Residents in one West San Jose neighborhood are protesting a proposed new Costco location near an upscale shopping center at the Saratoga border.
The planned site for the warehouse retailer is at 5287 Prospect Road, near the Westgate Shopping Center. Existing structures at the site would be demolished to make way for the 165,000-square-foot Costco.
A group of neighbors calling itself Save West Valley says the proposed store is too big for the location, and an increase in traffic in the area presents a risk to the nearby Prospect High School community.
"My first thought was, wouldn’t it be great just to have, you know, Costco right in the neighborhood?’ But then you look, and you go, ‘Oh my word .. what are they gonna do as far as traffic,'" said Jeanie Stephenson of San Jose. "There are people’s homes a hundred feet from the back of the building.”
Stephenson, who's lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, said the project it not inherently bad, but that it's not a right fit for that neighborhood.
"It’s kinda sad. I think Costco is wonderful, but only in neighborhoods that are more commercial," she said,
The city of Saratoga also wants a say in the project since it would sit on the border.
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Costco has agreed to changes in the development plan to include crosswalks and traffic flow improvements.
San Jose's planning commission voted to certify an environmental impact report Wednesday night. Now, the project is set to go to the City Council.
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