At its Tuesday meeting the Campbell City Council unanimously approved the annexation of Cambrian 36, a pocket of county land sandwiched between the cities of Campbell and San Jose that includes about 330 property owners.
The resolution was moved by Vice Mayor Evan Low and seconded by Councilmember Jeffrey Cristina. Council members Jason Baker, Rich Waterman, and Mayor Michael Kotowski quickly voted yes.
Tuesday’s vote brings to an end a nearly seven-year saga that began when the city of San Jose announced its intentions of annexing the pocket of land between the two cities. An emotional battle between the 330 property owners and San Jose came to a head when the city of Campbell offered to purchase the land.
Tuesday’s vote authorized the start of a lengthy process of paperwork that city and county staff will work through during the next several months with a target date of May 1, 2013 for completion.
Before the vote, Kotowski acknowledged that getting to the annexation vote was a long and complicated government and regulatory process that he described as a “good example of your local government at work.”
Low agreed, adding that it’s important that all the annexation paperwork be completed correctly and in a timely manner, because it’s one of the most important issues that Campbell has faced in many years. “We’ve come this long way and we want to make sure we’re doing it right because there are a lot of moving pieces, he said.
Low also acknowledged and thanked a number of local students and members of the affected neighborhood associations who came to the meeting to witness the vote.
During the public comment Tom Davis, Vice-President of the Campbell Village Neighborhood Association, thanked the council for its vote. “It’s great that the Campbell city council has been able to be so supportive on this. In our seventh year on this quest, we feel it will be well worth it.”
No one at the meeting expressed any opposition to the vote.
Here are major highlights of the annexation of the Cambrian 36 process:
- Campbell will be paying a guaranteed base sum of $199,000 for five years.
- If at any point between the five year calculation point does the hotel at 1300 Camden Ave. or the gas station at 1370 Camden Ave. cease to operate or otherwise stop generating tax revenue, a revised calculation will be performed no later than the end of the fiscal year and an adjustment to the base payment will be made.
- If any new business opens up after the fact and generates more than $50,000 in tax revenue, a revision to the base payment will be made.
- Over a period of 40 years, the city of Campbell estimates it will perform at least two street maintenance to the area and will cost approximately $3.3 million. Because of this, the city will be entitled to a credit from the city of San Jose, starting in 2021 of $30,000 and increasing to $40,000 in 2031 and $50,00 in 2041.
- The process to purchase Cambrian 36 will be final in 40 years.
To read more about Cambrian 36 and its annexation, click here.
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