Community News

Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group

Community Meeting 3/18/99

For those who were unable to attend the meeting last night, the Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group was able to bring some qualified good news back to the community.

First, although Lucky's has been saying for many months that Smart & Final or Bon Fare (convenience store) were the only food tenants that would be considered at Plaza de Santa Teresa, after meeting with members of the Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group, Lucky's has agreed to modify the "Food Exclusive" they hold for Plaza de Santa Teresa and will now allow a specialty-type food tenant. Trader Joe's is the name being mentioned by many neighbors (see the Lucky's Survey).

The Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group has had numerous contacts with the Vice President of Trader Joe's, Mr. Leroy Watson, to discuss whether he would be interested in opening a store in our community. STCAG has arranged a site visit with Mr. Watson for the week of April 5, and will keep you apprised of progress as it occurs. Please contact Mr. Watson to inform him of the tremendous community support his store would enjoy in our neighborhood:

Please pass this on to your neighbors. We want Trader Joe's to know what a great opportunity this is for them. A sample letter can be downloaded; just print, sign, and mail, or use your own words.

In other Center issues, Ms. Vivian Frelix-Hart, our City Homeless Coordinator, was able to assist the transient residents of the Center to relocate to safe and warm homeless shelters.

Some cleanup of the Plaza has been completed, including pressure washing the tile roof, removing the grass growing in the rain gutters, and cleaning the back alley. Also, some paint patching and graffiti removal has been done.

Although this represents some progress, major issues still remain, notably pigeon removal, pigeon-waste cleanup, and landscaping. Additional waste receptacles are needed in the Center.

We will hope that Lucky's and Duckett-Wilson will be able to report closure in these areas before our next Community Meeting, when we will also discuss the various other community development issues pending in our neighborhood, including Calpine power plant, Cisco campus, airport expansion (flight path), water table contamination, etc.

Please plan to attend. We cannot assume that others are making good decisions for our neighborhood. We will share the information we have gathered so that all neighbors will know the important facts and be able to make informed decisions about pending issues. Please keep checking the neighborhood web sites for changes and updates on these issues.

Thank you for your support. Together we can make a difference.

Elizabeth Cord
Santa Teresa Citizen Action Group