The City Council will start its meeting off early on
Wednesday
– 5 p.m. – by interviewing six applicants for the Planning
Commission.
The City Council will start its meeting off early on Wednesday – 5 p.m. – by interviewing six applicants for the Planning Commission.
The commission advises the City Council on matters related to city growth and development, and, with the Architectural Review Board, is the first to deal with variances of city ordinances and codes. The Commission is a sevenmember body; each commissioner serves a term of four years.
The terms of four commissioners, Ralph Lyle, Joe Mueller, Robert Escobar and Bob Engles, have come to an end. Each has reapplied for a further term; two residents new to Morgan Hill public service had also applied for seats on the commission.
The relative newcomers are Christopher Buss and Ray Milhem.
Buss, a manager at Hewlett-Packard is a six-year resident who has served on no city commissions or committees. He would like to start with the Planning Commission, according to his application. He generally approves of the growth pattern in town but said the city has “lagged” in bringing in “family restaurants and retail stores such as Lowe’s and Costco.”
Milhem, a four-year resident, owns his own business and said he wants to serve on the commission to “participate in planning and preserving our beautiful city for us and our grandkids.” He considers the area historic and cultural resources importan,t too. Milhem has no local community service but has chaired a professional committee of 3,000 engineers and has volunteered at Red Cross, breast cancer and United Way functions.
Lyle has lived in Morgan Hill for 27 years and served on the commission for nearly 10 years. He was in the forefront of the voter-instigated effort that developed Measures P, the local growth-control initiative and helped with Measure E, its precursor. Lyle also served on update committees for the general plan, downtown plan and, most recently, Measure P.
According to his application, Lyle wants to continue on the commission to implement the new policies the update committee has formulated for Measure P, to “jump-start downtown development and achieve more area planning.”
Joe Mueller, another long-term commissioner, has lived in town for 20 years. He has also served on many city commissions and committees including the general plan update and fire master plan committees, burrowing owl mitigation task force, the urban limit line study and the blue ribbon committee on health care.
He wants to continue working on the housing and limit line studies, among other upcoming issues, and the Measure P update as well. Mueller sees the downtown area as a success story but sees growth management as the biggest challenge facing Morgan Hill and wants to chart a course that “allows needed growth without losing the small town environment that we all want.”
Bob Engles is a real estate broker with Grubb and Ellis and has been involved with land use issues in Morgan Hill from several perspectives. He has lived in town for 20 years, and is finishing his first term on the commission. Engles was appointed to fulfill the term of a commissioner who resigned midterm. He has served on the Measure P, Downtown and Greenbelt update committees and has a lengthy list of other civic offices including Chamber of Commerce president.
Engles’ vision of Morgan Hill includes a “bustling downtown core, a transportation hub to the San Francisco Bay area and a defined greenbelt to establish agricultural areas and discourage land speculators.”
The second commissioner appointed to fill out an incomplete term is Robert Escobar, a 21-year resident. While Escobar did serve on the county planning commission, he had served on no other Morgan Hill commissions and committees.
PARKS AND REC
The Council will also interview replacements for Parks and Recreation Commissioner Wes Rolley who resigned. Rolley told the council in an e-mail that he needed more free time and did not want to cause a conflict of interest, voting on community center-related issues when he would be teaching a class at the center. Council will interview four residents for his position.
Council will choose from Jess Ambriz, a founding member of the Sister City Committee; Nancy Harris, a recreation and artistic-oriented community volunteer; Don Jensen, a landscape architect and veteran of many city committees and commissions; and Marlon Spenser, who serves on a committee in his housing development but has not served on city committees.
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. most 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.
