Draft plan for Mountain View's North Bayshore area stirs housing debate

The recent public release of Mountain View's draft North Bayshore Precise Plan quickly has triggered a heated debate about the future of one of the Bay Area's most hallowed office parks.

By spelling out where development should occur as well as the type of construction that's permissible in a 500-acre area north of Highway 101, the 200-plus-page document could alter the neighborhood that houses Google, LinkedIn and other tech titans.

On Tuesday the City Council is scheduled to review the draft plan, which limits new development to a net of 3.4 million square feet, enough room for an estimated 20,000 new jobs.

The draft allows for construction of a mixed-use complex featuring retail space, entertainment facilities and a hotel, as well as space for small businesses and startups.

It lists as priorities protecting wildlife, constructing a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across Highway 101, improving connections to the Stevens Creek Trail and creating parks and open spaces.

What's missing from the draft is any provision for housing.

Whether houses should or shouldn't go in North Bayshore became one of the talking points for nine council candidates at a housing and transportation forum held Tuesday. And they were clearly divided.

"The North Bayshore Precise Plan looks at 500 acres, I think we can look at 100 acres [for housing] near the 101 and Shoreline," said Lenny Siegel, founder of the Campaign for Balanced Mountain View. "It's not going to threaten our open space. ... To me, it's a no brainer but it's going to take a lot of work by people in this community to reverse the course that the city has been on since 2012 when the council rejected by a 4-3 vote the environmentally superior alternative of putting housing in North Bayshore."

He said 5,000 housing units would support a school, retail and other services. Fellow candidates Pat Showalter, Ken Rosenberg and Jim Neal agreed, to varying degrees.

"Housing near jobs is the way of the future," candidate Greg Unangst stressed. "We've got to get away from these long commutes."

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Draft plan for Mountain View's North Bayshore area stirs housing debate