Open Letter to Campbell City Council - Save Our Downtown

Mayor Rich Waterman
richw@cityofcampbell.com
Vice-Mayor Jeffrey Cristina
jeffc@cityofcampbell.com
Councilmember Jason Baker
jasonb@cityofcampbell.com
Councilmember Michael Kotowski
michaelk@cityofcampbell.com
Councilmember Evan Low
evanl@cityofcampbell.com

At your next council meeting on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., you will hear the appeal of Mr. Steven Bonner, the owner for a proposed restaurant called “Socialight” in our historic downtown.  The proposed location is 368 E. Campbell Avenue which was the site of the former OM Gallery and Green Planet Yarn. 

Mr. Bonner is seeking to obtain a conditional use permit to operate a new restaurant with a bar and live entertainment during late night hours past 11:00 p.m. 

No one is questioning the concept, menu, etc. that Mr. Bonner envisions for his restaurant.  I’m sure he will appear before you with a petition signed by various people supportive of his plans (very few of whom are downtown Campbell residents and voters I suspect). 

This appeal is less about Mr. Bonner and more about the future of the downtown -- and Campbell.

As council members, the residents of Campbell voted for you to uphold a sacred trust.  A trust that you will act as stewards for the city, protect it and maintain the one constant that has remained throughout Campbell’s history and growth.  Campbell is a family friendly place with the small town feel. 

I didn’t make this up.  It is stated as part of the vision for Campbell under our General Plan.  The General Plan states, “It will be a safer, more well balanced small town with connected neighborhoods set in an attractive and comfortable environment.”  The General Plan goes even further to recognize that the downtown area is a special and unique place – so much so that it includes a separate Downtown Development Plan. 

The Downtown Development Plan states that Downtown Campbell is the “historic, cultural, and civic center of the City.”  “The objective for Downtown is to have a vibrant community oriented Downtown that serves as the retail, commercial, cultural and historic center of the city.” 

The vision and General Plan for Campbell serves as your compass pointing to true north.  It is with that direction and responsibility that you need to consider the Socialight appeal. 

In order to grant the appeal and approve the permit, you must make two key determinations:

1)  that the project is consistent with Campbell's General Plan and the Downtown Campbell Development Plan and

2)  you can identify special findings that the use will not result in the following: 

• the potential over concentration of similar alcohol establishments in the surrounding area,
  
• the potential to create a nuisance or disturb the neighborhood, and 
• the potential to increase demand on city services

A.  The current uses in the downtown are unbalanced and do not represent a diverse mix as envisioned by the General Plan and Downtown Campbell Development Plan

In the City staff report prepared for the planning commission and included in your report as Attachment 2, staff provided a spreadsheet illustrating that the downtown area currently has 25 approved alcohol-serving establishments.  Within the last year alone, 6 new alcohol licenses have been issued and 2 are pending (for 2 new wine bars).

During public testimony before the planning commission, I provided the commission with data illustrating the current mix of uses in both the downtown area as a whole and for the specific block where the restaurant would be located (see chart 1).  I gathered this data by simply walking East Campbell Ave. and writing down the various uses.

As it currently stands, alcohol service establishments (restaurants, bars and wine bars) are the largest use segment and growing.  One has to wonder whether this trend is consistent with the vision for our downtown?  According to the City’s General Plan and Downtown Development Plan, I suggest that it is not.

To better understand how Campbell compares with other cities, I did a similar survey of two other downtown areas – Los Gatos and Los Altos (see chart 2).  The contrast with Campbell is startling.  Where Campbell has alcohol serving establishments as the majority, those uses in Los Gatos and Los Altos constitute only 18% and 14% of their downtown businesses respectively.  Campbell is clearly an outlier on this issue.

This is not to say that Campbell’s downtown is the same or should be the same as Los Gatos or Los Altos.  Our downtown is unique and special.  Those comparisons are simply data points to help us understand whether or not we have an over concentration problem. 

B.  The profileration of alcohol service establishments has created an ongoing nuisance to the surrounding downtown neighborhoods

It has been well documented at previous planning commission and council meetings that the surrounding residents have been negatively impacted by the steady increase of late night alcohol establishments.  Incidents of public drunkenness, lewd behavior, vomiting, urination and fights are now part of Campbell’s “vibrant” downtown scene. 

These downtown residents have appeared before you many times to submit testimony about these impacts.  I’m sure you will receive more testimony even though some now wonder whether you listen to them at all.  These folks are looking to your leadership to help them, not hurt them.  It’s why they voted for you.  It’s why they put their trust in your hands.

As a former council member, I also understand the pressure you feel to ensure the economic stability of Campbell.  You want to create an environment that attracts businesses.  Residents want that too.  But you cannot attract business at the expense of the residents, nor at the expense of Campbell’s vision and General Plan.  It’s your legal obligation to follow the General Plan.

You also have the power to make a decision next Tuesday night.  You do not need endless study session after study session in order to consider what to do.  The answer is clear – it just takes clarity of thought, reason and courage.

If you deny this appeal, you will not be treating the applicant unfairly.  Mr. Bonner is free to open a restaurant that serves alcohol, stays open until 11:00 p.m. and provides live entertainment.  He does not need a conditional use permit to do so.  Other successful restaurants in the downtown, like Naschmarkt, operate under a similar model.

The planning commission tried to provide this option to Mr. Bonner but he was adamant about keeping a bar because it was part of his concept.  Now, he claims that he needs the bar to prepare coffee and smoothies.  This is a bogus and desperate attempt to save his bar.

In summary, please consider all of the facts before you, ask the difficult questions and come to the one logical conclusion consistent with Campbell’s vision and General Plan -- deny the Socialight appeal.