Senior homes measure all about greed

The stretch of bare land between Evergreen Village and the steeper foothill slopes at San Jose’s southeast edge is a battleground. The war is over how development will be planned in San Jose: for the long-term public good — or for the immediate profits o

But the measure’s sponsors — no dummies, these — have called it “The Evergreen Senior Homes Initiative.” And there’ll be a preference for veterans, sponsors say — if it turns out to be legal. Who doesn’t love seniors and veterans? The measure likely will be on the June 2018 citywide ballot.

But you can stop it. Don’t sign the petition.

Don’t start San Jose down the road to ballot box planning.

The Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, but that’s not what this is about. San Jose has space for tens of thousands more homes — Mayor Sam Liccardo just issued a plan to expedite production. And truly affordable housing will be produced through state and county bond funds.

No, this is about investors wanting to build the most profitable product on their land and hoodwinking voters to let them.

The Evergreen land was zoned for industry in the 1980s, when bucolic office parks were popular. But only one company built there.

In the 2000s, then San Jose Councilman Dave Cortese, now president of the county board of supervisors, launched an Evergreen community planning exercise to explore building homes there instead. One property owner, Carl Berg, felt he was promised development rights in exchange for participating, and when the council rejected Cortese’s plan, Berg won a legal settlement.

Liccardo approached Berg this year about a serious buyer hoping to build a science office park, with a university affiliation, on the land — a potential economic boon for the city. But Berg already had the land under contract to homebuilders.

If this initiative succeeds, expect more where it came from. Many owners of industrial land or open space throughout the city would love the profits from building housing. But cities also need industry to pay for services such as public safety.

The measure proposes 910 homes on Berg’s 200 acres; 20 percent will be multifamily for low-income renters (outside the gate). There are lots of questions about details, however. For example, city officials say the builders will not have to do an environmental impact report or pay mitigation fees. Ponderosa says they will. The text is more than an inch thick, printed on both sides of the paper. It will take time to parse.

Let’s not roll the dice. When signature gatherers accost you outside the grocery or the mall — just say no to ballot box planning.