City Council feathers remain ruffled over being excluded from
the Coyote Valley Specific Plan Task Force. Now, city officials are
asking other South Valley cities and districts to join in sending a
message to San Jose by having a local task force to examine the
massive development
’s impact on its neighbors to the south.
City Council feathers remain ruffled over being excluded from the Coyote Valley Specific Plan Task Force.
Now, city officials are asking other South Valley cities and districts to join in sending a message to San Jose by having a local task force to examine the massive development’s impact on its neighbors to the south.
To make matters worse, council noticed that San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales had not replied to a formal letter in three weeks. The letter was the second request for a bigger Morgan Hill role in Coyote Valley development, a project expected to have huge effects on the South Valley area.
Instead of waiting for a reply, council decided to form its own “task force” composed of representatives from the city, school district, Gavilan Community College, San Martin and the City of Gilroy to look at what will be coming down from Coyote Valley, how it will affect the South Valley and what to ask San Jose to do about it.
Council expects the area to be hugely affected by the addition of 25,000 new houses, 80,000 new residents and 50,000 new jobs just up the road starting in 2006. Nothing will happen without planning and San Jose will rely on “trigger points” before moving ahead.
Triggers include a finished detailed specific plan, 5,000 new jobs in the North Coyote campus industrial area and a balanced city budget with a five-year projection of revenue exceeding expenses and city service levels. Not only the council is worried about the effects development will have on Morgan Hill; residents are beginning to get the picture too.
Morgan Hill resident Jim Arthur told the council he doesn’t think South Valley residents really understand the size of the planned expansion.
“This will affect us here every day; it will only affect San Jose residents on weekends when they go to the retail malls,” he said. “We have to get the word out.”
New resident Jessica Vernon said the lack of public awareness was disturbing and that her neighbors knew next to nothing about Coyote Valley.
“Have you tried bringing this issue up with the Mercury-News?” she asked.
Councilman Greg Sellers said he had contacted that newspaper’s editorial writers who said they had done their best but had given up trying.
“Their comments (warning of the effects of valley development on Morgan Hill) fell on deaf ears,” Sellers said.
“Then, can we as citizens help?” Vernon asked.
Councilwoman Hedy Chang said Vernon should go to the San Jose City Council meetings and say just that.
Vernon said she handed out 200 flyers in Coyote Estates and Mission Ranch.
The only South Valley representatives on the task force are County Supervisor Don Gage and Russ Danielson, who was appointed during his short term as an appointed school district trustee. Gage lives in Gilroy but represents far more than South Valley; Danielson lives in San Jose but owns a Morgan Hill business.
Rebecca Tolentino of the city’s community development department (planning) and Superintendent of Schools Carolyn McKennan sit on a Technical Advisory Committee.
Council did not consider this enough voices at the table.
Councilman Steve Tate had asked that the Coyote Valley issue be added to the agenda because he wanted to explore avenues for having a voice in the planning beyond just attending public meetings as members of the audience.
“They’re not doing anything illegal by excluding us,” Tate said, “but this has tremendous impacts on us in traffic, air quality and on and on; all those will potentially impact us down the road and they might be avoided if they are considered up front.”
Before convening the task force, council wants to review facts and figures known about the developing specific plan as it would an environmental impact report – that is, with a fine-toothed comb.
Once the task force meets and studies the available data it would forward its recommendations on to the main San Jose task force, said Councilman Larry Carr.
“Then we can bring the South Valley voice to the table,” Carr said.
City Manager Ed Tewes threw a dose of fiscal reality into the discussion.
“ Stepping up the level of review will have budgetary implications,” Tewes warned. The city is cutting its budget near the bone.
Tate said he really wasn’t thinking of threatening legal action at this point but of something stronger than a letter requesting a seat at the table.
“What else can we do?” he asked, opening up the brainstorming session.
Mayor Dennis Kennedy ran down the list of potential issues.
“We will have problems with traffic, transportation and housing,” Kennedy said. “If they build industry first as planned (existing jobs are the trigger to housing starts) that will have a tremendous impact on our housing market, increasing the value of a house enough to force some Morgan Hill families out of the market.”
The school district will be seriously affected, Sellers said. MHSD boundaries extend to Bernal Road, north of the valley’s edge and planners expect to need at least eight elementary, two middle and one new high school.
Carr added air quality and health care to the issue list.
Kennedy and the council agreed to invite Planning Commissioners and city staff to attend all task force meetings.
“So we know what is going on and, if there is something that needs immediate attention, we can take action,” he said.
Commissioner Robert Benich has attended quite a few meetings and, Kennedy said, might attend more.
“It’s not appropriate for a council member to attend,” Kennedy said. “There we would be in the crowd with no voice.”
Kennedy said he would be meeting with Gonzales next week and with Forrest Williams, San Jose councilman whose district includes Coyote Valley, and that he would take the council’s message along.
“Even if we do have a seat at the table it won’t significantly alter the plan’s direction,” Sellers said, “but (a South Valley task force) would enlighten San Jose to (Coyote Valley’s) impacts on Morgan Hill.”
Tate objected.
“That’s like acquiescing to me,” Tate said. “I think council members should take it on themselves to try to get a seat at the table.”
David Vossbrink, Gonzales’ director of communications, said a South Valley task force could be a good thing.
“That would be a very constructive step,” Vossbrink said Thursday. “We welcome their close participation and involvement in all the planning processes, and the South Valley perspective can add to the conversation when the plan is submitted to the mayor and city council next year or the year after that.”
Sellers said Gonzales pledged cooperation with Morgan Hill when he became San Jose’s mayor – at the same time Sellers and Tate joined the Morgan Hill council.
“Now, six years later we can’t even get a letter returned in three weeks,” Sellers said.
Arthur told the council he had moved to Morgan Hill recently from San Jose and has attended a recent task force meeting.
“I was amazed at the sheer arrogance at the meeting,” Arthur said. “The sheer scope is mind-boggling.” He wasn’t satisfied that Gage, who sits on the task force, would represent his interests.
“Gage has a history of being pro-growth,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll find a sympathetic ear.”
Chang wasn’t sure about Gage’s representation.
“We have very little contact with Don Gage,” Chang said. “We don’t ask him for anything, but he is still our supervisor and we should ask him to represent us. If he has the power to talk to Ron Gonzales, why don’t we follow up with it?”
Tate said Thursday that he was pleased with the ideas emerging from the council meeting and others that came to light later.
“It’s all pretty healthy,” Tate said.
Details: www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/coyotevalley/
