Housing is mentioned in passing, but where will the folks who work there live? Yes, Google runs tech buses all over the place, but there is still not enough housing in the area. We need more (affordable!) housing, not just more office space.

The omission of the Magical Bridge Playground funding very much concerns me. I don't really appreciate why that had to drop out of the package. Surely this wouldn't have been a deal breaker, and the playground will be an invaluable asset to our community.

Michael Tymoff, Google's real estate director said. "I think their commitment has been demonstrated in past actions..." Based on that, I hope Google leaves Mountain View as it is very clear that Google is all about "me me me me me."

Seems this could be a dubious time to be building more office space. I think there will be plenty of vacant space around here for the next few years -- demand is going to fall through the floor with covid.

Google has completely destroyed the area. City council does anything they want , for the money. They tore up Charleston Park and eliminated the promised parking spaces. When you notify anyone at city hall there is no response. Google has killed all of the trees. And now there will just be empty offices there. How long until they no longer give Mountain View any of the money?

I am very concerned that Magical Bridge Playground will not be fully funded and that they will have to build something "less magical" than Magical Bridge Playground in Palo Alto. I do not understand why the city or Google doesn't fund this small gap, and then we can start building the playground. Mountain View claims to be inclusive, but their actions speak otherwise.

I thank (former) Mayor Matichak and Councilmember Ramirez for raising the question about filling in the funding gap. Where are the rest of the council members on this issue? Why can't Google just fill in the gap? This will be the one place that is really welcoming for all our residents, including my disabled child who can only play at Palo Alto's Magical Bridge.

Our community is tired of waiting for this to happen.

The real estate development life cycle is pretty long. As the article says, it's taken 5 years to source approvals for this and even if they started construction tomorrow, would be another 24-30 months until it was ready to occupy, so I don't think it's weird that these approvals would hit now.

Google itself has decided to slow-roll the return to office. They probably won't have their offices at more than 30% capacity for the rest of the year. Add in that they will likely be far more willing to let a large percentage of its workforce work remotely for years (and that by all accounts thousands of their Mountain View based employees have already moved elsewhere in the country while they have to work from home), I don't think there is going to be a need for this office square footage for quite some time. Especially when you add in the millions of square feet they are developing in downtown San Jose.

The towns of the valley are finally getting what they want. All the corporate and property taxes from their multi-trillion dollar tech employers, but fewer and fewer of it's employees.

Here we go again. The CC continues kissing Googoo's ass. More tree removals! Progress! Take their "community benefits" bribe money! Choke choke.

All the people working there will simply add to the freeway traffic. Google should pioneer the idea of smaller offices out near where people want to live. They have the technology to allow remote working - use it!

Note I said "where people want to live". That is not where they are forced to live by the need to to commute to Mountain View and affordable prices. I am thinking Half Moon Bay. Santa Cruz. Grass Valley.

finally google gets the approval. It is long over due. It is google's land, it is Google that brings in jobs, it is again google that operates a huge bus system. I can't think of a better neighbor than that.

Council committed park fees towards Magical Bridge when they agreed to a matching grant from Santa Clara County. Community fundraising goals have been met why is the city not using the park fees they have available and committed to. As a family that lives in the area I question where are our park fees are going. Rengstorff is one of the largest parks in the city, next to Cuesta. We deserve to have a well build and designed playground, especially in this economic diverse mixed use housing area. The community has already provided design input with a scope of funds that was allocated for the project. Why use magical bridge as a political debate regarding development process.

This hurts our community and if you don't follow through with your commitment then we all question where these developer fees are actually used for. We have park fees available. Use them!

I'm confused about the Magical Bridge funding. Didn't the City already provide $1M? Or was it contingent on the Landings project (i.e.g City pledged money not in hand)?

I thought that Google's plan was to build this office in order to move offices out of the Shorebird area so that that area could be turned into housing. So theoretically there will not be a huge increase in people going into North Bayshore. However, as I recall the North Bayshore Precise Plan still budgets a net increase in office space even when it's totally built out.

Thank you Google for making Mountain View your home. Best decision I’ve seen approved by City Council in many years.

We have been promising our children Magical Bridge park for years. The children from every school have been doing Coin Drive with such enthusiasm. And here we are, adults, not being able to keep our promises to them. Why? Because of all of the battles between who will have the most power over the city. Can we just stop, take a breath, and think about other than ourselves? I have witnessed the joy that Magical Bridge in Palo Alto brings to all the people that visit it, and I cannot understand how a city as rich as Mountain View or a big company such as Google cannot find $900,000 to close the gap for the construction of the most magical place for everyone. Please can we stop the greed for a moment and look at the big picture? Our children
are watching...

This is a bit off subject, but how are Google employees going to get to the 2 gigantic mushrooms out on Moffit field? It looks like the access road is the Moffit exit off 101. It's only one short lane. Seems like a real boondoggle if that's the only way in.

The article fails to credit the architect. Why is that?

If City Council doesn't want to approve Google Landings, then it needs to step up and fill the funding gap for Magical Bridge with Park Land Dedication Fees. These fees are a separate fund from the general budget and come from developers who have previously built in Mountain View and by state law must either donate land for parks or pay fees.

Other Cities have donated $2 million because they recognize the unique value of Magical Bridge Playground. It truly is accessible to all ages and all abilities. The Magical Bridge Playground in Palo Alto is the most popular playground in the area, attracting thousands of visitors for months, and people drive for miles to come.

I was very excited when City Council chose to put the Magical Bridge Playground in Rengstrorff Park since many families who live around the park can't afford to drive their children to a playground. Now unless City Council steps up, these kids will get a lesser Magical Bridge. I think this sends a terrible message to these kids and about City Council's priorities.

Sorry, I should have written if Google doesn't want to approve its Landings Project. As you probably know, previously, City Council has been the one to hold back on projects. But we live in interesting times.