63rd Annual Pet Parade
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Family Fun, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Pet Parade, Quality of Life
Well it was certainly one of the best Pet Parades in a long time, and pristine weather to boot. We surely enjoyed the riding on the Mayor’s car, with our Chocolate Lab … Coco. There were hundreds of people lining the street, and even more in the parade. This is one of those Mayberry moments. Truly a slice of mom and apple pie.
Below are highlights from a recent article in the Los Altos Town Crier …
Creatures of the world united in downtown Los Altos Saturday as thousands of them – two-legged, four-legged, eight-legged, no-legged and winged – thronged Main and State streets for the 63rd annual Kiwanis Club Pet Parade.
It was as if a huge pet store came alive, with families and their pets showing off one another on the sunny spring morning. Animals of all shapes and sizes walked, trotted, wheeled and slithered as visitors – local and out-of-towners – lined the streets, cheering, waving and clapping.
From the tiniest hermit crabs and furry spiders to lean greyhounds and majestic horses, visitors got their fill of the domesticated wildlife.
Not all pets wanted to march, however.
Tucker, a 4-year-old Golden Retriever, sat patiently, tail wagging and tongue lolling, while his master, Spencer Richmond, 8, watched the parade from the sidelines.
The canines stole the show – with a variety of popular breeds represented, including pocket Chihuahuas, rambunctious Terriers and Pomeranians, frisky Golden and Labrador Retrievers, staid St. Bernards, stately Greyhounds, German Shepherds, Pugs and Dachshunds.
Spectators enjoyed the procession of guinea pigs, cats, goats, rabbits, chickens, lizards, rats and canaries.
To the delight of onlookers, many owners outfitted their pets in cute and clever costumes. They paraded their pets in decorated baskets, wagons, strollers and cages. Some dogs wore outfits to match their owners’, while others sat daintily in their owners’ pockets watching curiously.
Lively, foot-tapping tunes from the South Bay Jazz Society, performing in its horse-drawn wagon, and Ye Olde Towne Band, playing from its motorized gazebo bandstand, provided the soundtrack, entertaining participants and onlookers alike.
Approximately 5,000 people attended, according to Lucy Carlton, parade director and former Los Altos police chief. “Everyone has a great time,” Carlton said. “That’s what community is all about.”
Packard Foundation Plans Eco-friendly Expansion
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Enviromental, Green Building, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Packard Foundation
With conservation one of their chief concerns, officials with the Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation are taking great care to lead by example with plans for their new 45,000-square-foot office building on Second Street.
The two-story building, across from the current headquarters at 300 Second St., will employ an extreme-green philosophy, featuring net-zero energy efficiency. The goal, according to foundation president Carol Larson and vice president Chris DeCardy, is a building as environmentally friendly as possible – right down to rainwater runoff from the building that would water plants rather than spill into the street. Larson said 95 percent of the existing buildings’ materials would be recycled.
“We’re helping (the downtown) with this new building,” DeCardy said.
Added Larson: “We want it to be a place for the future while fitting into the past.”
Packard officials hope to receive city go-ahead by midyear and break ground by December. They said they anticipate the new building would be open for business by summer 2012.
Since the Packard board of directors decided to move forward with the building last December, Larson, DeCardy and other Packard officials have held meetings with city leaders and the public to tout their building’s benefits. The latest was a Community Conversation with members of the general public, scheduled March 9 at foundation headquarters.
Construction is likely to be painstaking, given Packard’s ambitious goals in creating a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certified building, the highest possible green certification. Larson said plans call for smaller offices and more “common space.”
“We’re driving our employees to be in better contact with each other,” Larson said.
Meeting space, videoconferencing and high-tech improvements also will be among the features.
The new building, designed to accommodate the foundation over the next 40 years, has capacity for 124 employees, Larson said, although she imagines the foundation will not need that many. The 45-year-old foundation, active in 10 countries and focused on some of the planet’s most pressing problems, currently has 100 employees.
To make way for the new building, the
existing buildings on Packard-owned land bordered by Whitney and Second streets and San Antonio Road will be deconstructed, Larson and DeCardy said, further reflecting the green approach. Instead of demolition, Packard will have crews tear down the old buildings piece by piece. Deconstruction could start as soon as this month, they said.
Larson emphasized Packard’s commitment to staying in Los Altos and that the foundation is proud to call it home.
“People are proud of it being here, and we’re grateful for that,” she said. “We want Los Altos to continue being the exemplary community it already is.”
Note: This is a slightly edited version of a recent article featured in the Los Altos Town Crier.
Changes for Downtown – zoning & more
Filed under Blog · Tagged: City Council, Downtown, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Quality of Life
Over the past six years, we have seen at least three cycles run through our core Downtown business. However, one thing has remained rather stagnant: the look and feel of Downtown. It appears that changes are afoot.
During the last couple of years, the City has been striving towards a common goal of incentivizing investments in Downtown. Yes, there were some constraints inhibiting progress. However, the City has been working towards identifying opportunities, and is ready to invest in a number of projects itself.
Below are highlights from a recent article, which covered the changes …
Downtown zoning underwent significant changes following a Feb. 9 Los Altos City Council action. The changes will pave the way for taller buildings with mixed uses along the downtown perimeter.
The bulk of the rezoning changes, unanimously approved after a lengthy public hearing, apply to First Street. Although the Safeway and Draeger’s Market properties and the city-owned plot at First and Main streets will retain a Commercial Retail Sales (CRS) zoning, most of the street is rezoned to permit office and residential uses. CRS zoning, with its two-story, 30-foot maximum, remains prevalent throughout the retail core of Main and State streets.
Coupled with last week’s approval of streetscape plans for First Street and San Antonio Road, the changes have the clear intent to attract more development – and people – to downtown.
The streetscape project, which addresses improvements to sidewalks and landscaping, also includes undergrounding utilities through a partnership with PG&E. The utility is scheduled to work on First between Edith and Main this summer.
The changes, a combination of recommendations from the Downtown Development Committee and the city’s planning commission, become effective 30 days after the second reading of the zoning amendment.
The committee’s recommendations for First included extending the commercial/retail zone along First between Safeway and Draeger’s, allowing residential units on first floors from Main to San Antonio and raising the building height limit to 45 feet.
Approximately 30 people, including downtown property and business owners, members of the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, members of the Los Altos Village Association and residents, attended the hearing, primarily offering their support for the zoning changes.
A Vision for Downtown Los Altos
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Housing, Los Altos, Quality of Life, Strategic Planning
It’s quaint. It’s has something for everyone. More importantly, it is treasured by the whole community. From the restaurants, to the retail stores, to the many personal services available, there are a number of wonderful experiences to be had.
So how do you improve upon a treasured asset? By being careful, inclusive, and strategic.
There were a variety of community outreach meetings, between July and September, which resulted in a diversity of participants providing consistent comments about the need to allow the Downtown to become more vibrant and active with a mix of uses. There was an expressed desire for higher buildings of three or four stories, and more density of use. Below is a summary of the points made, which provides a pulse of the community’s desired improvements:
• Include more residential development in Downtown
• Keep the strength of the retail and restaurant mix
• Provide other amenities, especially open space and plazas
• Address activities for adults and families in the evenings
• Allow increased building height in downtown
• Generally increase Downtown vitality
• Expect that the Downtown Los Altos customer would be family-oriented, and
• Create a vision for the entire Downtown to guide the future decisions
The idea of creating and confirming a Downtown vision in the context of current economic, environmental and development realities is a useful foundation for planning processes, specific feasibility studies, and future proposals. The repeated comments favoring growth and increased height and density in Downtown were a marked departure from public comments in meetings over the last two decades, where residents have specifically asked that the Downtown remain unchanged and that building height not be increased.
This change in attitude and direction which was consistent throughout the outreach meetings indicates that the interests of Los Altos residents may have shifted, and growth and increased vitality are valued where they may not have been in the past. In an effort to confirm whether this shift in thinking is widely held and this livelier Downtown experience is broadly supported, the City will conduct Downtown visioning workshops beginning in January.
The visioning workshops will focus particularly on the experience people want to have Downtown and whether that includes increased density, and increased building height that would support vitality and an economically healthy Downtown. Clearly, the workshops are not being set up to develop specific detailed plans, but to determine the community’s interest in Downtown’s growth and evolution based on the vitality and the experience our community wants for the future.
I will post the dates for the upcoming community forums, just in case you are interested in hearing the voice of the community directly. If you are not able to attend in person, I will follow-up this blog posting with a summary of the community’s Vision for Downtown.
If you are looking to move into Los Altos, feel free to contact us for a private tour of some of the best real estate in the Bay Area. Whether you are thinking about moving into Downtown Los Altos, or simply across town, we are confident that we can help you find that perfect home just for you.
32nd Annual Festival of Lights Parade
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Family Fun, Los Altos
Since 1977, the Festival of Lights Parade has brought “A Child’s Holiday Fantasy” to life for the entire Los Altos community. Originally a small gathering of a few costumed storybook characters and a jolly Santa Claus, the parade has grown over the years to a dazzling display of lighted floats, local High School marching bands, and glowing costumed characters – although Santa with his sleigh and reindeer remains the star of the show!
Today, 20,000 people of all ages gather the first Sunday after Thanksgiving to watch the Parade, one of the most popular Los Altos events of the year. It is a wonderful tradition for Los Altos.
Carol & I have have not missed a parade yet. Even before we had kids, we enjoyed the parade as a symbolic slice of Americana. Since then, both of our children have had a chance to be in the parade … one on a Fire Truck, and the other in a matching band. In 2005, we were lucky enough to ride in the parade as a family. This year, we are once again fortunate be able to ride, as a family, along the parade route in a convertible. It has been wonderful to have watched the parade for so many years, and to now share those memories with our clients and their familes.
Please note that there is a new start time for the parade. It is set to begin at 6:00pm on Sunday, November 30. So, mark your calendars. It is both a wonderful community tradition, and a great way to start the Holiday Season. We hope to see you at there!
Halloween Time In Los Altos – Enjoy
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Family Fun, Halloween, Los Altos, Santa Rita
Throughout the year, many of our elementary schools have a variety of fundraisers. While Los Altos has a wonderful educational environment, in which the students flourish, the local Parent Teacher Associations (PTA’s) help to raise additional money to supplement the existing programs. Some of the most popular fundraisers include walk-a-thons and evening events with silent auctions.
I am always surprised by the creativity, and new ideas, that arise at the individual schools. Clearly, this is beyond our mothers baking cakes for a raffle. Auction items include weekends in Tahoe and Napa Valley, a yoga party for kids, tickets to the most popular concerts, and of course, an assortment of parent parties (e.g. gourmet dinners). In addition to the parent organizers, students also get involved with planning activities designed to welcome the whole community.
This Friday, a local elementary school in north Los Altos, Santa Rita, is hosting the 49th annual Witches Delight. It should be better than ever. The carnival rides are back for the second year and will include the Dizzy Dragons, Frog Hopper, Kite Swings and new Wild Raft ride. Other attractions include games for all ages, cake walk, obstacle course, cookie decorating, costume contest and more. If you stay late, you have the chance to enjoy dinner provided by the amazing “Santa Rita BBQers”.
Additionally, if you have the chance, we recommend that you take a stroll throughout the downtown village triangle. You will have the chance to take-in all of the hand painted windows with their various Halloween themes. It’s wonderful. Each year, just a few weeks prior to Halloween, the City of Los Altos sponsors a window painting contest. The contest, also in its 49th year, is open to all 4th – 8th Grade Students in the Los Altos area.
So, come on down, come on over, or come on up … and enjoy another slice of what makes Los Altos such a great place to live and raise a family.
Corvette Car Show – Downtown Los Altos
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Car Show, Corvette, Downtown, Los Altos, Santa Clara Corvettes
This years Corvette Spectacular was held September 20th on Main Street in Downtown Los Altos. There were over 200 Corvettes of all Make & Models, Live Music, and even a Raffle. The top prize in the raffle happened to be a 37-inch Hitachi LCD HDTV.
It was quite a sight to the all those cars parked under a gorgeously sunny fall day. Soft tops, hard tops, race cars (street legal of course), and highly modified super cars where the main attraction. It was wonderful to see so many families walking along, with the kids pointing with excitement at their favorite car.
Having Santa Clara Corvettes come to Los Altos, and host one of the biggest Corvette Car shows on the West Coast every year is just fantastic. This is quickly becoming a favorite fall event within the community. It’s outdoors, free to the public, well managed and fills the restaurants and shops downtown.
If you missed the show, I hope you can make it next year …
Los Altos Farmer’s Market – Organic Goodness
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Farmer's Market, Organic, Urban Village
The Los Altos Farmer’s Market returns to State Street with the finest just picked local fruits and vegetables. You can find this wonderful community event between Second & Fourth Streets in Downtown Los Altos every Thursday, May 7th to September 24th, from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.The Market is now being managed by Urban Village, so you’re getting mostly organic food directly from the farmer and that’s good for the earth and good for you and good for the farmer. Parking can be found in nearby parking lots, parallel to the farmers market, behind the stores.
Opening day for the Farmer’s Market was great. Returning this year were several fresh flower vendors providing the best cut and potted flowers and plants. There were many fruit and veggie vendors with terrific displays, and fresh meat and fish vendors were quickly selling their items. Most vendors had umbrellas or shade tents, which was a good thing as the weather was wonderfully warm long into the evening.
A band played to the dancing feet of toddlers and small children while others dined on delicious, fresh and made-from-scratch Mexican food. Several restaurants opened for indoor or outdoor dining along with those set up temporarily on the street. Two new restaurants were debuting and a new martial arts school was also in attendance.
There are more food options here than at the morning markets in nearby cities. More importantly, it’s a great place to pick up dinner. The Farmer’s Market has rotisserie chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and exotic cuisine among other delicious items. Additionally, a local restaurant can be found selling their goodies … make sure you get lots of napkins. Of course, if you need to pick up something not found at the Farmer’s Market, Safeway can be found at the end of the street.
At the end of the day, it was great to have all of the happy people, reconnect with friends, and enjoy a beautiful evening. Clearly, the Los Altos Farmer’s Market gets better each year. We recommend partaking in this wonderful tradition.
Note: This content includes edited yelp and urban village commentary.
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