Editor’s note: This article was originally published Feb. 8, 2016.
Campaign season for the November 2016 city election is underway, as Planning Commissioner Rene Spring has formally announced his candidacy for one of two City Council seats up for grabs.
Spring, 52, is running on a platform that consists of slowing down the growth that Morgan Hill has seen in recent years, and planning for “smart” growth in the future.
“I’m really worried about the direction our town is going,” Spring said. “I don’t know anyone who moved to Morgan Hill for the urban experience. I’m really worried about the explosion of buildings we’ve seen across town. As a planning commissioner, I’m really worried about some of the policies the council still has in place that enable this to happen.”
Spring is a 12-year resident of Morgan Hill, having immigrated to the U.S. from Switzerland a few years before he moved here.
He has served on the seven-member planning commission since 2012. Members of that body are appointed by the elected City Council.
“The council doesn’t want to change. They cater to the builders and developers,” Spring added.
He doesn’t think some of the council’s recent key decisions on land use reflect how the majority of Morgan Hill residents feel. He cited the Southeast Quadrant project as an example, where the council has regularly advocated an annexation and “Sports-Recreation-Leisure” plan for the agricultural area for more than a decade, despite the protests of other local agencies and residents who insist the effort is not compatible with its surroundings.
“When (the SEQ) came up, I strongly advocated including that in the General Plan Update,” Spring said. The City Council two years ago declined to include the projected commercial growth of the SEQ—which would include a private Catholic high school if it gains approval from the county—in the General Plan Update effort. “It will not do anything to preserve our agriculture in the Southeast Quadrant.”
Another “eye opener” on the commission, for Spring, was when the Oak Meadows annexation project in west Morgan Hill. On that agricultural property, the owner planned to build up to 48 new homes. “I thought that was a beautiful area. When it came up (at a planning commission meeting), I was the only commissioner that voted against the project,” Spring said.
The current council last year ultimately rejected the Oak Meadow annexation by a 3-2 vote.
“We need to stop annexing land outside our city as long as we have lots of land inside our Urban Service Area,” Spring added.
Spring added he has also differed with the current council on the conversion of industrial land to residential and commercial. “We want companies to move down here and make this land available for well-paying jobs.”
Furthermore, Spring said the city’s downtown plans suffer from safety shortfalls, and have forced small businesses to move out to the detriment of the city.
“I do not think (the downtown) is family friendly,” he said. “It is unsafe, especially for kids. I want to keep our innovative and community-building small businesses in downtown, and we need to attract other business.”
Two council seats up for election in November 2016 are currently held by incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers, neither of whom has formally announced their intent to run for re-election. Councilmembers serve four-year terms.
The mayor’s seat, currently occupied by five-term incumbent Steve Tate, will appear on that ballot as well. The mayor’s term is for two years.
The city election will take place Nov. 8.
Spring is Director of Program Management for Cadence Design Systems. He has served on the board of directors for Leadership Morgan Hill, and is currently President of the Board of Directors for the Morgan Hill Community Foundation.
This article is part of a series of profiles on the five candidates running for Morgan Hill City Council in the Nov. 8 election. Candidates are incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers, and challengers Mario Banuelos, Armando Benavides and Rene Spring. There are two seats open in the election, and voters will get to select two candidates on the ballot. The top two overall vote getters will win the seats. Click the links at the bottom of this page to view the other candidates’ profiles.
