Environmentalists looking to shore up support for a land use
initiative to strictly limit hillside and ranch land development in
400,000 acres of unincorporated county space welcomed a lively
debate on Thursday when several opponents joined the meeting at the
Morgan Hill Library.
Morgan Hill – Environmentalists looking to shore up support for a land use initiative to strictly limit hillside and ranch land development in 400,000 acres of unincorporated county space welcomed a lively debate on Thursday when several opponents joined the meeting at the Morgan Hill Library.
The purpose of the meeting, which was organized by People For Land and Nature (PLAN), was to underscore reasons for Santa Clara County citizens to vote “yes” on the November ballot initiative that would limit development of hillside and ranch land parcels outside the county’s 15 cities and towns.
Opponents of the initiative have balked at its “feel good” language, saying it “robs” property owners of millions of dollars in speculative value for their rural land.
The initiative would allow one residence for each 40 to 160 acres in hillside areas. Current zoning laws allow one residence for each 20 to 160 acres in hillside areas.
Morgan Hill Developer Bob Taylor, who attended the meeting, said changing the law would infringe on the rights of property owners and increase housing prices further down road by limiting the supply of housing.
“We have sufficient zoning laws in place already,” Taylor said.
Others said they rely on their property to pay for their children’s college educations and retirement plans.
Greenbelt Alliance representative Michelle Beasley said at the meeting more anti-sprawl laws are needed in the Bay Area as the population is expected to grow by 1.7 million people by the year 2030, as projected by the Association of Bay Area Governments.
“We have to think of our land as a valuable resource,” she said. “We need to think about having a variety of housing with more in the downtown corridors.”
Local resident Alex Kennett, a candidate for the Morgan Hill City Council and a member of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority board of directors, said after the meeting the authority is staying neutral on the initiative.
As for his personal stance, Kennett said he backs the proposed zoning law, having helped its authors to craft language exempting San Martin from the law’s jurisdiction.
Kennett said there has been talk for some time about San Martin incorporating into its own city.
Former Gilroy City Councilwoman Connie Rogers, who supports the initiative, arrived at Thursday’s meeting expecting it to be one-sided. But she was happy to stumble into a debate.
“It was good for people to hear both sides,” Rogers said.
But she remained firm in her position urban development is more cost-efficient than rural development.
“I think the concept of discouraging development in the hills and ranch lands is a good one, because that kind of development is very expensive for the county to provide services to,” she said Friday.
If voters approve the initiative, Santa Clara County supervisors would not be allowed to repeal it. Rogers said she considers this one of the most important aspects of the initiative, which was placed on the November ballot through a petition drive that garnered more than 58,000 signatures.
“It’s tightening up existing regulations and making it so they can’t be changed by politicians,” she said.
