Heifer International Letter Cites Opposition in Its Decision to Drop Plans

Heifer International's formal notice to Santa Clara County planners cited the opposition of "a small but committed group of citizens" as one reason the prominent, nonprofit organization's decision was dropping development of its Global Village at Hidden Villa.

In a Feb. 7 letter to the Santa Clara County Planning Department, Jill Kilty Newburn, director of the Learning Center Hidden Villa, mentioned the organization's need to steward limited resources. She wrote, "As you are aware, it has become apparent that there is a small but committed core group of citizens who oppose a learning center and Global Village environment at Hidden Villa. 

"Given these considerations, it has been determined that pursuing a development at the Hidden Villa site is not financially prudent." (A pdf of the letter is provided here, above and just to the right).

Heifer earlier had described to Los Altos Patch that the decision was based on the discovery that the planning approval process would require a higher standard and take a longer period of time, without any certain outcome.

The letter was attached to a Feb. 9 e-mail from the Santa Clara County Planning Department notifying interested parties in the Heifer International development that the project was no longer actively in play at the county.

The notification prompted spirited commentary among the interested parties on the list, particularly from a Danville pastor who had attended a Heifer program in the Central Valley, and from the neighbors who opposed the project, citing environmental and traffic concerns. One neighbor disliked the plan because it would have youngsters camping year-round on the property, which has been used for overnight summer camps for more than 50 years.