REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Written Petition received from Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) regarding VTA's BART Phase 2 Transit Oriented Communities (TOCs) Strategy Study and the Santa Clara Station Area Playbook [Council Pillar: Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency]
Report
BACKGROUND
The City received a Written Petition from Jill Gibson requesting to be placed on a future agenda regarding VTA's BART Phase 2 Transit Oriented Communities (TOCs) Strategy Study and the Santa Clara Station Area Playbook. The Written Petition is attached for Council's consideration.
DISCUSSION
Council Policy and Procedure 30 - Adding an Item on the Agenda sets forth the procedure for written petitions. Any member of the public may submit a written request raising any issue or item within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council. Per the policy, the written request will be submitted on the agenda, in the form substantially provided by the requestor, without any staff analysis, including fiscal review, legal review and policy review. If a simple majority of the City Council supports further study of the request, then a full staff analysis shall be prepared within thirty (30) days, unless otherwise directed by the City Council.
Per discussions with VTA, when presenting the TOC Strategy Study VTA will request that the Council:
* Endorse the holistic approach to creating TOCs in Santa Clara County and accept the recommendations of the Strategy Study as the appropriate starting point for this;
* Direct staff to prioritize implementation of land use, infrastructure, and funding programs; and
* Review implementation progress on a regular basis, in collaboration with VTA and other stakeholders.
Staff met with VTA multiple times to review the Study and is very appreciative of VTA's time and effort coordinating with the City. Staff submitted feedback on a number of items in the Study, and this communication was shared with Council throughout ...
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