8/18 CITY COUNCIL MEETING WRITTEN COMMENT TEMPLATE 
(copy, personalize, send)

To: clerk@santaclaraca.gov Send by: 12:00 PM (noon), Tuesday, August 18, 2026 Subject: Public Comment — Public Presentations, August 18, 2026 City Council Meeting
 
Dear Mayor Gillmor, Members of the City Council, and City Clerk:

Please include this written comment in the record for the August 18, 2026 City Council meeting, in connection with the Public Presentations regarding the industrial facility at 3250 Scott Boulevard.

My name is [NAME], and I [live at / live near / work near / visit] [Santa Clara Square Apartments / NEIGHBORHOOD / the parks and creek trail near Scott Blvd & Bowers Ave]. [OPTIONAL — one or two sentences about your personal connection: how long you’ve lived there, whether your children use the playgrounds or attend school nearby, whether you use the creek trail, whether you ever knew the facility existed.]

I am deeply concerned that a semiconductor facility storing acutely hazardous gases — including arsine, phosphine, and chlorine — has operated for a decade at 3250 Scott Boulevard, directly across the street from 1,800+ homes, public parks, and children’s playgrounds, without any street-visible identification or warning, and without any notification to nearby residents. Federal and regional regulators have documented violations at this facility: the U.S. EPA took enforcement action over multiple counts of hazardous waste regulatory violations there in October 2025, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District settled violations in May 2026 that included operating emission sources without required permits. In 2025, the City’s own staff stated on the record that this area, with 1,800+ high-density apartments, is “not an appropriate area for housing.” Yet, the people already living there were never told.

I respectfully ask the Council to:
1. Place this issue on a future Council agenda for public discussion of the safety, zoning, and notification issues about 3250 Scott Boulevard;
2. Direct staff to notify nearby residents of the facility’s existence, its operations and hazardous materials, its emissions into the air and water, and its emergency procedures; and
3. Direct a public report on the City’s hazardous materials and waste inspections and enforcement record at this facility.

[OPTIONAL — one closing sentence in your own words about what this issue means to you or your family.]

Thank you for including this comment in the public record.
Respectfully, [NAME] [STREET or NEIGHBORHOOD, City, ZIP] [Date]
 
Tips for commenters
- Personalize the brackets — even one original sentence makes a comment far more powerful than a form letter. Councils (and reporters reviewing the record later) notice the difference.
- Deadline is hard: the Clerk confirmed noon on meeting day. Send early; morning-of is risky.
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- Presenters: if you plan to show slides or a PDF during your 3 minutes, email the file to clerk@santaclaraca.gov by the same noon deadline. Display time counts against your 3 minutes.
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