SAN JOSE — It’s been called transformative. Catalytic. A game-changer. So why did veteran Councilman Donald Rocha vote against a plan to negotiate with Google to sell 16 pieces of land…
SAN JOSE — It’s been called transformative. Catalytic. A game-changer.
So why did veteran Councilman Donald Rocha vote against a plan to negotiate with Google to sell 16 pieces of land near the Diridon station for a mega tech campus? The project’s expected to bring 20,000 new jobs, 2,500 housing units and between 6 million and 8 million square feet of office space near multiple transit lines and the SAP Center.
“I never questioned Google, ” said Rocha, who cast the lone dissenting vote at a council meeting earlier this week. “I questioned the council direction.”
The council was asked to enter into exclusive negotiations to sell the publicly-owned land to the search giant. But Rocha said he was concerned about a line in the agreement that allows City Manager Norberto Dueñas to extend the one-year negotiation period by an additional year — without bringing it back to the City Council or the public for discussion.
“I think that authority should lie with the council — not with a staff decision, ” said Rocha, who’s running for county supervisor when he terms out next year. “That’s two years that it won’ t come to the City Council, unless it’s in closed session. These are public lands and something of that importance, the council should make the determination.”
Rocha also said he was “surprised and disappointed” that the city failed to take steps to ensure Google would increase affordable housing and minimize displacement of residents and small businesses. In a memo, Councilman Sergio Jimenez requested that those ideas help guide the negotiation process, but that wasn’ t included in Tuesday’s approval.
Some wonder whether Rocha’s bold move — being the lone politician who said “no” to Google — could hurt his campaign prospects. Political expert Larry Gerston said it’s too soon to say, but believes Rocha certainly set himself apart from the pack.
“You become a talking point and there’s something you stand for, ” Gerston said. “The more people there are in a race, the harder it is to separate yourself. Now the voters are talking about him.”
Gerston also said Rocha’s stand could be seen as “heroic” among those who think Google will worsen traffic, housing shortages and gentrification in a region that’s already one of the most expensive in the world.
“Many people celebrate this as turning a page for the city, ” Gerston said, “but there will be to those who look down at the proposed development as yet another unwanted burden in a city that may be losing sight of its path all too quickly.”
