Guest View

In 2006, if a person or family was hungry, there was nowhere in Morgan Hill for them to go for a hot meal (except for the wonderful Senior Lunch Program offered for seniors). Brian Cunningham, a Catholic lay person, and Martha’s Kitchen, a nonprofit...

The saying, “I don’t know how to act my age, I’ve never been this age before,” is so telling. Not many of us research which resources we would need, which resources would be available when we reach what is called the age of wisdom.  Stress...

You may not have realized this, but the City of Morgan Hill is updating its zoning code. In the proposed code, the city will allow hotels near U.S. 101 to be as high as 65 feet. (Chapter 18.24.030). One may ask, why do we need 65-foot hotels in Morgan Hill?Perhaps you’ve heard the argument we need taller structures because land is scarce. This type of development will not ease the housing crisis nor provide affordable housing. Instead, it will increase the wealth of developers at the expense of harming our existing hotels and changing our landscape forever.The city’s proposed height requirement is a reminder to local hotels that they “doth protest too much.” In 2015, when the city attempted to provide a $2 million windfall to an out-of-town developer by changing the zoning to more valuable one, the Morgan Hill Hotel Coalition collected more than 2,500 signatures for a petition for referendum. The city refused to place the ordinance on the ballot, and spent nearly $200,000 of your money fighting against your Constitutional right to approve or reject the ordinance. The court of appeals agreed that you have the right to vote to approve or reject the zoning ordinance, but instead the city asked the California Supreme Court to review the case, thereby spending more of your money.When it came time to update the zoning code, the city decided it would allow any developer to build a hotel twice as tall as the current hotels. If you drive on Condit Road, nearly every hotel is 35 feet high and three stories tall.The city admits it restricted us. In fact, the 35-foot height restriction still applies to every other type of building other than hotels under the proposed zoning code. So the city is clearly singling out hotels.Under the new code, newly developed hotels would have a huge economic advantage over the current ones because they will build twice as many rooms on the same amount of land. When the current hotel owners expressed their concern that the city was providing an unfair advantage, the city’s response has been, “too bad, times have changed.” The hotels even suggested a compromise at 50 feet, but the city declined.Why are hotels different from all other commercial buildings? Is this the way we treat family businesses that have invested in our community for decades and employed dozens of people?  Or is this what happens when the hotels stand up to the city?Perhaps, you really want a series of 65-foot hotels lined up along the highway? When you drive by on 101, instead of El Toro, your view will be changed to high-rise buildings. Is that how you would like people to remember our town? I hope not.Asit Panwala is a spokesperson and attorney for the Morgan Hill Hotel Coalition. He can be reached at [email protected].

A Letter to Our NeighborsDear Morgan Hill Community,Specialized Bicycle Components would like to apologize for the inconveniences caused by the large number of cyclists that ride each day from our company and the lack of riding etiquette while out on the roads of Morgan Hill. Effective immediately we have changed our lunch ride route so it no longer goes through the Paradise Valley Neighborhood. We are working directly with Specialized employees to educate and enforce the California State Vehicle Code regulations as they pertain to cyclists.We are working closely with the Morgan Hill Police Department to create safer road situations for both cyclists and motorists and will be working together to plan a safety course in the near future.To further emphasize the importance of riding safely and respecting community we have developed the How We Roll guiding principles:How We Roll-RESPECT for all traffic laws, like responsible and intelligent adults-RESPECT to all those we encounter: motorists, riders, runners, kids incrosswalks, etc.-BE COOL and say hello to everyone we meet while out riding-DON’T FORGET that when we ride we are representing both Specialized and cyclists at large-BE RESPONSIBLE and have the courage to remind anyone that is not riding in accordanceSpecialized takes pride in being a part of the Morgan Hill community for over 35 years. Our ultimate goal is to promote health and fitness through the sport of cycling and hope to encourage more people to join. We are a company of passionate people who believe in the power of the bike. Going forward we are committed to following the rules of the road and being better at sharing with other people out and about.Please join us for the monthly community ride we host the first Monday of each month to continue the dialogue and join a ride.If you have any questions or would like to send feedback please email [email protected] or call (408)779-6229.Sincerely,The Team at Specialized