The decisions of our City Council, Downtown Association,
Redevelopment Agency, Planning Commission and any others involved
in the planning of space use in downtown Morgan Hill never cease to
amaze me.
Dear Editor.
The decisions of our City Council, Downtown Association, Redevelopment Agency, Planning Commission and any others involved in the planning of space use in downtown Morgan Hill never cease to amaze me. We keep hearing that our downtown is going to be someplace special, like Los Gatos or Santana Row. And yet they use the prime real estate on Monterey Road and Third Street for, what else, parking.
I suggest our decision makers take a close look at the main street in Los Gatos and Santana Row and observe how much, or rather how little, of it is devoted to parking. Guess what. NONE. Ample public parking is available behind the shops, not next to them. And if you think parking behind a business will have a negative effect on business, check out Rosy’s at the Beach sometime. Seems pretty crowded every time I pass by and most people park on the street or in back.
Our town keeps buying up prime properties and, instead of offering them to developers, we invest significant additional amounts to convert them to parking lots. What might happen if they offered a property such as the ones they just purchased next to Sinaloa or on Third Street to a developer for a fair price? Not only would we derive income from the sale of the property, but they would save another large sum by not having to make parking-lot improvements. Let the developer do that. Oh yes, and shops on these parcels would generate sales tax revenues, something I doubt parking ever will do.
Henry Miller, Morgan Hill
Water District CEO hosts South County site for Coastal Cleanup Day
Dear Editor,
As a long-term resident with a family owned business in Morgan Hill, it disheartens me to see trash and debris polluting our creeks, streams and rivers. These pollutants not only impact the natural habitat of wildlife, but they can also disrupt the flow of water, increasing the likelihood of flooding. I am also the CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Water District and have worked as an engineer for many years planning flood protection projects that restored the natural environment of the county’s creeks and streams. This may explain why I am so passionate about the condition of our waterways.
Fortunately there is something we can all do to help. The 25th annual Coastal Cleanup Day event provides the perfect opportunity to make a difference. To show my support for the event, I’ve decided to host a site on West Little Llagas Creek in Morgan Hill.
Each day millions of Californians enjoy the state’s coastline and waterways, however, many of us are unaware of how our lifestyles may be impacting the plants and wildlife along them. Daily activities, such as driving a car, not properly disposing of garbage or throwing a cigarette butt on the ground can have a serious effect. When it rains, trash on sidewalks and streets accumulates in the gutter and is swept into the city’s storm drain system. Most storm drain systems discharge directly into the nearest waterway, which eventually flows to the ocean. In fact, results of more than 10 years of volunteer beach cleanup data indicate that 60 to 80 percent of beach debris comes from land-based sources. This is why removing trash and debris from local creeks helps keep the coastal areas clean too.
California Coastal Cleanup Day is the nation’s premier marine environment volunteer event and has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the largest garbage collection” (1993). When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.
Each year, Santa Clara Valley Water District joins the Creek Connections Action Group, which includes Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation and the City of San Jose, to host a Coastal Cleanup Day. This year’s event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. There will be 35 specified cleanup locations along the peninsula, in cities ranging from Gilroy to Palo Alto.
Individuals, clubs and classes are welcome to volunteer, as well as those looking to fulfill community service requirements. All youth younger than 18 must have a parent/guardian signature on their Waiver of Liability and will also need adult supervision for the event. Volunteers are encouraged to wear long pants, sturdy shoes, gloves and sunscreen and to bring their own pick-up sticks. Trash bags, extra gloves, first-aid supplies, water and refreshments will be provided at no cost.
Since the program started in 1985, close to 900,000 Californians have removed more than 13 million pounds of debris from our state’s shorelines and coast. Debris, such as:
- 1,154,740 bottle caps
-
5,236,619 cigarette butts
-
1,252,749 food wrappers
Just imagine if no one ever volunteered to help clean up; the banks of our water ways and coastlines would be covered. Just last year, 73,000 volunteers collected more than 1,480,000 pounds of trash and 178,000 pounds of recyclables from beaches, lakes and creeks across California. In Santa Clara County alone, 1,331 volunteers turned out to remove 95,656 pounds of debris and 16,327 pounds of recyclables from 26 county locations.
Please join me or consider volunteering at one of our many other cleanup sites. For more volunteer information, Waiver of Liability forms, and cleanup locations, visit www.cleanacreek.org.
Beau Goldie, Morgan Hill
