League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Liz Gibbons Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Campbell

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What experience related to city government would you bring to the City Council?

I have 24 years of experience with the City Manager form of government in Campbell, and I respect and support the open public process. I served the community and state in a variety of roles. As a licensed Architect I have managed teams of 30 professional and budgets well over $100M. I have a BA, BAch and MArch. I am LEED APŠ (sustainability) certified design professional.
- I have extensive experience negotiating on both sides of the table with developers
- Chaired two successful Campbell Library funding campaigns
- 17 years on Planning Commission, 3 years as chair
- Project Manager for the Downtown Streetscape Project (1990-1994)
- American institute of Architects California Council, Board Member
- American Institute of Architects Santa Clara Valley, Board of Directors and President (I frequently met and negotiated with State and Federal legislators)
- Graduate of Ken Yeager's Santa Clara County Government 101 Program
- Leadership Campbell (I have a clear understanding of the rolls and relationship between the County and City)
- Woman of Influence, Silicon Valley Business Journal 2008
- 2013 Campbell Citizen of the Year

2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them?

The biggest concerns I have heard from Campbell citizens today involve growth, traffic, parking, affordable housing and the 'over-vibrant' Downtown. To this I would add long-term financial stability and safety.

A significant benefit of completing the General Plan Housing Element is having a clear understanding of the City's potential for housing growth and meeting Affordable Housing need, not mandate. Fortunately, Campbell has more than sufficient capacity to meet regulatory requirements. This fact provides significant latitude for the City to negotiate for developments that are compatible with nearby neighborhoods and the city as a whole. The Land Use and Transportation Element is in urgent need of updating, though. Traffic and parking assumptions have changed significantly since the current 2001 document. Providing for a future with fewer cars must include a transition period rather than a radical shortfall of parking capacity to instigate social change.

The City is also initiating projects such as the Civic Center Master Plan, the Dell Ave Area Plan (DAAP) and an update of the General Plan Housing Element (as noted above).

The Civic Center Master Plan proposes to build a new Library, Police Station, City Hall and a 450-space parking structure on the current site. Design exercises show that implementation phasing is complex and potentially costly, adding years to the project. Even with multi-story buildings, there appears to be too much square footage for the site. The budget may reach $80M+. I recommend a full evaluation of the city-owned locations and due-diligence investigations of existing buildings to determine the best options for meeting the needs for quality facilities.

Displacement of existing businesses, traffic impacts and environmental history of the Dell area requires exploration. I recommend that the DAAP be put on hold until there are extensive community meetings.

The proposed Housing Element, a document that reflects goals, policies, and strategies of the city to provide a range of housing for the community, must support existing neighborhoods alongside new neighborhoods and development. Housing for seniors and the disabled must also be incorporated.

There is an over-concentration of restaurants in the downtown area. The recent increase has displaced retail space. A recent report indicates a comparative 62% increase from 2011 to 2014 in police calls in the Downtown for the Jan 1 to June 30 timeframe. Police activity has disproportionately increased with the number of new businesses during this time.

I recommend a moratorium on additional restaurants and alcohol sales in Downtown and hiring a Marketing and Logistics Consultant to recommend scenarios for business type diversity and location separation.

3. How would you balance the needs of the City as a whole with groups' interests?

Balancing the needs of residents and the community at large is always a challenge for government. The Dell Ave proposal is a perfect example: members of the community are decidedly against it for various reasons, while the city initiated the plan and zoning changes.

Neither party should be ignored. First and foremost, there must be early, frequent, and extensive communication between the council, residents, and businesses of Campbell. The value of this is developing a common understanding of what is proposed and the reasoning behind the proposals. It is acceptable, even encouraged, to agree to disagree, yet the council should never assume it knows best without the community process.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 30, 2014 21:10
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