Opinion

The Dodgers staved off elimination Wednesday, putting up six runs to keep St. Louis from celebrating for at least a couple of days.

Like all of Santa Clara County, Morgan Hill has a rich agricultural history. Most of today's remaining actively grown agriculture (ag) is in South County. To preserve our region's proud history, residents throughout the county want to see active ag preserved to the maximum extent possible.   Our community has invested significant time and resources in evaluating alternatives to preserve viable ag. Morgan Hill's forward thinking, citywide Agricultural Preservation Program was developed with guidance from respected ag preservation and economic consultants. It includes a "stay ahead" provision requiring preservation to occur before development.Morgan Hill has pledged to invest millions of dollars in ag preservation from a fund that continues to grow as the city develops. We have a plan that effectively saves the most ag while providing other benefits to our community and region.It is unrealistic to think that if we don't change anything, South County ag land will remain ag. We have ample evidence to the contrary. Every parcel in unincorporated South County has development rights, including active ag parcels.San Martin is a visual example of ag land turned into housing on large acreage parcels. If you go to the south end of Trail Drive, you'll see five homes under construction. It is literally happening now! House by house, our ag lands will disappear unless we do something different.Morgan Hill is doing something different and innovative. One way to guarantee that these lands remain ag is to remove their development rights by recording a permanent ag easement on the deeds. Land owners will do this—for a price.The city will assure that any ag land developed in or around Morgan Hill preserves an equal amount of designated ag land in the area southeast of the city. It can do this by supplementing payments from an open space account funded by developers who compete for housing allocations in the city. Housing development in the city assists in preserving ag lands in the surrounding county.We are also working with landowners on other innovative approaches to compensating them for ag easements.Morgan Hill has a great reputation for providing high quality recreation facilities. Another creative way to fund ag preservation is to annex a small portion of the area (less than 180 acres) near the Tenant-101 interchange to enhance its family and youth-oriented recreation, sports and leisure offerings. Morgan Hill can leverage its reputation by expanding its active recreation facilities.This envisioned development will pay ag preservation fees, so it will assist in preserving ag in the surrounding county.Another planned use for the southeast area is a new Catholic high school on land owned by the church near the Tenant-101 interchange. It will be a tremendous South County asset, and its development will also help fund ag preservation.Morgan Hill's plans do not add any housing to these areas. None.Consistent with the widely accepted Santa Clara Food and Farmlands Resolution, Morgan Hill is working diligently to insure that small-scale ag remains viable in our sphere of influence. We are seeking the services of a third-party administrator to oversee easements and explore creative ways to provide ag infrastructure to small-scale farmers.To make ag preservation a reality, Morgan Hill is working closely with our Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to gain approval to annex the land for recreation and the Catholic high school. A hearing is scheduled Feb. 3. It is imperative for LAFCo to approve our application, as it proactively and responsibly preserves viable ag while also providing quality community-serving facilities.Steve Tate is the mayor of Morgan Hill. The Feb. 3 LAFCO meeting will take place at the county’s board meeting chambers, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose.

Bicycling will be the big activity in Morgan Hill this weekend and you can follow up with a cool down ride on Monday too.This weekend will see the second annual “Bicycling” Spring Classic. This event is organized by “Bicycling” magazine, which just happens to be the world’s largest bicycling magazine. it is sponsored by our own Specialized Bicycle Components, one of the world’s largest premium bicycle manufacturers.The Spring Classic will be held Sunday, May 3. Make no mistake, the event isn’t a big bicycle industry show. Rather, it focuses on three rides around our beautiful countryside that Specialized employees use to test bikes and equipment and even as backdrops for their ads. They are now sharing this with you.The three rides promise to offer something for everyone: a 25-mile ride for new riders and families, a 60-mile route that will be faster paced but remain social, and a 90-mile loop where there can be an element of formal and informal competition. All rides end right where they began at the Specialized headquarters on Concord Circle in Morgan Hill.The returning riders will be greeted by a bike industry exposition and family friendly activities. A lunch will also be provided along with free massages and, get this, beer. Food trucks will be brought in and anyone can grab a quick bite and stroll the expo even if you didn’t participate in a ride. Hopefully the Specialized museum will also be open to the public as well as the wind tunnel like last year.This event serves to highlight that Morgan Hill is a bicycling destination. Last year one blogger called Morgan Hill a bicycling mecca. Speaking with those returning from last year’s rides I had the opportunity to chat it up with riders from Texas and Southern California. There must be something about Morgan Hill and the surrounding area to draw this kind of interest, and there is. We have a nice combination of hilly terrain and flat roads, and the natural beauty of the area as well as resources like Concept Cyclery and Sunshine Bicycles to service needs and of course, Starbucks and Peet’s which have become regular meeting places (keep an eye out, I hear you might see some world class cyclists at these locations).Whether or not you participate in a ride at the Spring Classic you should treat yourself to what is likely a well-deserved break at lunch on Monday.The first Monday of the month is the day that Specialized and the City of Morgan Hill (with a big dose of support from Concept Cyclery) put on the Lunch Time Bike rides. This event is growing as more and more riders decide that getting out and riding at lunch this one day a month is great for their health, spirit and outlook for the rest of the day. It doesn’t hurt that you’ll probably make a few new friends like I did.Like the Spring Classic rides there is a riding level for everyone. Typically there will be an easy ride (that’s me, folks), an intermediate, and one that is pretty much moving as fast as I can ever pedal the whole distance (I’ll pass).These rides are a lot of fun and you get to ride with Specialized staff who are always willing to talk about their work and passion—bikes and bicycling.Please get out this weekend and ride a bike or attend an event and pack a bag lunch and ride this coming Monday.We have what others will travel to enjoy so I hope you can enjoy what we have too.Bicycling Spring Classic:bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/2015-bicycling-spring-classicLunch Time Rides:morgan-hill.ca.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=3699&month=5&year=2015&day=4&calType=0 andfacebook.com/events/1587060811537632/John McKay is a longtime Morgan Hill resident, city planning commissioner and member of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.