November ballot initiative would ease mixed-use housing
projects
Morgan Hill – Two years ago, property owner Manou Mobedshahi had big dreams for a mixed-use housing project downtown. He envisioned ground-level shops, offices above, and condominiums on top.
But unfortunately for him, laws on the books favor suburban housing projects over downtown projects. The condos – along with other mixed-use projects pitched for the downtown business district – were a no-go.
As a local developer, Mobedshahi is suffering a set back. But so is Morgan Hill, he argues, by not allowing its downtown to evolve in the direction of a bustling commercial and residential district that might appeal to younger – read: “hipper” – home buyers, and infuse some vigor into the ever-growing city.
“You need to have people live downtown to encourage retail,” he added. “I think it’s in everyone’s interest to have a nice downtown. It affects everyone’s property value.”
Mobedshahi is not alone in his convictions. The Morgan Hill Downtown Association’s Board of Directors is pushing forward plans for a November ballot initiative that could amend Measure C, passed by voters in 2004 to cap the number of new residential units to 250 per year. As it is written, the law gives preference to residential projects that have suburban amenities, such as proximity to outdoor recreational facilities. Third-story condos don’t really fit the bill, even though some would-be buyers in their 20’s and 30’s may be more interested in proximity to a nice corner cafe.
“We’re not trying to get rid of Measure C,” said board president Gary Walton, adding that anti-sprawl measures have been popular with Morgan Hill voters since 1977. “We’re not looking to throw the baby out with the bath water. We’re just looking to make it possible to create a downtown we can be proud of.”
Backers of a Measure C amendment want to change some of the law’s language to make downtown development easier. The details haven’t been worked out, but a joint workshop with city officials is scheduled for next week, said Dan Craig, the downtown association’s executive director. The hurdles in the ballot measure process include conducting an environmental study, Craig said, so there’s no guarantee the work will be done by August, when a November measure must be submitted.
Architect Charles Weston of Weston Miles Architecture, Inc., has good reason to support the amendment. He drew the plans for Mobedshahi’s buildings, and also tried to launch his own downtown mixed-use project two years ago.
“We were sort of the guinea pigs,” Weston said. But now there’s a growing movement to shape Morgan Hill’s downtown in the image of cities such as Cupertino, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Burlingame, to name but a few of the examples supplied by Weston and Walton.
Weston said outer shopping areas by Highway 101 are posing a threat to Morgan Hill’s small downtown business district. Adding a bit of density to the core, he said, could provide a remedy.
“If downtown isn’t functioning in a way that can withstand the pressures of everyone going to Cochrane Plaza,” he said, “it will die.”
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 or tb*******@mo*************.com.
