The Situation
The Management of San Jose Skate operates under a short-term building lease from the land owners. Without a long-term lease, they have been unable to justify investing in improvements that would better the facility and improve business. The land owners were gifted this property over a decade ago by the original owners of Aloha, but have no interest in the world of roller skating. The land owners have been looking to sell the property for quite a while and now they have found a potential buyer with Charities Housing. Charities Housing will purchase the land to build a 152-unit low-income studio complex if they are able to get city council to approve that the land be rezoned from commercial use to residential use. There has been one community meeting. The date for the public hearing for the rezoning has not yet been set, but should be within the next two months.
While we support the mission of Charities Housing, we feel there are other opportunities to develop that would not involve tearing down this cherished San Jose institution.
What You Can Do Help
1. Contact Your City Council
• Go to this link and input your address to determine your district: http://eservices.sccgov.org/district/prepare.do?action=begin
• Go to this link to find the contact information for the city Councilperson assigned to your district: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/council.asp
• Contact them! Here is a letter than you can forward to your Councilperson. Feel free to edit it and personalize it.
• Don’t live in San Jose but still want to offer your support? Email your letter to lizapalooza@svrollergirls.com and we will include it in the file presented to City Council.Dear Councilman/Councilwoman ______________,
I am contacting you to ask your assistance in a matter that is very important to me. I would like your support in preserving San Jose Skate, 397 Blossom Hill Road, which is currently up for rezoning to residential use to build low income studios in its place. The roller rink at San Jose Skate has been providing the community with safe, affordable family fun for over 30 years.
I feel that rezoning this property would be a detriment for the neighborhood, because this studio complex project that Charities Housing is proposing would not be paying full property taxes, would not have sufficient parking for its residence, would significantly increase foot traffic in an already congested neighborhood, and add to a severe traffic problem surrounding getting onto Highway 85 at Blossom Hill.
I feel that the property holds a greater value to the community as a roller rink since it serves as family friendly entertainment for all ages, is one of the few
indoor exercise facilities for children, provides teens with a safe place to socialize, and is home to the Silicon Valley Roller Girls, our local women’s flat-track roller derby league. Given the dearth of affordable indoor recreational facilities in San Jose, the closing of San Jose Skate would be detrimental not just to the neighborhood, but to the city as a whole.
Please consider voting NO on the rezoning of this property. Thank you!
A Concerned Citizen,
Name
Address
2. Sign The Petition
You can find physical copies of the petition to sign at San Jose Skate or any SVRG event. If you can’t get to one of these locations, then you can sign the petition online at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sanjoseskate/. This petition will be added to the city planner’s project file which will be presented to the City Council. It will also be presented to the land owners as a plea for them to keep the rink and enter into a long-term lease with San Jose Skate management or to sell the property to a party interested in preserving it as a roller rink.
3. Attend the Public Hearing
The date has not been set, but you can keep track of coming events on our blog at http://saveourrink.blogspot.com for more information.
4. Spread The Word
Forward this information to your friends and family and ask them to get involved too. It only takes a moment!
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