Fed up with crime, an Almaden homeowners’ association has sued San Jose in the latest escalation of its longstanding gate dispute

SAN JOSE For nearly two decades frustrations between residents of Country View Custom Estates and the city have festered Residents of the wealthy restrictive access Almaden Valley enclave has long sought to install gates around their group pointing to brazen criminals who have tormented the neighborhood with waves of home invasions burglaries robberies car break-ins hate crimes mail and package thefts and trespassing on their private streets San Jose s planning department however has denied their requests three times the majority in recent weeks last year Now the neighborhood is fighting back with a million lawsuit against the city accusing planning representatives of violating Country View residents constitutional civil and property rights and exhibiting bias against them throughout the residents access dispute Related Articles European media billionaire s family feud spills over to California Human tracfficking suit against California s Bumble Bee Seafoods clears major hurdle toward trial ACLU lawsuit alleges appalling conditions at California s largest immigration detention facility ACLU sues Santa Clara County DA for material to enforce Racial Justice Act amid privacy pushback Brother of man unveiled hanging dead in ICE facility sues feds for answers Multiple residents blame the city for the area s crime issues believing gates could have blunted several of the harm Mike Barna president of the homeowners association announced he has come face-to-face with thugs in his home Other residents summary burglars routinely casing their multi-million-dollar homes or following them home from the nearby Safeway A man who was not apprehended was observed on surveillance cameras stopping at houses with a rented U-Haul truck and stealing packages from their porches A commercial boot camp operator has even brought hordes of people onto their private property to exercise without repercussions Barna shared material with The Mercury News that evidenced Country View Custom Estates burglary rates both per capita and per household were times that of the city as of before filing the bulk fresh gate application homeowners also have seen insurance premiums skyrocket with various reporting increases of to even without filing a claim A sign saying private drive near the entrance of Glenview Drive near the Country View Custom Estates in San Jose Calif on Thursday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group For a while there we were getting hit every week to two weeks and it was insane Barna noted in an interview with The Mercury News People were moving out People were buying guns People were panicking I dealt with women who were crying for weeks because their home was robbed or burglarized They were traumatized In one matter a child came within eight minutes of being face-to-face with criminals stealing the stuff inside his home including the presents underneath his Christmas tree The city declined to comment on the lawsuit Formed in Country View Custom Estates includes homes sitting on more than acres between Almaden Country Club and Quicksilver Park in District Marked by steep hills blind corners and a lack of sidewalks the original homeowners bought their properties with the understanding that they would be liable for their private streets But at the same time residents expected those private streets to be for their particular use In the homeowners association s first permit application to install gates was rebuffed by city staff because it did not conform to the General Plan In an article published that same year in the Almaden Resident then-District Councilmember Nancy Pyle supported the gate project noting the liability issues and how the private street had become a beacon for illegal hunting firearm discharges and dumping Homeowners also caught a whiff that something was amiss as they allege that Pyle who passed away two years ago explained them of an anti-elitist bias within the planning commission As crime continued to increase Barna explained the association tried its gate application again in forecasting that its troubles would get worse if the city shut down its proposal He revealed that the association did not have board commitment to pursue a lawsuit or adequate legal representation after the city denied its second application The bulk latest application denied in September of last year sought to install three gates at the northern terminus of the private portion of Glenview Drive the intersection of Glenview Drive and Hollow Lake Way and the intersection of Hollow Lake Way and Quail Crest Way In denying the permit application principal planner David Keyon noted last year that there was no original provision or plan for gates He also cited policies such as the requirement that private streets appear like society streets and that new developments including private streets needed to connect with the street arrangement and prohibited gating with the intent to inhibit population access But the residents and their attorney John Falcocchia disagreed and have filed a -page complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court highlighting what they say are several instances of ethical misconduct and misinterpretations of zoning rules that have caused irreparable harm We cannot allow these kinds of rogue city authorities to go on and engage in these kinds of actions without repercussions Falcocchia informed The Mercury News Along with disputing how gates would affect the streets functionality the lawsuit points out that the region is not new and was approved in accordance with the planning rules nearly years ago It also says that the county title book map reinforces that the population is not offered for the use of the general community and is for the sole use of the residents and their guests Residents also dispute the city s narrative that the properties were never intended to become a gated neighborhood referencing the promises made to them when they first bought into the public A parking restricted sign outside the Country View Custom Estates in San Jose Calif on Thursday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Falcocchia has alleged that the city has violated the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment which broadly states that the establishment cannot take private property without providing fair compensation In this circumstance the lawsuit has sought million per home for that particular violation The lawsuit also accuses city employees of making several intimidating and discriminatory statements in violation of state civil rights laws including ones indicating that the project would never happen and was doomed to fail even though they had made exceptions for other gated public projects They are seeking an additional million for those alleged violations Barna added that a vendor working on the design and permit for the gate project detailed how a planning department employee obfuscated delayed and placed inappropriate requirements before pulling them in which appeared to be a calculated tactic These same individuals already made their minds up that the project would not be approved all while they were planning on approving other gate projects in San Jose Barna mentioned While he acknowledged the possibility of resolving the dispute through mediation Barna stated the only suitable outcome for his residents is the long-awaited installation of gates without delay Why do we even need to go through this Barna stated I think it s because we re no longer a nation governed by laws These laws are being violated by this planning department left and right It seems like we re a nation governed by selective enforcement political cowardice and bureaucratic betrayal