Home > Get Involved > Outings Program > Urban Outings > Self-Guided Urban Outings > Mountain View Smart Growth Tour

Mountain View Smart Growth Tour

Mountain View began as a 19th century settlement of fruit farmers whose produce was carried by rail to San Francisco or San Jose, or via barge across the bay. A main street commercial area grew up on Castro Street between the rail line and El Camino Real. Then, in 1955, the first semiconductor company opened in Mountain View and the Silicon Valley era commenced.

The resident population in 2003 is estimated to be around 72,200, but the daytime population swells to over 100,000. As in most of the county, there are significantly more jobs here than employed residents. According to the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, "Santa Clara County faces a jobs/housing imbalance that threatens our economic vitality and quality of life." A 1999 report says that if current building patterns are followed in the next 20 years, one third to one half of the workers in the Silicon Valley will be forced to commute from elsewhere.¹ However, by modestly increasing overall densities—through strategies such as encouraging "granny flats" (second units) and adding higher density buildings in downtowns and along major transit corridors—almost all (76-99%) of projected housing needs in Silicon Valley could be met over the next 20 years.

The housing density in Mountain View of around 12 units per acre is one of the highest in the Bay Area outside San Francisco, and the city is unusual in having far more multifamily units than single family detached homes. Mountain View has also taken a very active role to encourage infill housing in its Specific Plans for San Antonio Station, The Evelyn Avenue Corridor, Whisman, and California/Ortega.

Affordability of housing in the communities of Silicon Valley is also a very important issue as many of the teachers, firefighters, and other service sector employees cannot afford to live in the area. To increase the amount of affordable housing in the city, Mountain View adopted an inclusionary zoning ordinance in 1999. This will be discussed in greater detail along the tour route.

Print-Friendly Version

The Tour

The Crossings at San Antonio Station Mountain View Transit Hub Classics on the Square Castro Street Bryant Street New Development Park Place Redwood Vista Whisman

The Tour

Click on the map to see a larger map:

Start at the Caltrain San Antonio Station stop on Showers Drive about 4 blocks from Camino Real. Please check the CalTrain website for schedule information at www.caltrain.com. By car, Showers Drive is off El Camino Real along the San Antonio Shopping Center—just continue on until it curves along the railroad tracks. Once at the San Antonio Station, turn to the west (away from the station and toward the hills) to start the tour.

1. THE CROSSINGS AT SAN ANTONIO STATION

This is a mixed-use project across the street from the transportation hub and within walking distance to shopping, designed with the New Urbanist model in mind. (Mixed use means that multiple uses, such as commercial, offices, and housing, are included in one development.) For more information on New Urbanism, go to www.cnu.org)

Developer: TPG
Designer: Calthorpe Associates
Developed between 1994 and 1999 on the site of a failed shopping center.

This is an excellent project with which to start a tour of infill housing developments, because of the rich variety of housing offered here. There are 102 small-lot single family units (furthest from the station), 30 townhouses, 99 rowhouses, and 128 podium condominiums (the building closest to the station that has both resident and commuter parking below). The development also includes a salon and a café. The density of the housing units ranges from 11 per acre to 70 per acre with an average density of 22-23 per acre. The Crossings includes 7.5 acres of attractive parks and squares throughout the development.

A stroll through this "village" illustrates many of the characteristics identified by designers and urban planners as creating livable communities: front porches on the public side, many with chairs on them; gathering places for groups of people (the gazebo and the playground); a pleasing variety of landscaping elements surrounding the pedestrian-friendly main circulation paths; sidewalks with landscaped borders between walk and curb; and a variety of "traditional" small-scale architectural elements that make this community feel comfortable and inviting. The bay windows, dormers, and window boxes add to the cozy feeling of this relatively dense project.

Once at the station, take a left and walk so the Crossings are on your right hand side. Cross the street at Pachetti noticing the salon and café, then take a right, walking along the front of the taller condo building. At the corner, take a left on San Antonio Place. As you walk, look for the parking garage underneath. Turn left on the path through a trellis just past the building; when you reach the open space, follow the path off to the right until you reach the circular minipark with two mature redwoods in the center.

The rowhouses here have a nice feel of an older city, almost European. Turn right here on Pachetti and note there is a supermarket to the right and a big shopping center ahead (with another supermarket). Turn left on Freedom and walk to the gazebo in the square faced by small lot single family homes. Take the street from the far corner of the square just past the gazebo (Laurel) to the triangular playground park; turn left and then right at the next street, Sondgroth, and left at Showers to take a look at the front of the townhouses on Showers; then turn around and return on the same street into the Crossings again, noting the garage alley behind the townhouses; continue on Sondgroth to Beacon, turn right and then take the pathway between buildings back to the station.

Food for thought: Where are the cars? Can you guess how many this project can accommodate? How are they kept out of the "front" spaces in the project and does this have a positive effect on how it feels to be here?

Get back on the train and ride one more stop south to the downtown Mountain View Station (or drive to the station area on Evelyn between Castro and Calderon). Get off at this transportation hub, completed in 2000. The train trip takes only about 3 minutes and trains run every half hour on weekdays. VTA Route 35 buses also run down California St. (on the opposite side of the Crossings from the railroad station going toward downtown Mountain View).Check www.transitinfo.org for details.

2. MOUNTAIN VIEW TRANSIT HUB

The opening of VTA light rail service, completion of a bus terminal, and renovation of the Caltrain station has created an important multi-modal transit center in downtown Mountain View. Along with the revitalization of the Castro main street area, this transit center is helping promote the City's plans for converting some former railroad-oriented commercial sites to residential and other new uses. Its proximity to the downtown makes the shops, restaurants and housing in this area easily accessible to everyone.

At the station, find the Mountain View Station sign at the beginning of the parking lot on Evelyn and View Street. Cross at the crosswalk to the other side of Evelyn and turn left. The Classics on the Square will be on your right hand side. Continue touring the Classics by turning right on Bush Street; then right on Villa Street. Feel free to walk inside the development to get a better look.

3. CLASSICS ON THE SQUARE

Developer: Classic Communities.
Built in 1997.
This successful development directly in front of the station is a superb example of relatively higher-density, small lot, single-family houses. It was developed under the city's Evelyn Avenue Corridor Precise Plan—a detailed plan made by the city to guide development in desired directions. The 33 units on over two acres yield a density of 15 units/acre—not quite as dense as The Crossings but a far more efficient use of land than the 5-7 units/acre in an average suburban development. Classics Communities successfully developed the nearby 34-unit single family bungalow project on the other side of Villa in 1995 (Classics of Old Town at 11 units/acre). They subsequently built higher density condominiums on the other side of Castro Street—44 units on one acre at Bryant and Evelyn. The "Square" units were snapped up by lottery before they were built: there were 100 potential buyers for the 33 units in the project. Obviously the proximity to Castro Street and the transit center were major selling points. The site was formerly a lumber milling site that did not have any toxic contamination.

Two things make this project particularly successful: the first is that the plan for a broad thoroughfare through the site was scrapped in favor of an s-curve on Evelyn Street which slowed and/or diverted traffic, and the second is that two alleys run through the site to accommodate the garages and services at the back of the houses. This arrangement frees the central corridor for a pedestrian zone.

Food for thought: Visualize a typical suburban neighborhood with 1/3 to 1/2 as many homes on the same amount of land. How does this community feel in comparison to a standard suburban street?

Walk north (i.e. with the railway tracks to your right) on Villa a few blocks to Castro Street.

4. CASTRO STREET

Revitalized in the years leading up to 1990, the historic main street of Mountain View has more than 50 restaurants as well as retail and service shops. It has seen a major resurgence in business since these efforts were made.

The city also built a very handsome new Civic Center designed by William Turnbull Architects (now Turnbull, Griffin, Haeslop Architects); it contains not just the city hall but also a theatre. The Civic Center is a few blocks up Castro at Latham Street.

One key to the success of this street is its pedestrian-friendly features, completed in 1990. Curb parking provides a buffer between pedestrians and cars. Other parking is largely removed from the street in lots behind the stores. Furthermore, the street has been designed to slow down or "calm" traffic, making the area very comfortable for pedestrians; crosswalks have design features to make crossing the street safer. An unusual feature for California is the shop-lined passageways running perpendicular to Castro Street through the block at intervals, making it very easy to walk from the hidden parking lots to the main shopping street.

Food for thought: There are also other characteristics that make Castro Street a pleasant place to be. How many others can you name?

5. BRYANT STREET NEW DEVELOPMENT

Continue across Castro on Villa to Bryant Street and then turn right on Bryant. In the 100 block is the development built by Classic Communities in 2000, mentioned above.

Turn around and walk the other direction on Bryant Street (west, or away from the tracks). There is a development of 20 high-end townhouses in the 200 block of Bryant at the corner of Villa at a density of 38 units/acre. In the 900 block of Dana at the corner of Bryant is another new development of 8 townhouses at 30/acre. Bryant Gardens at 364 Bryant has 20 condos at 38 units/acre. These projects indicate the success of the city's planning efforts in encouraging more housing close to shopping and transit, which has been popular with homebuyers.

In 1999, Mountain View adopted an inclusionary zoning ordinance to increase the amount of affordable housing in the city. The ordinance requires that in new housing developments with 5 or more rental units, or 3 or more ownership units, 10% of the units must be affordable to households earning 50-80% of the area median income. These Bryant Street developments were approved before the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance for affordable housing units went into effect, so are all market-rate.

Under the ordinance, developers in most cases can opt out of building the affordable units by instead paying an in-lieu fee to the city¹s affordable housing fund. As of September 2005, the City has collected $2.4 million in in-lieu fees. The in-lieu fees have been used to help subsidize housing projects such as San Antonio Place (118 efficiency studio apartments, scheduled for completion in January 2006, that will be affordable to persons earning 15% to 45% of the area median income). The fees have also been used to help fund a transitional house (temporary housing and supportive services for individuals moving from homelessness into permanent housing), and to provide 27 first-time homebuyers with loans.

As of September 2005, only four affordable units have been included in developments under the ordinance. Most developers have opted to pay the in-lieu fee instead, because the fee is lower than the cost of building a unit. Members of the public, community groups, and the City Council have indicated a desire for more affordable homes to be built in Mountain View. The Environmental Planning Commission has suggested eliminating in-lieu fees so that developers must build the affordable units. Mountain View¹s policy may be revised in the future.

Food for thought: How does nearby housing benefit a commercial corridor and vice-versa? Would you like to live in an area like this? Why or why not? What do you think a good inclusionary zoning ordinance would look like?

Continue walking up Bryant (West) until you reach Mercy Street where the Civic Center begins. Take a left on Mercy and then a right to get back onto Castro Street. You will pass the new Civic Center on your right and Kaiser Hospital on your left as you walk up Castro Street. Just after crossing Church Street there is a mixed-use project on your right hand side. The first building consists of retail with office space above and the second building has retail with housing units above. This is Park Place.

6. PARK PLACE

The rear of the block is called Park Place and has 370 units, or 50/acre. The front portion, called Park Place South, has two projects: the first is office over retail and the second is apartments over retail, 120 units. This is a good example of mixed-use development and was built just a few years ago, in contrast to the Park Place development in the rear that was built previously and has only residential units. Such mixed use means more efficient use of land and greater convenience for residents, who need fewer car trips when they utilize services in the building.

Take a right on High School Street and then either take a right on one of the paths leading through the complex or a right when you reach Franklin Street. Continue going straight until you reach Church Street again where you will go right. Once at Castro Street cross over to the other side of the street and turn left heading back toward the Station.

Cross California Street and turn right. Cross Hope Street and then turn left; on your right, you will find Redwood Vista at 375-397 Hope Street.

7. REDWOOD VISTA

These twelve units, completed in 1996, sit on two single-family lots. Billed as luxury townhouses, they preserve two handsome heritage trees, a live oak and a redwood. The graceful, curved stucco wall at the street edge is high at one end and gradually drops in height. Punctured by a transparent gate, this wall provides both a visual connection to the street and some privacy from it.

These apartments are only one block from downtown and the aforementioned, revitalized Castro Street. This project fits in well with the existing neighborhood of older single family homes; at first glance, in fact, it is not discernible that this is a multi-unit building. The project's design is an interesting one with interlocking 1-floor and 2-floor homes in one unit and 2-floor and 3-floor homes in the other.

Infill developments such as the Crossings, Classics on the Square, Park Place, the new developments on Bryant and Redwood Vista not only provide a land-conserving alternative to the sprawl that destroys open space but also provide transportation options other than constant use of the automobile (walking to shopping, taking transit to jobs). This helps reduce congestion, air pollution and the wasted time of being stuck in traffic for long periods. However, infill developments often face heavy opposition from neighbors—unlike sprawl projects on open space where there are few nearby residents. It is thus important for communities to develop a process that addresses community concerns but makes it possible to build well-designed infill projects in appropriate locations.

Food for thought: How would you feel about having this development on your block? If you lived here would you walk to Castro Street?

Continue down Hope St. to Evelyn and right to the transit Center. This time instead of taking Caltrain, cross to the other side, following the signs, to take the VTA light rail. Take the light rail train two stops (about 4 minutes) southeast to Whisman.

8. WHISMAN

Here is another infill housing site that was completed in 2001. It surrounds both sides of a relatively new light rail stop just minutes from downtown Mountain View. Built under a Precise Plan to redevelop just over 40 acres on land no longer needed by GTE, it was developed by Castle Group, Kaufman & Broad and Shea Homes. The majority of the 525 homes are complete and include medium lot single family, small lot single family, low density townhouses and high density townhouses as well as two public parks. The original plans called for higher density but community opposition forced a scaling back; nevertheless, at just over 13 units/acre, the project is much more conserving of land than sprawl projects generally built at 5-7 units/acre.

The EPA has been monitoring the soil, which had pesticide use when it was an orchard, and the ground water, which has been contaminated with volatile organic compounds since 1988. This was also a GTE manufacturing facility, which stored and managed hazardous materials used in the manufacturing of electronics and communications equipment for over 40 years. The problems are not serious enough to merit Superfund status, although there is some concern among residents about the monitoring and its implications. Such sites with contamination or potential contamination are called brownfields. Re-use of brownfields often provides valuable space for development in urban areas and helps take pressure off of open space development. However, proper cleanup and monitoring of the site are needed.

The homes are well laid out in neighborhoods that feel well established, in part because of the plantings. Traffic moves slowly through the neighborhoods. Some of the single- family homes have service alleys behind which contain trash receptacles and garages, thereby leaving the front yards and porches for visiting, playing and walking.

Food for thought: What other features do you find which make this neighborhood feel established? What do you think about reusing formerly contaminated land for housing?

You can return on light rail to Castro (downtown Mountain View) and transfer to Caltrain. Thanks for joining us on the tour.

¹ Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and Greenbelt Alliance, Building Sustainable Communities: Housing Solutions for Silicon Valley, 1999.