All those blueprints for Coyote Valley suggest big changes for
South County from traffic to air quality to
– yes – even climate change.
Morgan Hill – All those blueprints for Coyote Valley suggest big changes for South County from traffic to air quality to – yes – even climate change.
Just what kind of warming effect will 80,000 people and all their cars, refrigerators, air conditioners and industry-leading jobs have?
The answer is coming in a couple weeks, said San Jose Principal Planner Darryl Boyd, referring to the March 1 release of Coyote Valley’s draft-environmental impact report.
“To the best of my knowledge, it’s the first time an EIR has addressed climate change,” Boyd said at Monday’s Coyote Valley Specific Task Force meeting in San Jose’s City Hall. “It’s obviously a topic of great interest.”
All in all, the EIR will address 16 major domains, including transportation, water supply, cultural resources and energy.
Beyond that, Boyd couldn’t share too many details on the document before it goes public.
An EIR is a state-mandated disclosure of all major environmental impacts a development is likely to have. It’s the next milestone in long-range plans to bring 25,000 homes and 50,000 jobs north of Morgan Hill and west of U.S. 101.
After it’s released, the document will be posted on San Jose’s Web site and circulated for a 60-day comment period. Members of the public can submit written comments and attend forums to give feedback on the record.
After the two-month comment period ends, Boyd said planners will compile feedback and respond to all “significant” concerns in a revised EIR. Determining whose comments are significant enough to respond to occurs behind closed doors.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, one of 20 task force members helping to shape the Coyote Valley vision, asked Boyd to clarify whose feedback would be responded to.
“At what point would I, as an individual, have the opportunity to convince the (San Jose) city council and the planning commission that my comment is significant?” Gage asked.
Boyd said public hearings would allow people to argue their points and planners would respond to concerns rooted in fact.
The final EIR is tentatively scheduled to be heard by the San Jose Planning Commission in November. The entire Coyote Valley plan could then go to the San Jose City Council in December for approval.
But many feel the city’s pending general plan review and high level of interest in the North First Street project could stall Coyote Valley development for years. The North First Street project is expected to increase the population of north San Jose by 56,000 people with 32,000 high-density housing units.
Hoping all their work wouldn’t be in vain, task force member Chuck Butters asked what the EIR’s shelf life would be.
Boyd responded it could be reliable for up to 15 years.
“It really has to do less with dates, but with whether it is still reliable information,” Boyd said. “There’s not really a time limit.”
MILESTONES OF COYOTE VALLEY SPECIFIC PLAN PROCESS
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March 1: Draft-environmental impact report circulated for 60-day public comment period. The EIR addresses physical impacts of the effort to bring 25,000 homes and 50,000 jobs north of Morgan Hill and west of U.
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June through September 2007: Response to EIR comments, plan refinements and form-based zoning.
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November 2007: Tentative date for San Jose Planning Commission’s public hearing on the Coyote Valley Specific Plan
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December 2007: Tentative date for San Jose City Council’s hearing on the specific plan.
