Measure P in its potential new form will resurface at
Wednesday
’s City Council meeting, giving the council the chance to hear
from the public on the initiative’s 27 proposed changes. Formal
approval to place it on an upcoming ballot will wait until the Oct.
15 meeting when the advising attorney can be present.
Measure P in its potential new form will resurface at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, giving the council the chance to hear from the public on the initiative’s 27 proposed changes. Formal approval to place it on an upcoming ballot will wait until the Oct. 15 meeting when the advising attorney can be present.
Council has not yet decided when to place the measure to give the city time to educate voters on what the changes will mean. March 2004 is the presidential primary; in November 2004 the mayoral seat and the council seats of Larry Carr and Hedy Chang will be on the ballot.
Measure P is the voter-approved residential growth-control ordinance mandating that the city will not grow larger than 38,800 by 2010. Its rules are desgined to allow for more rational growth and better developments since developers compete to earn points that, in turn, can lead to building permits – or housing starts. Points are given for incorporating green space, contributing to a school traffic flow improvement, for example, or for filling in vacant areas surrounded by development, among a host of other features.
The Measure P Update Committee, more than 20 community members strong, has been at work since July, 2002, sorting through the tangled undergrowth of details, trying to bring light and order to the situation. The committee met many times, presented 24 changes to the council, which then suggested three more.
Two of four categories deal with housing set-asides – affordable housing elements – and defining the city’s core area.
The committee’s goal for the as yet unnamed measure was to fine tune the Measure P process, making it more user -friendly for developers and city staff and accommodating the affordable housing matter.
The city’s population, 34,900 as of Jan. 1, 2003, is approaching the 2010 limit but controls must be balanced against Morgan Hill’s need to allow enough affordable and below market rate housing to meet its ABAG-required quota by 2006. ABAG is the Association of Bay Area Governments.
The General Plan Update Task Force suggested that the measure be extended to 2020 and a population limit of 46,600.
Growth control first appeared in the late 1970s as Measure E, in reaction to a rampant population growth of 200 percent – from 5,579 to 17,060 – between 1970 and 1980. It continued to grow and Measure P followed in 1990.
Also on the council agenda is a discussion of the city’s developing art in public places policy.
The complete Council agenda in full is available at the City Clerk’s desk in City Hall and on line. City Council and/or the Redevelopment Agency meets at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in City Hall Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.morgan-hill.ca.gov or 779-7271. Council meetings are broadcast live on cable access channel 17.
