"Even though you and I know that we aren't counting on those residents to use light rail." That is a revelation! Let's cram more cars in a gridlock area to reduce traffic. The Brilliant "Yes Man" Lenny strikes again. Don't forget he sold MV's most valuable resource! More office space is just what we need. Council is silly.

There needs to be a moratorium on all development till the city can provide infrastructure to support it. Using Light Rail as a solution is a joke!

Normally density and high rise buildings are in the downtown area - not in the suburbs. So why has the city not been approving 8+ story buildings downtown? The answer is the Old Mountain View Assoc will not tolerate it. So rather than taking on this lobby, the Council approves construction in areas where residents are not organized to fight back.

Elections are fast approaching!

Why oh why does Mountain View feel it has to continually build more housing? Yes, there is a shortage. But Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills have limited new housing and have retained quality neighborhoods, and managed to cope with traffic. Our City Councilmembers are hopelessly trying to chase an unattainable dream: housing for all.

LongTimeResident, why don't you go around and tell all the people in our city that are homeless or living in their cars that "housing for all" is an unattainable dream? It's convenient that you, fully housed, are willing to accept that. What, specifically, makes the dream "unattainable?"

And only newcomers without children would be allowed because this city council will not require developers to pay for any new school sites or school construction. Any later-born children (of newcomers) would need to be forfeited to the city and disposed of.

This so-called "sliding scale" will only incentivize property owners/developers to build their high-rise office buildings quickly. Property owners who don't build office space quickly will be left holding the bag and required to do all the residential building. Why doesn't MV zone certain areas for office space and other areas for residential. That's how "big boy" cities do it. Then the council and staff wouldn't have to manager and administer a ridiculous "sliding scale" paradigm (resulting in the inevitable caving to the requests of big campaign donors for "one-time," "special" exceptions).

City Council is developing "solutions" that simply incentivize future campaign contributions.

Yeah.. MV is following Menlo Park.. you either work for Google or you don't live here. Quality of life is going to zero.. What a shame.. Oh well.. Not much of a town when all the shops are limited to one street of expensive non-sense and traffic 24/7.

Thank you Randy G. The reservations that SC Parent are expressing seem real. The quantitative suggestions of the city staff only make sense if the quantities are scheduled out in time and synchronized - residence/office.

Bringing in more cash for school facilities: although I usually have opposed JUST MORE TAXES it is possible to form a special property taxation district - JUST IN THIS DEVELOPMENT ZONE - to be used for just school facilities to house new students from THIS DEVELOPMENT ZONE.

The Voice reported on this when Sock IT To Current Whisman-Slater neighborhood funding was first proposed by MVWSD administrators for a neighborhood school serving current residents [several administrators ago] (reporter K.F. covered). Such a taxation district CAN BE FORMED BY THE MVWSD TRUSTEES for brand new development zones like this - And - like North Bayshore's "quasi-RDA".

The California state Education Code is 15320. ("school facilities improvement projects")

New money from new development? It is just political (Board Votes) - and not really a legal problem.

Again, current residents will be the victims of increased congestion and a decline in the quality of life. The social engineering experiment has failed.

I am amazed I never see discussion about the exponentially increasing income inequality divide from failed Obama "Hope for Change BS" policies as well as both Bush's and their predecessors. Every maid, gardener, home service should charge a minimum $45/hr. Teachers must be paid more. Developers have increased costs 50% while wages paid increased 3%. I hope Mountain View as Lenny states to be an example of the future will demand all local development will use local talent and pay prevailing wages instead of hauling in cheap labor from central California. Developers are making fortunes on the backs of undocumented without paying it forward. Residents are losing to poor planning of public transportation improvements in the bigger picture.

Don't forget to be good to your senior citizens! Their incomes are not keeping up with costs or the freight train of inflation headed our way. Happy Friday!

@LongTimeResident, why don't you just move to Palo Alto, Los Altos, or Los Altos Hills?

As a resident who lives in the neighborhood and owns a place, right adjacent to the proposed East Whisman. I am very happy and excited to hear about the current development plans. One thing i hate seeing is how expensive the area I live in has became, even though I benefit financially from it. Even if most people who move into this new houses are the ones who are working in the offices near by, it will dramatically reduce traffic, but i also hope it will increase availability of cheaper housing stock.