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Clean up local parking lots
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Recently I was listening to KLIV and a report on the unseen effects of the drought in the Bay Area. The interviewer was talking about the accumulated materials that will be immediately swept up by the first heavy rains and dumped into local creeks for transport into the San Francisco Bay waters from the north and into Monterey Bay from the south drainage.
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The pesticides and fertilizers used in farmland operations and in the local lawns and gardens, the cat and dog litter, the paper and plastic litter, the seepage from asphalt roadways and the accumulation of petroleum droppings from the roadways and parking lots will all hit the drainage waterways at one time. He spoke about the vast numbers of species that live in or depend on this ecosystem and the devastating effect this will have there.
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At that moment I was driving into the parking lot of our local Home Depot; a place where you really need to watch where you walk to avoid the accumulation of oil deposits from the work trucks that park there. There was the same overloaded pickup truck with attached trailer nearby that has been broken down for almost two weeks, and the two very old motorhomes parked on the north side of the lot against the fence.
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One Home Depot employee I asked about those vehicles said they come in and use the bathrooms all the time and the store cannot do anything about it.
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If I were a police officer or security guard authorized to check on those motor homes the first thing I would check, after I ran the plates, would be to see if they were dumping their gray and black water waste into the bushes. Then I would make contact. If I had a waste violation, it is a more serious matter than just a “move on” order.
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My second stop was at Big 5 Sporting Goods, and then I noticed there were several vehicles that looked to have been parked for some time in that lot. So, it makes me wonder, what is happening around the business lots in Morgan Hill to remove these vehicles?
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At least someone is working on the tractor that broke down in the private field off U.S. 101 and East Dunne Avenue while clearing dead grass before the Fourth of July fireworks. Any waste leaks there are the responsibility of the landowner, which might be shoveled over after the repairs are finished.
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Howard Lewis
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Morgan Hill
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Officials place community at risk
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Recently the city council voted 3 to 2 to reject a project that would have annexed county open space, agricultural land and viewsheds for a clustering of homes on local hillsides. The Oak Meadows neighborhood objected to the plan citing a number of conflicts with the City’s General Plan. In the discussion prior to the vote, Councilmembers Marilyn Librers and Gordon Siebert came up with their own astonishing criteria for why the land should be developed that lacked validity, compassion and understanding.
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Ms. Librers began by denigrating the land as “wild, open cows,” oblivious to its concurrent value as habitat for indigenous wildlife, flora and fauna, while retaining runoff to support our critical aquifer. Her most egregious reasoning was the project would enhance adjacent property values, a point she repeated. When I heard that, I looked through all the staff reports and recommendations and could not find any citation or reference to support. Should the project increase property values as Ms. Librers claims, it would also increase residential property taxes. The neighborhood would be directly impacted by the project and indirectly would have to pay higher taxes as well. Granted there is a limit to the tax but it is still an increase and it is all just wrong.
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Aside from misplaced criteria, Ms. Librers chastised the many concerned residents in the audience as just being “upset,” making it a “bigger problem than it was” while backing the developer as trying to “appease the (again) upset neighbors.” Ms. Librers’ support was misplaced. It should have always been with the residents who continually cited project conflicts with General Plan policies which were never addressed. The developer’s sole purpose was to make a profit on land that was not even in the city limits. Between the two, it should have been residential/community need, not developer wants.
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Mr. Siebert claimed the project would bring in needed revenue with new property taxes. Again, I looked through the reports and could not find any supported citations from the City staff. Like Ms. Librers, Mr. Siebert revealed a critical lack of understanding with an unsupported statement. The city collects such a meager portion of the property taxes that it alone could never support the services and infrastructure needed. Such taxes are siphoned by the state, school and special districts, special assessments and the county. In fact, it is well known that property taxes alone do not support infrastructure or the services that single family residential developments require. In essence, new residential development does not bring real revenue; it just brings in new costs.
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Both councilmembers came up with their own idiosyncratic and unfounded reasoning that could not be located as on staff’s report as it was never a valid consideration. Such criteria were not considered by the planning commission. No other councilmember acknowledged or supported the contentions. More powerful arguments such as a critical need to meet housing obligations, laws or deficiencies were never mentioned because there were none. This approach by our local leadership is not only embarrassing; it places this community at great risk.
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Mark Grzan
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Morgan Hill
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Thanks for clothing drive
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The Edward Boss Prado Foundation and its program through Cecelia’s Closet and Food Pantry would like to thank the many people, businesses and organizations who so generously helped with the Back to School Clothing Drive.
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Our Aug. 22 event, Fit Out for Fall, was able to help provide clothing, shoes, and food for over 100 children. This was only made possible through the donations and volunteer support of many people.
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We would like to thank the Chamber of Commerce and City Council members as well as Mayor Steve Tate, who volunteered time on that day. We are appreciative of the help from The Community Garage, the local Boy Scouts, the Minute Man Press, the Morgan Hill Library, Sticky Fingers, Tencate, Lin Engineering, Momentum Chiropractic, Reality World, ReMax, Live Oak Veterinary , Old Republic Title Co., Sports Clips, City Hall, Chase Bank, Union Bank, the CRC, Heritage Bank, The Happy Spatula, Shoe Repair, Granada Theater, Noah’s, Betsy’s Café, the Postal Annex, Interact at Sobrato High School, Robin with Girl Scout Troop 6224, and Julie with Girl Scout Troop 60256.
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We were aided by the Community Coordinators of the many elementary schools of Morgan Hill Unified School District, as well as the committed volunteers who work with Cecelia’s Closet and Food Pantry on a regular basis.
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We look forward to other events in our community where we can work together to benefit the families in need. We speak for them when we express our thanks to you all.
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Sincerely,
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Cecelia and Gary Ponzini
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Co-founders of the Edward Boss Prado Foundation and the EBP Advisory Council
