Voters should defeat Measure B, back Measure C

San Jose stands at a crossroads. In June, voters will decide on two ballot measures — Measures B and C — and by that decision, our children and future generations will judge us. We will do well by posterity to remember that “B” is for billionaires, and “C” is for community.

First, Measure B amounts to a deceptive ploy by billionaire land owners and out-of-town developers to convert 200 undeveloped acres in the Evergreen hills into an exclusive, gated community of luxury homes. They designed Measure B to avoid complying with the same rules that other developers must obey in any other city, such as paying for road improvements to address traffic impacts, complying with the city’s affordable housing requirements, and undergoing environmental review.

Measure B’s wealthy backers will spend millions on polished ads claiming that their project will provide “affordable housing for seniors and veterans.” But those of us who have read the fine print — including the AARP, the League of Women Voters, both the local Democratic AND Republican parties, The Mercury News, and every member of the San Jose City Council — know better: Measure B doesn’t require the project to house a single veteran, and it waters down the city’s affordable housing mandates.

Beyond their misleading effort, the billionaires behind Measure B pose an ominous threat for our Valley’s future, because the measure overrides limits on sprawling development in our most environmentally sensitive areas, such as Coyote Valley and the South Almaden Reserve. Measure B’s passage would destroy our hillsides and open spaces, and burden our freeways with even more gridlock. That’s why so many environmental organizations — such as the Sierra Club, Committee for Green Foothills, Audubon Society, Save the Bay, and Greenbelt Alliance — stand united against Measure B.

Measure B’s billionaires also found a way to stick the taxpayers with the bill for their project: more than $24.5 million annually in additional services, depleting the same city budget we need for police, roads, and libraries in the rest of the city.

Seven years ago, after dozens of public meetings and input from more than 5,000 community members, the City Council unanimously approved our city’s awardwinning blueprint for growth: the Envision 2040 General Plan. Measure B would override the general plan’s environmental projections, and would not allow for consideration of any input from neighbors or the community.

Fortunately, San Jose voters can choose a better path.

To protect our community from self-serving schemes of wealthy developers, the City Council placed Measure C on the June ballot.

Measure C would protect our hillsides and open spaces from sprawl and choking traffic by strengthening the city’s ability to deny such projects in our environmentally sensitive, outlying areas. By reinforcing the city’s greenbelt against development, Measure C also protects the great legacy of my predecessor, Mayor Janet Gray Hayes.

If the council does approve such projects in our outlying areas, Measure C ensures that our community gets real affordable housing — half of the homes must be affordable to residents of modest means, rather than the lip service that Measure B’s billionaires pay toward affordability. It also requires sustainability, using “zero net energy” design and recycled water for landscaping in the project. Finally, Measure C imposes responsibility for paying for costly new services on the developers, not taxpayers.

Measure C ensures that if we allow new development in outlying areas, it benefits our community, and not just billionaire developers.

In June, “B” is for billionaires, and “C” is for community. Join me in leading San Jose to its better future by voting “no” on Measure B, and “yes” on Measure C.