shoppers. Ross especially does a great volume of business and BevMo isn't slacking, either, so why not them? The shops included in this needn't be all unaffordable high end. And the apartments either. Let's encourage them to go for ATTAINABLE housing!

"...Abe-Koga expressed concern that there really weren't many places to shop [at Santana Row]"
WTF??? Has she even been there?? There are numerous places to shop, tons of people walking around and terrific energy. It would be AWESOME to duplicate that here. It would make us a destination instead of just more housing. There are too many houses and not enough business activity here already -- have you noticed that startups and VCs are actually moving to the City now? We must maintain the energy and draw business here or we lose out and become just another stretch of housing that will lose value as businesses go elsewhere. Redevelop into Santana Row style retail, business and entertainment!!! Grrrrrr.

Why not allow new office buildings for the purpose to get rid of older outdated office building along El Camino Real, and elsewhere in Mountain View.

Many places around San Antonio Center could be used for housing and a school.

I go to Santana Row regularly to eat at the very fine French restaurant + others, to shop, and just to sit out & enjoy some flowers + music in an nice atmosphere. It's not so stretched out that one must walk forever to get somewhere. Parking is varied and available in various places, including underground, so that it can be close to one's destination. The energy there is refreshing.

"Too bad Mayfield went offices instead of housing"

Yes its too bad but the ML neighborhood activists have only themselves to blame. They kept extracting more community benefits from the developer and after numerous delays imposed on the project by council and the neighborhood, the housing market tanked, commercial became more profitable than housing. The neighborhood lost 3+ acres of parkland and other numerous community benefits.

The same thing will happen with MG phase II. Some council members wanted a hotel and theater, MG obliged and now these council members have changed their minds after numerous public meetings. As for housing, there are plenty of housing projects in the works for that area and MG put housing in phase one where it didnt exist before.

I have watched as MG has improved this plan repeatedly. I think one last change is very important: Change the 2 office towers to apts. that are rentals regular people can afford.

It also is important that some parking spots be spread out all around the place for handicapped people like myself, as well as for the shopper who buys too much to carry very far. Otherwise, businesses will suffer when people buy less than they would have just because it is too much to carry.

Big trees with really substantial canopy will make the place desirable & comfortable. I hope they install trees that amount to something, like Evergreen Ash.

Read this MG, so you can get it right. :)

Housing or office space. Lets use what we have. We do not have to build anything for the people leaving detroit that would rather live here.

Mt. Views population is to big as it is.

The thought that these new building or apartments will be used by people that work here is ridiculous.

Merlone Geier wants to eliminate the Milk Pail, add offices, an 80 foot tall movie theater, an upscale hotel, and upscale restaurants so they can provide their investors and us with their vision of Mountain View.

The needs and wishes of the community are not even open for discussion.

We, the residents of Mountain View, home owners, renters and businesses, want a Santana Row type development that fits well into the downtown neighborhood, with medium-density housing, a variety of businesses such as the Milk Pail, and the Monument to Where Silicon valley was born.

@Konrad M. Sosnow: "We, the residents of Mountain View, home owners, renters and businesses, want a Santana Row type development that fits well into the downtown neighborhood, with medium-density housing, a variety of businesses such as the Milk Pail, and the Monument to Where Silicon valley was born."

Speak for yourself, but please do NOT presume to speak for "We, the residents of Mountain View." Unless you have done statistically valid polling covering all the different constituencies in Mountain View - renters, homeowners, business owners, and more - your opinion is just your own, nothing more.

Konrad and folks, please stop complaining... I am 35 and we're a single income family. I do not work in tech or a disruptive company. I am not a libertarian. There are plenty like me in MV... We are Mountain View and don't share your view. Don't confuse a loud minority with the majority.

How can we make our stance known when you minority of residents carry such venom?

The Council is supposed to represent Mountain View residents, but they don't seem to have done so the last few years. They seem to make decisions that benefit the out-of-town profiteering developers. There are a few "loud" high-density pro-development shills that live throughout our neighborhood that have been quite happy with what is going on, but "unless one has done statistically valid polling covering all the different constituencies in Mountain View - renters, homeowners, business owners, and more," it is quite obvious that this so-called "loud minority" is probably a plurality if not an absolute majority.

Well has a valid post... I do not disagree with the minority being a plurality. The sales of some of my neighbors, who I very much like, make me think Palo Alto like ridiculousness will come sooner rather than later.

"Abe-Koga expressed concern that there really weren't many places to shop [at Santana Row"

70 stores is not "many places?"

Compared to...? Is there a secret shopping center in Mountain View that has over 70 shops? How do I get a membership/pass?