Dear Editor,
On July 26 the Morgan Hill City Council adopted a ballot measure to change its 2004 Measure “C” initiative for growth control. The concept was reasonable, but the devil was in the details. Several of the provisions, when added to the huge list of prior concessions and giveaways, go beyond what was needed for equitable downtown development. The voters will be asked to ratify a measure that unconscionably enriches a select group of downtown property owners, and is unfair to others. There were better approaches.
For nearly 30 years Morgan Hill’s growth control has been based upon evaluating competing projects and only allowing the best to develop. In the most recent “C” competitions 363 building allotments were awarded to downtown projects, a vast increase from the past. The process works!
The council’s amendment will reserve 100 more housing units, above the annual 250 citywide units, for the “core” downtown area. The 100 units so exceed the likely “core” development potential, a true competition will not occur. Projects may well be able to develop on a first-come, first-served basis. Even the “C” minimum score requirement, designed to ensure quality and responsible development, is being increasingly subverted for the downtown. Reaching the minimum score requirement has already been made substantially easier for downtown projects, and the downtown property owners want it to be even easier. Unfortunately, the council appears receptive to doing so.
In the upcoming election campaign, please consider the above and urge the council candidates to not further erode the competitive processes or soften the evaluation criteria.
Ralph J. Lyle, Morgan Hill
Member of the Morgan Hill Planning Commission
