Council to Discuss BART, CalPERS

San Jose’s City Council will return to session Tuesday and discuss banning polystyrene food containers in the future, development of the west side of San Jose’s airport, construction of a new street for the BART line coming to Berryessa and terminating the mayor and council’s CalPERS contract.

Councilmember Pete Constant suggested the idea to end pensions for the council in a memo in December, and the City Clerk’s office drafted a resolution to follow up on that after a recommendation from the Rules and Open Government Comittee.

City staff recommends a new street called “Berryessa Station Way” be built in the anticipation of BART coming to the east side of San Jose. Improvements will be made to Berryessa Road and Mabury Road as well as Sierra Road and Lundy Avenue. If approved, the agreements will come at no cost to the city, according to the agenda.

Staff also recommends approval of minimum standards for development of the west side of Mineta San José International Airport, but Councilmember Don Rocha wrote a memo suggesting the city delay any decision and give itself more stime to study the issue.

And in an effort to reduce the amount of trash in San Jose, the city may look to follow up on its plastic bag ban by actively supporting a ban on “polystyrene foam food ware,” which are basically to-go containers made out of Styrofoam.

Click Here to Read the City Council Agenda for January 24, 2011.

Josh Koehn is a former managing editor for San Jose Inside and Metro Silicon Valley.

8 Comments

  1. A styrofoam ban is essential and I know that our Saviours Of City Hall will do the right thing. But there’s so much more work to be done. Plastic and styrofoam are good first steps but now it’s time for them to turn their attention to weightier matters.

    Every morning on the radio during the traffic report it seems there’s a warning about a ‘ladder in the roadway’.
    Ladders are a hazard, cause millions of dollars in tire damage, and create great disruptions in the commute environment.
    Ladders are a throwback. They’re obsolete. Haunting reminders of a primitive era when people actually had to leave their chairs in order to earn a living. Society would be better off without these antiquated aluminum contraptions.
    To go after the individuals responsible for dropping ladders off their trucks would unfairly target the working poor and would discriminate against those who were brought up in houeholds without the resources to provide them with a proper education in tying knots. The only fair and compassionate solution is to ban these unneeded causers of vehicular mayhem. The City of San Jose must be a shining example to other cities and lead the way to the promised land- a nation free of the evil scourge of ladders.
    I know the members of our City Council can do it. They were born to accomplish greatness.

  2. HAS ANYONE TRIED TO CONTACT THE CITY OF SAN JOSE THRU THEIR WEBSITE!  WHAT A JOKE, ALL OF THE HOOPS YOU NEED TO GO TROUGH JUST TO GET A NUMBER, NO LESS CONTACT A REAL PERSON.

    MY GOD CHUCK IF YOU WANT TO LAY OFF ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS AT LEAST HIRE SOME FOOL FOR 8.50 AN HOUR WITH NO BENEFITS OR PENSION TO PICK UP A PHONE!

  3. Councilmember Pete Constant suggested the idea to end pensions for the council in a memo in December, and the City Clerk’s office drafted a resolution to follow up on that after a recommendation from the Rules and Open Government Comittee.

    Yes but all of you already make too much money in other areas.  How are you going to hide pensions, heath care, etc. from the public!  You are not going to give up this benefit without hiding it in another secret payout. So much for “sunshine”

    City staff recommends a new street called “Berryessa Station Way” be built in the anticipation of BART coming to the east side of San Jose.

    Why do we need bart in East SJ when 90% will not use it. Except to transport drug dealers to SJ to hook up with VTA to come downtown.

    Staff also recommends approval of minimum standards for development of the west side of Mineta San José International Airport, but Councilmember Don Rocha wrote a memo suggesting the city delay any decision and give itself more stime to study the issue.

    Good call since the majority of land is already sold to the SJ Earthquake property!

    And in an effort to reduce the amount of trash in San Jose, the city may look to follow up on its plastic bag ban by actively supporting a ban on “polystyrene foam food ware,” which are basically to-go containers made out of Styrofoam.

    Guess we bring our own tupper ware bowls to pick up our carry out food.

    This council needs to get their heads out of the sand!

    Forgot it is the pension problem for all of our problems. We are in so need of a new mayor and council how have real ideas to safe this city.

    • same property given to A’s owner at a penny on the dollar.  Hum, bed fellows here!

      Hey chuck what else are you going to give away to Mr. Wolfe?  Buying downtown hotel was a clue, then soccer, now ball park.  Is your name going to be on all?

  4. How about the council oh yeah the same RDA that owes 3.8 BILLION and spending 18 MILLION out of our general fund to pay bills.  (See Sunday Mercury News).

    You make me sick, I never want to hear about pension reform or fiscal emergency again.  What we should hear is RECALL for incompetent Mayor and council.  Your using much needed money to buy up land for a ball park?

    Glad I am moving out of this dump of a city.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *