The effort to incorporate San Martin is rolling along with the
support of many residents, but the financial burden remains
heavy.
The effort to incorporate San Martin is rolling along with the support of many residents, but the financial burden remains heavy.
Sylvia Hamilton, president of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance Incorporation Committee, is pushing hard for cityhood. She said she and the alliance have faith that incorporation will – and should – come through.
“We already have many positive attributes of a city: a name, a variety of land uses and a positive working relationships with bordering cities,” Hamilton said. “We have a great community spirit, and we have the right to be recognized.”
A driving reason behind many San Martin residents’ desire to incorporate is their lack of real control over issues that directly affect the town, especially land use and local planning.
Currently, San Martin has an advisory planning commission, but it’s just that – advisory. Direct control lies with the Santa Clara County Planning Office and the five-member county board of supervisors.
“Right now, government activities are not very accessible to (San Martin) community residents,” Hamilton said. “Having a council in San Martin would allow government to be more visible to local residents. We’d have a better, stronger voice on issues that matter to us.”
History
The roughly 6,000 residents of San Martin make up a mere 1 percent Santa Clara County’s population and only 5 percent of District 1. The small representation is exactly what makes it so difficult for local opinions to influence policy decisions, Hamilton said.
“The community does not just want to give their input on issues that affect San Martin,” Hamilton said. “They want to be able to actually have control over those decisions, and that’s what incorporating would help accomplish.”
Rachel Gibson, an aide with Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage whose district includes San Martin, said the county “absolutely supports” the town’s incorporation.
“The citizens of San Martin have long expressed their desire to have local land use control, and the way to do that is incorporate,” Gibson said. “They understand as well as we do that District 1 is a very large district. San Martin is competing with a lot of other communities … in District 1 for resources.”
The Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, is the state-mandated agency that deals with annexation and incorporation and that the alliance is working with now. San Martin’s first effort to incorporate was in the mid-1960s, but the community’s very small population meant incorporation would have significantly raised taxes.
The next try came about 20 years later, but LAFCO then determined that incorporation would have too much impact on Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Additionally, the community’s population still was too small to incorporate without a major tax hike.
Since the alliance’s formation in 2000, it has been studying alternatives to incorporation such as annexing into a nearby city or becoming a special district. But alliance members maintain that incorporation is the best option for the residents of San Martin.
Current developments
In July 2003, the alliance raised $25,000 for an independent financial feasibility study that determined San Martin could operate on its own tax revenue if it incorporated. The town would start with an annual operating budget of about $2.5 million and bring in the same amount in revenues from existing sources, the study said.
In October 2003, the alliance initiated a series of ongoing neighborhood meetings and outreach efforts to encourage public comment.
“We are more than willing to listen to what residents have to say,” Hamilton said. “Clearly, this is something that will need community support. Listening to local opinions is very important to us.”
According to about 140 surveys collected by the alliance, 84 percent of San Martin residents are either in favor or likely in favor of incorporation. Initially, some were hesitant because they thought incorporation might mean raised taxes or urbanization. But they were much more receptive when they understood taxes definitely would not go up, the level of fire and police services would remain the same and San Martin would maintain its rural environment, Hamilton said.
Several meeting participants said they would want sewer lines to hook up only in industrial and commercial areas and not to extend to residential or agricultural areas, nor did they want other urban characteristics such as sidewalks and street lights.
Many residents also said they supported the development of a core business district for South Valley residents, with small-scale businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, small retail stores and local service providers.
Next steps
The alliance is working with LAFCO on the town’s application and taking a harder look at some of the issues in the initial financial feasibility study.
“We will not go to the community with this idea until we are absolutely sure everything is in place,” Hamilton said.
The next step is for LAFCO to approve the petition format of the application. The alliance then would have 180 days to collect signatures from 25 percent of San Martin’s registered voters approving incorporation.
After LAFCO studies the petition and reviews the land use and city government plans, it will require another financial study that is more comprehensive than the initial 2003 study. The second study will dig deeper into whether San Martin truly can function on its own dime.
Additionally, LAFCO will work with the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill to determine how San Martin’s incorporation would affect those cities. Earlier this month, Hamilton met with the Morgan Hill City Council to discuss the plans to incorporate and will do the same with the Gilroy City Council in the future.
If LAFCO gives the green light after all the requirements have been fulfilled, the proposal to incorporate will be placed on the next election ballot – hopefully November 2005, Hamilton said. Voters would have to approve incorporation with a simple majority vote.
Voters in next year’s election also would determine their first San Martin City Council, which would hold its first meeting in January 2006. Over time, the city of San Martin would recruit a full- to -part-time city manager, controller and legal counsel and planning department. It also would develop a general plan for San Martin, and police and fire services would be provided by contract with either the sheriff’s department or Gilroy or Morgan Hill.
Challenges
Probably the biggest obstacle facing San Martin’s current undertaking – both now and if the town incorporates – is money. The cost for various studies and applications is burdensome – as much as $200,000. The initial $25,000 financial study was paid for by contributions from the community and alliance members, Hamilton said.
“That’s something I really give my hats off to, that the community has been that involved and committed,” said Gibson, Gage’s aide. “For San Martin and for every jurisdiction, (money) is the deal maker and deal breaker.”
Steve Mancini, a San Martin resident for 20 years, agreed the financial roadblock would be the hardest to get past. But he said he’s been impressed with the community outreach efforts initiated by the alliance.
“They’ve made every opportunity to include us in the discussions,” he said.
Marty Tidwell, owner of A1 Sharpening, a saw and lawnmower shop in San Martin, has lived there for 12 years. Like many other San Martin residents, Tidwell said, he’s in favor of incorporation because he’s tired of the county dictating San Martin’s land use decisions.
But Tidwell also said he’s skeptical of San Martin’s ability to function on its own financially, especially because it doesn’t have very many big businesses to significantly boost sales tax revenue and provide a backbone of support.
Although he predicted San Martin eventually would annex into either San Jose or Morgan Hill, Tidwell said he’d favor incorporation first.
“But without big businesses, I just don’t see how it’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s something we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.”
