Developer ends hunger strike after 8 days
CEO Navneet Aron hopes to resume construction of town homes this week
After a dramatic eightday hunger strike, developer Navneet Aron has started eating again and hoped to resume construction this week on a Sunnyvale project that was stalled due to a permitting snafu.
Aron, founder and CEO of Aron Developers, camped out at City Hall earlier this month, vowing to refuse food “until death” unless the city let him resume work on 18 town homes his crew is building on North Fair Oaks Avenue. He was protesting what he describe as an unnecessary bureaucratic delay that he said could cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, force him to lay off workers and maybe even tank the project.
Though it's unclear if the strike played a role, city and county officials appear to be moving forward on the paperwork that would allow Aron's project to proceed. They haven't promised he'll be given the green-light to resume construction this week, but Aron is optimistic that he'll be able to pay his workers and finish his project.
“I told my guys with confidence that there's absolutely zero layoffs,” he said. “We will be working full speed ahead with 100% confidence.”
What was his first meal? Aron broke his fast the evening of Feb. 10 with something he had been craving for a long time: Indian food. The next morning, his 9-year-old daughter made him an omelet for breakfast.
“I feel much better,” Aron said.
His strike highlighted the headaches that come with getting housing approved and built in California. Despite the state's dire shortage of places to live, developers say the permitting process is complicated and prohibitively expensive, especially for small developers.
Aron's ordeal began over a thin plastic barrier installed under the foundations of the Sunnyvale town homes that prevents toxins in the soil from rising as vapor through the foundations and into the homes.
Aron installed the barriers, but forgot to get the county's OK first.
He submitted recently documentation to correct the issue, but the county said approval could take up to 45 days — time Aron said he didn't have. In the meantime, the city wouldn't let Aron work.
But it seems things will move much more quickly. Santa Clara County's Department of Environmental Health on Monday confirmed it has received Aron's paperwork.
“DEH is currently reviewing the plan and is optimistic that, if the plan demonstrates the alternative measures will ensure future protectiveness of public health, safety and welfare, an approval may be issued as early as this week,” spokesperson Larry Little said in an email. “If approved, the alternative plan will bring the project into compliance without having to demolish any existing construction.”
County and city staff plan to meet this morning to discuss next steps, said Jennifer Garnett, a spokesperson with the city manager's office.
Despite the toll it took on his body, Aron said the hunger strike was worth it — and not just for his own project. At least 40 people dropped by City Hall while he was striking to offer their support, give him water and provide offers of help, he said. Many were developers who had their own horror stories of navigating a complex permitting process. The mayor and two city councilmembers even stopped by to speak with him.
Aron hopes to build off that momentum by getting a group of developers and government officials together to brainstorm ways the permitting process can be improved.
“I do believe this is the beginning of something bigger,” he said.
In an email, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein said the city is happy to listen, though he thinks the strike was unreasonable and that Aron unnecessarily put his own life at risk.
“There is always room for improvement,” he said of the city's permitting process. “Developers also need to understand they need to follow through on their commitments when a project is approved. If there are ways we can make that clearer to them, we are always willing to receive feedback from anyone.”