Letter: Woodside not appropriate for Scotts Valley

EDITOR,
A few weeks ago, I came out of retirement, so to speak, to talk to the City Council about the Woodside project proposed for Scotts Valley Drive.
In serving on the City Council from 2000 to 2008 and on the planning commission for years before that, I have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of development projects proposed in Scotts Valley. Out of all those projects stretching back to the mid-1990s, I’ve never seen one that is as out of step with Scotts Valley’s longstanding, commonsense building practices as the Woodside project.
One of my favorite sayings is, “It’s too much on too little.” And that’s the bottom line here. From a homeowner’s standpoint, I’m sure the developer can find some people to buy into it, but I don’t think they’re going to want to stay there very long. Woodside has no yards, and there’s no privacy, because it jams a whole bunch of people into a small little area. There’s not even parking on the streets or in driveways (because there are no driveways) — the parking is off to the side, and much of that parking has to be shared with commercial buildings. And there are no sidewalks along the streets.
This project also doesn’t clean up the slopes at the back of the parcel, which is all part of the improvements that city policy has called for since long before I got on the council. There was a park area in an early version of the plan, and then, all of a sudden, there’s now parking in the park area, but the parking is still inadequate according the city’s police chief, who is opposed to the project.
The list of shortfalls with this project goes on and on, but its problems can be summed up by saying, “Too much on too little.” This kind of extreme density may work for over the hill, but it is not appropriate for Scotts Valley.
Cliff Barrett, Scotts Valley