We have a wonderful neighborhood - tree lined streets, charming older, but well-maintained homes with welcoming porches and front yards that are open to the street or surrounded by an occasional decorative white picket fence. We are a neighborly place right next to downtown.

Through a process of remodeling and tear-downs, our neighborhood has evolved to include duplexes and larger homes among the mainly small craftsman-style cottages of the 1920's through 1940's. Our prime location has lead to high property values, and those who can afford to buy here sometimes aren't satisfied owning a small home. Some poorly-maintained homes have recently been torn down and replaced with oversized structures that bulge out to the property lines. Other homes have been extensively remodeled.

General Plan 2025 sets a goal of ensuring that infill development is compatible with its surroundings - although how this goal will be achieved has yet to be worked out. There has also been some recent discussion about enacting an Historic Preservation Ordinance, which may someday include provisions that apply to our neighborhood.

Some further thoughts about neighborhood preservation and general quality of life are presented on the following pages:

• General Plan 2025 and Neighborhood Preservation
• A Design Review Hearing on Neighborhood Character
• Proposed Historic Preservation Ordinance
• An Approach to Neighborhood Preservation from the City of Mountain View
• The Almond Lofts project (sort of half in and half out of the neighborhood)
• Need for Stop Signs at Almond Avenue and Oakland Boulevard