San Jose Light Tower project finding a new direction

The San Jose City Council is poised to soon give its blessing to a site for the San Jose Light Tower project, but a lot about the proposal to create a new city landmark has changed since its inception last year.

To begin with, it’s probably not going to be a “light tower” anymore — and certainly won’t be a modern replica of the iconic San Jose structure that straddled a downtown intersection between 1881 and 1915. After rounds of presentations and meetings, the main leaders of the San Jose Light Tower Corp. — Jon Ball and Steve Borkenhagen — conceded that a new version of the electric tower was popular with history buffs but not with city officials or potential donors.

But creating a landmark structure was attractive, so that’s become the focus (and yes, a name change for the nonprofit group is in the works as well). After a survey of seven potential downtown sites was conducted by architectural design firm Steinberg Hart, the Arena Green area of the Guadalupe River Park near SAP Center, rose to the top because of its available space and accessibility.

There are some issues with the site, including a lot of aircraft noise and an airport-related height restriction that would keep any structure to a maximum of 115 to 220 feet, depending on where it was in the park. The Confluence Point area, the Five Skaters tribute and the Sons of San Jose Vietnam War Memorial would all be preserved, but that still leaves a potential of 420,000 square feet for the project.

Once the city council approves a site, the next step would be an international “ideas” competition open to anyone as a precursor to creating an actual design. Borkenhagen has said the limitations of the site obviously would influence the design, so height may be less of a factor in a place like Arena Green.

The project has, however, drawn the notice of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, which sent an email to its members with its concerns about the project’s lack of public input in the design process and its potentially harmful effects on the Guadalupe River area’s environment, including bright lights disrupting wildlife. (Coincidentally, the original light tower was said to have stopped chickens from laying eggs in Los Gatos because of its unnatural nighttime light.)

Some of these points are addressed in Steinberg Hart’s site survey report, which has the project area well set back from the river. The report also notes that there could be effects to the riparian corridor’s population of endangered species and other wildlife if the project exceeds its boundaries. Outreach was also made to get input from both the Lick Observatory for light concerns and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which is supposed to have its eyes on the waterways.

Some of the Sierra Club’s concerns are premature since there isn’t a design yet to judge and it’s not even clear if illumination still will be a primary feature. It’s also important to note that this really isn’t a city project: Like the Rotary Playgarden elsewhere in the Guadalupe River Park, this landmark structure is being funded and built privately and will be gifted to the city. The city is involved and informed, but isn’t running this show.

The City Council has the item on its agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, but in light of the concerns of the Sierra Club and others, the San Jose Light Tower Corp. asked the council to push back consideration until Jan. 29 so it can continue outreach to community groups.

That makes sense. Because it is headed for public land, it’s absolutely necessary that the project be designed to work as part of Arena Green and with its surrounding environment in mind — and it’ll need lots of buy in. After all, if we’re creating an icon for San Jose, it needs to reflect our values as a community.

SANTA SUNDAY IN SAN JOSE: The seventh annual Santa Run Silicon Valley will hit the streets of San Jose at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation’s 5K run again supporting Christmas in the Park, Downtown Ice and Reading Partners. Of course, the biggest delight will be seeing the expected 4,000 runners — dressed in Santa outfits or other holiday-themed gear — chasing after a pace car carrying the Grinch (once again played by Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone). As usual, there will be milk and cookies at the finish line at Christmas in the Park.

There’s also a Reindeer Run at 2:30 p.m. for kids ages 2 to 7, and participants are encouraged to bring new or very gently used children’s books to donate to Reading Partners. Register for either run at www.santarunsv.com.

And while it’s not connected to the Santa Run, the SantaCon San Jose pub crawl will provide some post-race activity for Santas aged 21-and-up. It gets moving at 4 p.m. at Camino Brewing with later stops at Uproar Brewing, Continental Bar and Britannia Arms. Just remember to be safe and have a designated reindeer.

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