The Morgan Hill Hotel Coalition, a group formed to oppose the city’s decision to allow a new hotel to be built in the Madrone business park, served the city with a petition on Oct. 11 opposing the city’s proposed March 2020 ballot language for the question regarding the development.
Asit Panwala, an attorney speaking for the local hoteliers on the Madrone decision, filed the petition on behalf of the coalition. Panwala accused the city of arguing in favor of the decision within the question portion instead of the argument section on the ballot.
“The ballot question asks voters to approve or reject hotel use for a planned master development plan for Madrone Village Shopping Center. Additionally, the City of Morgan Hill included, ‘that (hotel) use generates new city revenues for city services including public safety, street repairs and other infrastructures to be added,’ in the ballot question. This is not an impartial summary of the purpose of the proposed measure,” said the hotel coalition’s petition.
“Rather, it is an argument to persuade voters to approve the ordinance with a promise that additional city services will be provided.”
Morgan Hill City Attorney Donald Larkin said the complaint was delivered to City Hall Oct. 11. He told the Times that the city was only providing “factual information” in its ballot language.
The ballot question for the March 2020 election currently reads, “Shall the ordinance No. 2295, amending a Planned Development Master Plan for Madrone Village Shopping Center located on the northwest corner of Madrone Parkway and Cochrane Road, to add hotels as an approved use, which is consistent with the city’s General Plan and Economic Blueprint to encourage tourism, and that generates new city revenues for city services including public safety, street repairs and other infrastructure, be adopted?”
The council first approved a zoning amendment for the properties at a Jan. 23 council meeting with a 5-0 vote. After the second reading of the ordinance on Feb. 6, a petition to challenge the council’s decision to allow two four-story hotels—a Marriott and a Hilton—to be built in the business park began to accrue signatures.
The hotel coalition gathered enough signatures to place the question on the March 2020 ballot.
“It is disappointing that the hotel coalition would want to keep information away from voters,” Larkin said. “The city council stands by its decision to submit the ordinance to the voters and to provide important information that will allow the residents of Morgan Hill to make an informed decision.”
The city has maintained that adding the two hotels would increase transient occupancy tax revenues that would go toward road maintenance and public safety.
According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, the deadline for a city to submit ballot language is Dec. 6 at 5pm.
