425 MARKET STREET SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE: FACSIMILE: MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP BEIJING, BERLIN, BRUSSEL

Transcription

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37 425 MARKET STREET SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE: FACSIMILE: MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP BEIJING, BERLIN, BRUSSELS, DENVER, HONG KONG, LONDON, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, NORTHERN VIRGINIA, PALO ALTO, SAN DIEGO, SAN FRANCISCO, SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, TOKYO, WASHINGTON, D. C. May 19, 2017 Writer s Direct Contact +1 (415) MImwalle@mofo.com Via- Honorable Mayor and City Council City of San Jose 200 East Santa Clara Street San Jose, CA Re: Response to Mr. Bill Guthrie Letter Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council: I am writing on behalf of KT Urban to respond to a letter dated May 17, 2017 from Bill Guthrie sent on behalf of the Plumbers, Steamfitters & Refrigeration Fitters UA Local Union 393. Mr. Guthrie makes numerous false and misleading statements about KT Urban and the Greyhound project s impact on the City of San Jose. The various labor issues being raised are unrelated to the Council s consideration of the Greyhound project and we urge the Council to consider the Greyhound project on its merits. The project will not only bring vitality to downtown, but it will also help the City Council achieve its vision as set forth in the General Plan. Most importantly, high rise projects, like Greyhound, also bring economic growth to the downtown area and directly and indirectly create thousands of working and middle class jobs, both during construction and for years to follow as the hundreds of new residents pour money into downtown businesses. Mr. Guthrie first alleges that Iron Mechanical pays its workers lower wages than the minimum required by law, he then attempts to connect Iron Mechanical s alleged misdeeds to KT Urban, and then makes the final leap that a vote for the Greyhound project is a vote for exploiting workers. This is account is not only false, but suggesting that wage disputes with a sub-contractor who has no relation to the Greyhound project should be part of the deliberations on the merits of the Greyhound project is wholly inappropriate. As evidence for his claim that Iron Mechanical underpays its workers, he points to three wage dispute lawsuits. However, none of the 33 pages of court papers show any finding of wrongdoing. Two documents are complaints and other papers relate to a settlement. Neither the filing of a lawsuit, nor the settling of a lawsuit, demonstrate liability. Only a court can sf

38 Honorable Mayor and City Council May 19, 2017 Page Two make such a determination and until a court finds otherwise, any presumption is against wrongdoing. Referring to the settlement, Mr. Guthrie describes Iron Mechanical as having been forced to pay its workers for lost wages. That is false. This statement apparently refers to the settlement payment resolving one of the lawsuits. The settlement, like all settlements, was voluntarily entered into. Indeed, its very terms state that all parties agree that there is no acknowledgment of any wrongdoing and that the settlement shall not be construed to be evidence of liability or wrongdoing. 1 As the City surely knows from having settled its own share of litigation, decisions to settle often have nothing to do with the merits. The City should not reach any conclusions about Iron Mechanical based on these lawsuits. Mr. Guthrie then seeks to spread the allegations against Iron Mechanical to KT Urban. Mr. Guthrie alleges that KT Urban has advocated not only for Iron Mechanical, but also for their allegedly poor treatment of workers. He cites a two paragraph reference letter authored by Ken Tersini as the sole evidence of KT Urban s alleged advocacy. It goes without saying that Mr. Tersini providing a letter recommending Iron Mechanical as a capable HVAC and plumbing service provider is no indication that KT Urban supports unlawful labor practices or constitutes a continued advocacy of anyone or anything. Mr. Guthrie s allegations are irresponsible, misleading and reckless to say the least. The dubious nature of the allegation is clear from looking at the timeline. That letter is dated February 5, However, all of the allegations Mr. Guthrie points to occurred later: the complaints he attaches were filed in September 2016 and January 2017 and the settlement was approved in September But even assuming Mr. Tersini knew of the allegations in the lawsuits, Mr. Guthrie leaps to unfounded and improper conclusions. Mr. Guthrie is essentially arguing that whenever a lawsuit is filed alleging wrongdoing against a person, such allegations should be assumed to be true. Not only that, but if a third party subsequently recommends the alleged wrongdoer, one can assume that third party also supports the wrongdoing. Thankfully, such a guilty until proven innocent approach is not how our legal system works. Finally, Mr. Guthrie attempts to tie the allegations against Iron Mechanical directly to KT Urban through projects KT Urban has entitled or is entitling, including the Greyhound project. Mr. Guthrie cites the contract awarded to Iron Mechanical for the Silvery Towers 1 The Parties agree that this Agreement does not constitute an admission by Iron Mechanical of any of the matters alleged in the Lawsuit or of any violation of any federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation, or of any violation of any policy or procedure, or of any liability or wrongdoing whatsoever. Neither this Agreement nor anything in this Agreement shall be construed to be evidence of liability or wrongdoing. Private Attorneys General Act Settlement Agreement and Release, para. 11 (emphasis added). sf

39 Honorable Mayor and City Council May 19, 2017 Page Three project as an example. However, KT Urban sold Silvery Towers prior to its construction and is not involved in the construction of that project (I understand these points have previously been explained to Mr. Guthrie). As for the Greyhound project, it has not gone out to bid so there is no general contractor. Mr. Guthrie then asks the City Council to connect these various mischaracterizations to its consideration of the Greyhound project, going so far as to suggest that any Councilmember who supports Greyhound must also support the exploitation of workers. Again, as described above, Mr. Guthrie s accusations are false. However, to the extent Councilmembers are concerned about labor issues, as was ably explained during last week s Planning Commission hearing, it would be improper to consider issues outside of the findings required for the various approvals. That is, not only does a vote on Greyhound have nothing to do with support for or opposition to labor issues, connecting those issues would be wholly inappropriate. Greyhound will be a great project for downtown, it will directly and indirectly create thousands of working and middle class jobs, have a positive impact on the City s residents and we urge the Council to approve it. * * * * * Thank you for your consideration of these issues and I hope that this letter is helpful in setting the record straight. Sincerely, Miles H. Imwalle cc: Mark Tersini, KT Urban Ken Tersini, KT Urban sf

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49 May 22, 2017 Executive Committee 2017 BOARD CHAIR Dan Bozzuto Bozzuto Insurance Services FIRST VICE CHAIR Lennies Gutierrez Comcast SECOND VICE CHAIR Marc Parkinson Petrinovich Pugh & Co., LLP VICE CHAIR SILICON VALLEY IDEA Cosme Fagundo Willco Management, Inc. VICE CHAIR MEMBERSHIP Ron Zraick Cinnabar Hills Golf Course VICE CHAIR BUSINESS VELOCITY Paul Cardus Silicon Valley Realtors VICE CHAIR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT Jack Wimberly KBM - HOGUE AT-LARGE Michael Bangs Oracle Tim Leets BBSI Tony Mirenda Blach Construction Company Jonathan Noble Microsoft Roxanne Vane Heritage Bank of Commerce Geri Wong Cornish & Carey Commercial Real Estate SVO PAC CHAIR Tracey Enfantino Environmental Systems, Inc. LEGAL COUNSEL Eugene Ashley, Esq. Hopkins & Carley, A Law Corporation TREASURER Michael Fox Jr. Goodwill Silicon Valley San Jose City Council San Jose City Hall 200 E. Santa Clara St. San Jose, CA SUBJECT: Item 10.2 Site Development Permit and Special Use Permits and Vesting Tentative Map Honorable Mayor Liccardo and Councilmembers: On behalf of The silicon valley organization (The SVO), I am writing to encourage the Council to approve agenda item 10.2 along with the Memo authored by Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco, Councilmember Raul Peralez, and Councilmember Sylvia Arenas. Proceeding with item 10.2 would see to the adoption of a resolution for certifying the Greyhound Residential Project Supplement Environmental Impact Report, the Vesting Tentative Map, and the Site Development Permit and Special Use Permit. Downtown high-rise development results in some of the highest one time fees and assessed valuations both in absolute dollars and on a per acre basis. Taxpayers benefit from impact fees that pay for City staff, parks, and affordable housing. Without redevelopment, taxpayers stand to lose millions in incremental property taxes and property tax assessments that pay for our libraries, open space, affordable housing and many other community benefits. City and County taxpayers will also suffer from reduced transfer taxes each time a property is sold. A downtown one acre parcel purchased years ago might have an assessed valuation of $10 million an acre. If a developer has an economically viable project, the assessed valuation would increase by over $200 million dollars driving taxes to local Jurisdictions. At a tax rate of 2% including property taxes and assessments, the old project pays $200,000 and the new project generates approximately $4,000,000, an increase of $3,800,000 annually. The impact fees on the 350 unit project would also generate approximately $35,000 per unit or $12.25 million with the Downtown Commercial High Rise Incentives Program. Additionally, The SVO is a strong advocate for job growth and retention in our area. This project will create thousands of new construction jobs in our community. For these reasons, we would respectfully ask that you approve agenda item 10.2 to allow the Downtown high-rise development to proceed as planned. Sincerely, IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR Jim Lynch San Jose Water Company PRESIDENT & CEO Matthew R. Mahood The silicon valley organization Matthew R. Mahood President & CEO 101 W. Santa Clara St. San Jose, California P: F: thesvo.com

50