Have you seen Leo the Greyhound?

Leo the greyhound has gone missing in North Willow Glen. He is wearing a gray "thunder shirt" sweater. Call Chris at 510-593-6078 if you see him. It's cold out and he will be tougher to spot in the dark, so please watch for him.

Last day for holiday lights voting!

Tomorrow is the last day for voting in the holiday lighting contest. You can drop your ballots at 562 Fisk by 8:00 p.m.

Neighborhood holiday party on Sunday

Join us Sunday night starting at 5:30 pm for our annual holiday gathering. It's the start of voting for the holiday lighting contest, too. Come by and share time with neighbors before heading out to check out the lights.

Holiday Party
Lila Kakuk's house
562 Fisk Ave.
Sunday, December 9
5:30-8:00 p.m.

Supervisor Ken Yeager's Dec. 6 newsletter

Topics for this newsletter include:

• Mercury News endorses Yeager proposal for transparency
• Yeager nominated as 2012 board president
• County recognizes CalWorks outstanding clients and partners
• VTA seeks input on possible light rail extension
• Volunteer to serve on a county commission
• Calendar of Events

If you would like to receive this newsletter by email, write to jim.weston@bos.sccgov.org with the subject line "add me to your list."

Street sweeping Friday morning

Our neighborhood's street sweeping day is this Friday. Reminders from the City of San Jose:

• Move vehicles off the street on your sweep day. One parked car equals nearly three car lengths of space that can't be swept because the street sweeper must leave room to avoid it. Visit Vehicle Abatement to report vehicles abandoned for more than 72 hours.
• Fallen leaves collected by the street sweeper end up in the landfill. Consider using them to make compost or as mulch under trees and bushes. Or collect and save them until your next collection day to be turned into compost for City parks.
• Sweep up yard trimmings that remain behind after collection; don't re-pile them. Instead, save them for next week's collection. Street sweepers drive around piles to avoid rocks or other unseen items that can damage their equipment.
• Street sweepers steer clear of low-hanging tree branches to avoid breaking them. Prune tree branches to at least 13 feet above the curb. Call the Street Tree Section at (408) 794-1901 for a free pruning permit for trees growing between the sidewalk and street.

7-Eleven Community Meeting Recap

Thank you to all who attended to community meeting last night. We had a significant turnout - I would estimate 60 people - last night and it was a lively though respectful dialogue between all parties in attendance including the two from Planning for the City of San Jose, two representatives of 7-Eleven, and our District 6 City Councilmember. Neither the store owners themselves (7-Eleven franchisees) nor SJPD were present. A 7-Eleven representative said she did not think to invite the owners. Lack of advance notice was noted by SJPD.

As Councilmember Oliverio noted at the beginning of the meeting, the main issue before Planning is whether or not this business can be open between the hours of midnight and 6am. By right, the owners may keep their business open from 6am to midnight. Among those in attendance from the community, there was solid opposition to the request for hours of operation. Beyond the yes or no vote on the hours, it should be noted that Planning can make other stipulations on their approval for such concerns as security (a big topic last night) and litter abatement. These are the windows of opportunity we have for legally ensuring that the 7-Eleven will be as good a neighbor as possible.

The store does retain the state "Title 21" liquor license previously held by Fairmart. This allows them to sell beer, wine, and liquor whereas "Title 20" restricts to beer and wine. By state law it is not legal to sell alcohol of any type from 2am to 6am. The 7-Eleven representative made it clear that this store intends to sell liquor during store hours to the extent legally allowed. The city does not have the authority to regulate alcohol sales beyond state regulations. However there is some influence SJPD has in the matter.

As a matter of process, this was the only community meeting. Planning will continue to collect input before the matter is brought up to the Planning Commission. The Conditional Use Permit is expected to be brought before the Planning Commission in late January or early February. At that point there will be the opportunity for further input as to whether or not the hours should be allowed and if so, under what conditions.

Contact information for officials seeking feedback is as follows:

Aparna Ankola
Planning, Building, & Code Enforcement
Planner II
aparna.ankola@sanjoseca.gov

Sgt. Todd Trayer #3301
San Jose Police Department
Office of the Chief
Special Investigations Unit- Vice
408-277-4322
todd.trayer@sanjoseca.gov

Provide SJPD with Input on 7-11 Hours

If you have sent your concerns over the hours of 7-11 at Bird and Virginia to Planning or your City Councilman, please forward those to SJPD Sgt. Todd Trayer. He has a lot of experience in our neighborhood and he is also concerned about the hours at this location.

An NWGNA representative has spoken with him this morning and he hasn't received any other input on the subject so it is important that we provide our points of view. The three concerns discussed with him were potential increases in litter, graffiti, and drinking in Fuller Park.

SJPD does not make the final decision but they will be advising Planning on what allowances or restrictions may be placed on 7-11. Sgt. Trayer had some good ideas about what to recommend, but would like to hear from others as well.

Tonight's public meeting is at the Gardner Community Center at 6:30pm. We hope to see you there.

Holiday decorating postponed

The rain is coming down steadily right now, so we will reschedule the neighborhood decorating for a later date. Stay dry!

Three important reminders!

Neighborhood decorating is Sunday morning, 9 am (more information)

Holiday trees and wreaths will be ready for pick up this Sunday between 9 am and 4 pm at 1023 Bird Avenue.

Community meeting about potentially increasing hours of alcohol sale at new 7-11
more information