EDITOR: At the July 14 City Council meeting, developer/attorney
Bruce Tichinin argued that the city manager opposed his project to
build homes on El Toro in retaliation for his suing the city over
its position on the proposed Ford dealership.
EDITOR:
At the July 14 City Council meeting, developer/attorney Bruce Tichinin argued that the city manager opposed his project to build homes on El Toro in retaliation for his suing the city over its position on the proposed Ford dealership.
Tichinin gives no credit, at all, to the group of concerned citizens and homeowners who also opposed his El Toro development. These Morgan Hill residents vigorously objected to this development as soon as they discovered that it would require the existing open space boundary to be moved. They supported the planning department’s rejection of the El Toro development because it violated the General Plan’s open space designation. It was the city staff’s position as well as the homeowners that the voters of Morgan Hill have adopted the General Plan’s open space designation for El Toro in both the Measure P and Measure C growth control ordinances.
When the city attorney advised the City Council of the potential ramifications of adopting the Tichinin/Vierra position over that of the homeowners and city staff, the council wisely chose to have the legal issues of the El Toro development resolved in court. The project is currently in “denied” status pending the outcome of a court ruling on the legality of moving this well-established open space line.
Tichinin also failed to disclose in his defense of his developing El Toro that his project will eliminate a well-used hiking trail, threaten access to a trail to the peak’s summit, disrupt local wildlife habitats, cause potential flooding from runoff, increase traffic flow in quiet neighborhoods and scar the very face of our signature mountain. The open-space boundary, which he calls a mistake, was intentionally drawn using existing property boundaries and lines with well-defined beginning and end points.
We, the undersigned, represent some of those who adamantly oppose the El Toro development and are proud to say that Tichinin is wrong about the motives of our city’s staff. As Councilman Larry Carr stated, Morgan Hill no longer does business in backrooms and barbershops.
We hope that the City Council remains committed to having Morgan Hill be a city where its citizens have input into their quality of life and no longer have to worry about council decisions being made in backroom deals.
Howard Lamcke, Jim Kavitsky, Jennifer Klein, Dana Jensen, Gary Fettig, Colleen Fettig, Jim Persons, Debbie Persons, Morgan Hill
