Morgan Hill’s Southeast Quadrant, a 1,200-acre patchwork of
farms, orchards and sports fields where future higher-impact
development is considered inevitable, will soon be defined with
a
”
project description
”
if the city council votes to do so Wednesday.
Morgan Hill’s Southeast Quadrant, a 1,200-acre patchwork of farms, orchards and sports fields where future higher-impact development is considered inevitable, will soon be defined with a “project description” if the city council votes to do so Wednesday.
The description recommended by city staff concludes that continued agricultural production in the quadrant is viable, and it designates a minimum of 280 acres of the properties to remain agricultural.
Plus, it recommends that about 190 acres of the land be zoned sports-recreation-leisure. That zoning label would apply to the city’s Outdoor Sports Complex on Condit Road, which lies in the Southeast Quadrant.
The project description for the property will guide future development in the area with the purpose of maintaining a greenbelt around the city. It is based on a study conducted by consultants Michael Brandman Associates, House Agricultural Consultants and Economic Planning Systems.
That study found that long-term agriculture, on a small scale, is financially viable. It also found that the city could implement an open space mitigation policy to require developers in the area to preserve an equal amount of undisturbed land that they build on.
The city’s southeast quadrant is east of U.S. 101, between San Pedro and Maple avenues. The 1,200 acres in the quadrant consist of about 200 parcels owned by more than 100 different parties.
Non-agricultural plans already proposed for the southeast quadrant include a Catholic high school campus that can accommodate about 1,200 students, an artificial snowboarding and ski mountain proposed by Snowflex, and more sports fields including privately owned cricket and polo fields proposed by Chiala Farms owner George Chiala.
Already established in the southeast quadrant are the OSC and Aquatics Center, both owned by the city. Another property owner has proposed a 43,000-square-foot “sports retail” complex just south of the Aquatics Center near Condit Road and Tennant Avenue.
Chiala has also proposed a mixed-use residential and open space development on 305 acres he owns in the southeast quadrant – land that is currently used for farm production.
In order to finalize the development guidelines it foresees in the southeast quadrant, the city will have to gain approval from the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission to expand the urban limit line, or the point beyond which the city cannot expand.
LAFCO generally discourages expansions that intend to convert agricultural land into non-agricultural uses. Thus, LAFCO would be unlikely to approve an expansion into the southeast quadrant unless the city implements an agricultural mitigation program.
“LAFCO policies call for the development of existing vacant and underutilized sites that are located within a city’s existing boundaries before expanding into agricultural lands,” LAFCO executive officer Neelima Palacherla wrote in a letter to the city dated Feb. 17.
After the council approves a project description, work can proceed on an environmental study of the quadrant. The EIR will be based on the preferred uses identified in the project description.
The total cost of the EIR is about $482,000. The city allocated about $173,000 to pay for its share of the EIR in the current year’s budget. The remainder of the EIR cost will be shared by five private developers with their own project plans in the works in the southeast quadrant.
The council will consider the recommended project description at Wednesday’s meeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall, 17555 Peak Ave.
