BCA Update – Posting of Bylaws and Standing Rules [UPDATE]

For Dec 1, 2016, we are formally posting the Burbank Community Association (BCA) Bylaws and Standing Rules in process.

Thank you to all who provided feedback, while updating these “behind the scenes” policies and procedures were time consuming, they are key to helping the BCA maintain relevancy to the community we represent.

[UPDATE] June 15, 2017: Please note that per our March 22 General Meeting, the BCA Bylaws and Standing Rules were approved. PDF link is below.

BCA Bylaws and Standing Rules (PDF)

The BCA Board

Special thanks to Santa Clara County Sheriffs for Neighborhood Watch presentation

Saturday’s “How to start Neighborhood Watch in your area” presentation by the Santa Clara County Sheriff was really helpful. Primarily focused on areas of the Burbank area without Neighborhood Watch programs in place, it was a good reminder that the first step to any community empowerment starts with just asking the right questions and having the power of the community to back it up. The presentation from the Sheriff’s deputies focused on how to be safer and set up Neighborhood Watch programs.  The attendees gained useful information and were able to meet members of their community and get to know their neighbors.

burbank-neighborhood-watch

If you would like more information on how to participate in an existing Neighborhood Watch program, or would like to start one in your area, feel free to contact the BCA and we can make sure we get you to the right person.

-The BCA

BCA General Meeting – September 21, 2016 – Recap!

Thank you to the Burbank residents that were able to attend and our guest speakers. We will be hosting our next meeting on March 22, 2017 – stay tuned for guest speakers and more information int he New Year!

To recap some of the main areas of our guest speakers, we have provided some links to the relevant information:

Silicon Valley Clean Energy – www.svcleanenergy.org
Notices will be heading out to residents in the selected areas in January 2017 with a service launch date of April to October 2017. Their expectation with this change is to increase the level of sustainability in the power generation side, but still leverage PG&E’s infrastructure for power delivery. There also appears to be a concerted efforts to make sure the pricing stays competivie with PG&E. Note that this program will be sending out notices in early 2017 – so keep an eye out!
For a PDF of the program information go here.

Our City Forest – www.ourcityforest.org

Get information on getting a tree to plant in your area:
http://www.ourcityforest.org/plant-trees/#get-a-tree

Visit the Community Nursery to select plants/tress to plant in your yard:
http://www.ourcityforest.org/nursery/#community-nursery

If you have at least 500 sq ft of contiguous lawn and want to explore replacement options – check out the Lawn Busters program. Check out the page for more details and to see if you qualify:
http://www.ourcityforest.org/lawn-busters/#lawnbusters

And of course – feel free to get more information on volunteering with OCF!
http://www.ourcityforest.org/volunteer/#volunteer-signup

BCA General Meeting on September 21!

Burbank residents are invited to our next BCA general Meeting is on September 21st, 2016 at 7pm in the Rose Garden Library Community Room. Please park on the street as the Rose Garden parking garage will close at 7pm!

Address: Rose Garden Library, 1580 Naglee Ave, San Jose CA 95126

Agenda:
1. BCA Bylaws update (PDF)
2. Silicon Valley Clean Energy (www.svcleanenergy.org): Santa Clara County is exploring programs around municipal utilities, come and get some information about how other communities have used these resources to lower utility costs in their areas.
3. Our City Forest (www.ourcityforest.com): Learn about City/County programs for increasing urban gardens/forests and cost effective options for drought tolerant/native gardening to reduce water consumption and support native fauna.
4. Kieran Kelly (Office of County Supervisor Ken Yeager)
5. Alisha Schoen (Deputy District Attorney, Santa Clara County).

Thank you,

The BCA Board

KQED – Bay Curious – Why does San Jose have so many urban islands?

Special thanks to KQED’s Ericka Cruz Guevarra for a great overview of urban islands in San Jose. As part of their Bay Curious segment, a listener requested some details on the history of urban islands in San Jose. As Burbank residents, we have some insight on this as we get to live the island dream every day. Some members of the BCA were fortunate enough to meet Ericka in person for an interview and answer some questions first hand. Check it out!

 

Why Does San Jose Have So Many Urban Islands?

 

 

BCA General Meeting – July 20, 2016 – Recap!

After General Meetings, the BCA Board will be posting recaps of the meeting content for anyone that couldn’t attend in person.

First, a big thank you to all of the speakers and residents for providing useful questions for discussion. The BCA launched it’s Summer Newsletter (PDF) at the meeting in addition to the usual updates.

Mark Ruffing, Code Enforcement Manager for Santa Clara County, shared some information on the process changes happening behind the scenes on the Code Enforcement team. They are getting some more personnel onboard later this year, but are taking advantage of that time to improve their internal processes for reporting, follow up and tracking. Currently there are many manual processes, so their goal is to improve various aspects of code enforcement duties and have been working with other Code Enforcement groups to see what works (and what doesn’t).

Mark also shared some information for residents to report code matters more efficiently:

  1. The first step to reporting something is knowing the jurisdiction. Here is the link to look up an address and determine if you should contact the city of San Jose or Santa Clara County for reporting violations.
  2. The system works best, when you contact the right department. Mark provided us with a handout for various contact groups within the Code Enforcement area (PDF).

Alisha Schoen, Community Prosecutor the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, gave us an update on her teams continued efforts to liaison with other government, legal and community groups. The efforts of this task force have been helping close down illegitimate massage parlors in the area. She also mentioned some upcoming events.
THIS WEEKEND! July 23, 2016 – Back Alley Block Party behind Time Deli from noon to 3pm (More info)
August 2, National Night Out
September 18, Viva Calle

Kieran Kelly, Policy Aide to Supervisor Ken Yeager,  also spoke for a bit on some of the local real estate efforts:

1. Western Funding Building (Business Circle): The Developer is awaiting permit approval for demolition of the building. Since there is also going to be a bit of an expansion into the parking lot, these required a bit more leg work than if the building were being remodeled as-is.

2. Another lively topic was Hustler opening a retail establishment in the old Bank of the West building in Business Circle. While it was helpful to discuss what was happening, since Business Circle property is under the direct control of the City of San Jose (District 6), the County has limited insight. He recommended that we reach out to the Councilperson for the district if we have direct questions or concerns. Since the District 6 seat is also coming up for election in November, he recommended voicing concerns with District 6 candidates as well to ensure that momentum is not lost with the outgoing councilperson.

Please note the next BCA General Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept 21, 2016. It will be held at 7pm in the Rose Garden Library Community Room (1580 Naglee Ave, San Jose, CA 95126). We will post an update once the event agenda and speakers have been finalized!

Reminder – BCA General Meeting on July 20th!

Reminder! Our next BCA General Meeting is to be held on July 20th, 2016 at 7pm in the Rose Garden Library Community Room. Please park on the street as the Rose Garden parking garage will close at 7pm!

Guest Speakers: Mark Ruffing, Santa Clara County’s Code Enforcement Program Manager with community updates from Mitchell Nelson (Office of County Supervisor Ken Yeager), and Alisha Schoen (Deputy District Attorney, Santa Clara County).

See you there!

Burbank Community Association

Back Alley Block Party – July 23rd!

Back Alley Block Party:

Join us for a Pop-up Alley Makeover Event!

 

Saturday, July 23rd | 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Business Circle Back Alley

@ W. San Carlos St. & S. Bascom Ave.

(Directly behind 349 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA)

 

This one-day event will transform a portion of the Business Circle back alley into

a welcoming community gathering space with:

 

BBQ from Time Deli • Ice Cream from Scoops Truck • Games/Activities for Kids

Music • Mural Painting • Bike Safety Games and Education • And more!

 

Please join us for a community event that will celebrate what we love about our neighborhood and demonstrate possibilities for making Business Circle a more vibrant place for businesses and residents of all ages. For more info and to RSVP on Facebook, visit bit.ly/July23BlockParty!

 

To volunteer to help with the event, sign up at: http://bit.ly/VolunteerJuly23SJ

 

Questions? Contact: Julie Flynn at julie@streetplans.org

– or- Alisha Schoen at ASchoen@da.sccgov.org | (408) 808-3766

BCA in the Rose, White & Blue Parade

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Join BCA Man on the Street Ken Colson for the Rose, White & Blue parade, July 4.  The  parade starts at 10AM at Lincoln High School (555 Dana Ave.) and concludes with a picnic on the Alameda from 11am-3pm.  Ken will be driving is VW Bug with the BCA logo, so be sure to keep an eye out to cheer him on.  Happy 4th of July!