While the Ford dealership on Condit Road east of Highway 101 may
or may not be on hold, depending on the California Supreme
Court
’s decision, plans for setting up zoning to allow as many as
four other dealerships west of the freeway go before the City
Council Wednesday night.
While the Ford dealership on Condit Road east of Highway 101 may or may not be on hold, depending on the California Supreme Court’s decision, plans for setting up zoning to allow as many as four other dealerships west of the freeway go before the City Council Wednesday night.
After council makes its decision, the plans will be presented to the Diana Avenue neighbors, said Joyce Maskell, city Business Assistance and Housing Services manager.
“We will have a series of community meetings in May and June for neighbors who would be most affected,” Maskell said. She has reserved the community center for the meetings.
Courtesy Chevrolet (previously South County Chevrolet) in the northwest quadrant of the freeway and East Dunne Avenue, is considering expanding but needs to adjust the Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the Walnut Grove area. At the same time, council will take a look at what the best way to develop the vacant land west of the dealership and north of the Walgreen’s center.
A PUD is a road map to development; what kind of uses can particular land be put to; what are the landscaping, signage and light requirements. These guidelines are established before an area can be developed. Any changes to the PUD must be approved by the council.
Council will choose between four design concepts, the first of which is preferred by property owners whose land is involved (different from neighbors and Courtesy Chevrolet), with the second also found acceptable.
“But the property owners don’t like version C (four),” Maskell said, “and we have to please a lot of people over this, including the council.”
Option one would create one new site for a dealership, allows Courtesy to expand and shortens the existing Laurel Road (the road that turns right from Walnut Grove Avenue and continues to the Courtesy Chevrolet parking lot).This option follows the current Walnut Grove PUD.
Option two would create two dealership sites north of Courtesy and west of Walnut Grove Drive, both outside the existing PUD. The plan would extend Laurel Avenue west and adds a new retail site fronting on East Dunne Avenue.
Option three includes two dealership sites and option four also extends the PUD, and a retail site and two new auto dealership sites.
Maskell said the first two options are preferred by property owners because they respect existing property lines, create the least number of parcels to sell or lease and contain the fewest roads. Courtesy, she said, also approves of the third option.
Consultants ROEL Automotive Advisory Group will present council with the four options, discuss their merits and share possible mitigation methods. Mitigations are ways to fix potential problems associated with auto dealerships: noise from loudspeakers, overhead lights and the visual impacts of large parking lots full of brightly lit vehicles.
The city hired consultants ROEL, Maskell said, because they know what auto dealers really want. They, in turn, hired an architect to draw up plot plans, for a ROEL total of $75,295. MIG will be paid $10,300 to facilitate the neighborhood meetings, as they did when the Santa Clara County Courthouse plans were being developed for Butterfield Boulevard.
The Walnut Grove PUD workshop begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday in City Council Chambers. City Council and/or the Redevelopment Agency meets at 7 p.m. most Wednesdays, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.morgan-hill.ca.gov or 779-7271. Council meetings are broadcast live on cable access channel 17.
