They moved blocks from one location to another. Then they moved
them again. The nearly 150 participants at the Coyote Valley Task
Force and community meeting moved blocks representing houses and
retail shops around a mock development to create their ideal
neighborhoods.
They moved blocks from one location to another. Then they moved them again.
The nearly 150 participants at the Coyote Valley Task Force and community meeting moved blocks representing houses and retail shops around a mock development to create their ideal neighborhoods.
“The people came and although it was a long day people stayed the whole time,” said Eileen Goodwin, who facilitates the community workshops and outreach.
Coyote Valley will eventually become a new community of up to 80,000 people, with 50,000 homes and 25,000 jobs just north of Morgan Hill that the city of San Jose is planning to build. The goal of the development is to create a walkable, transit-oriented community where people can live and work.
At Saturday’s six-hour meeting at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, three draft plans were unveiled featuring three Monterey Road over-crossings and two under-crossings, along with a parkway attached to a southern over-crossing. Differences between the three drafts include the routing of the public transit system, Fisher Creek and the parkway.
• Variation 1: Uses a “spoke” type light-rail system with one spoke running north to south and a second running east to west. Fisher Creek would remain where it is.
• Variation 2: Calls for a “loop” light-rail system to surround the downtown area. Fisher Creek would be moved back to its original location along the western hillside and a lake would be built near Santa Teresa Boulevard and Bailey Avenue.
• Variation 3: Would move transit along a “spine” similar to the Valley Transportation Authority’s light-rail system and would run south from Bailey Avenue to two blocks north of Palm Avenue. Fisher Creek would be returned to its original location along with the addition of a lake in the downtown core.
The area around Santa Teresa Boulevard and Bailey Avenue would serve as the new community’s downtown. As the project stands now, housing is planned for the area south of Bailey Avenue, commercial to the north leaving the rural greenbelt and surrounding hillsides untouched.
Final approval of the Coyote development is expected in late 2005.
