Voters are unlikely to approve a new revenue source for street upgrades and other services, but they favor an extension of the city’s growth control ordinance, according to results from a recent public opinion poll.
That’s among the data compiled by The Lew Edwards Group and Godbe Research, which will be presented to the council at the July 27 meeting. The agenda items include a public hearing and council discussion on a possible bond or sales tax measure to be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot, but staff does not offer a conclusive recommendation on such a measure.
The council will also discuss and possibly approve a measure to extend the Residential Development Control System, which was first approved by voters in 1977. The current RDCS ordinance expires in 2020 with a population cap of 48,000 for that year. The council and planning commission have said they hope the voters will continue to support a population cap by extending the RDCS at least another 10 years. The new expiration date, population cap and number of annual housing allotments to appear on the ballot will be determined by the council July 27, if the body chooses to approve a measure.
The proposed ballot measure, which the council could change July 27 based on public input and its own discussion, reads, “Shall a measure be adopted to amend the Morgan Hill General Plan and Municipal Code to update the City’s voter-approved Residential Development Control System (RDCS) to extend it to 2035, establish a population ceiling of 59,000, with a slower rate of growth than currently exists, and improve policies to maintain neighborhood character, encourage more efficient land use, conserve water, and preserve open space?”
Scientific survey results compiled by LEG and Godbe show that almost 78 percent of respondents—likely Morgan Hill voters—would vote “yes” to this measure. Three hundred ninety-eight people responded to the telephone and email survey. Such a measure would only require more than 50 percent approval among the voters.
Furthermore, a city staff report notes that this proposed RDCS update is a “paradigm shift” from past growth control ordinances, as it focuses more on the maximum annual housing allotments rather than the population cap itself. This annual housing maximum is likely to be set by the council July 27 between 155 and 250, based on previous discussions. On June 28, the planning commission recommended a maximum allotment of 230 units.
The city staff report also notes that the proposed population cap of 59,000 in 2035 is “a ceiling and not a target,” and the number of housing allotments can be reduced from the annual maximum but never increased.
The current RDCS allows up to 250 housing units per year. Council members, developers and community members have praised the RDCS as promoting high-quality housing and amenities for Morgan Hill residents, by requiring developers to compete for the limited number of allotments.
Low support for new taxes
The “quality of life survey results” compiled by LEG and Godbe Research show limited support for a general obligation bond or sales tax measure on the Nov. 8 Morgan Hill ballot.
Such a measure has been discussed by council members for two years, primarily to address a backlog of “deferred maintenance” on the city’s road system and a shortage of funds to repair or upgrade streets.
A memo from the consultants, included with the July 27 agenda item, states only 36 percent of survey respondents would support a general obligation bond, and 48.5 percent would vote in favor of a three-quarters-cent sales tax. On follow-up questions, the consultants further determined that 54.6 percent supported a half-cent sales tax, and 59.9 percent supported one-quarter-cent. Although the last of these options gained majority support beyond the margin of error, the consultants don’t recommend placing it on the ballot because it was a follow-up and “not a test of viability,” the memo reads.
“(It) is our strong advice and reluctant conclusion that the City of Morgan Hill should not proceed in placing a revenue measure on the ballot at this time, and only place the update to the RDCS update measure on the November 2016 ballot,” reads the memo from LEG and Godbe Research.
The city staff report states that the city has an annual funding shortfall of $5.8 million to keep up with needed maintenance of streets, roads, parks and public facilities.
At the July 20 meeting, the council approved a “resolution of necessity” for up to $38 million worth of general obligation bonds, which can be used only for capital projects that “are used to improve our asset or extend the life of the asset,” City Manager Steve Rymer said. Council members and city staff also at that meeting determined that if such the bonds can be acquired, 80 percent of the funds should go toward streets and roads.
If approved, the bond would be repaid with a property tax assessment at $29 per $100,000 of assessed value on each property in Morgan Hill.
A voter-approved sales tax could be used for “operational and capital items for maintaining the long-term financial stability of Morgan Hill and critical services,” including 911 emergency response times, police patrols, crime prevention and investigation, fire and EMS services, fixing potholes and maintaining city streets, economic development and “other general city services,” reads the staff report.
The council hired LEG and Godbe last year to conduct public opinion research in order to determine Morgan Hill residents’ priorities for city services, and to gauge their support for different ballot measure options.
Among other items, the Morgan Hill City Council July 27 will consider placing either a general obligation bond or sales tax on the November ballot (item 12 on the agenda). The elected officials will also consider placing a measure asking voters to renew the Residential Development Control System—which currently expires in 2020—on the Nov. 8 ballot (item 13 on the agenda). Public opinion research consultants The Lew Edwards Group and Godbe Research—who were hired by the council last year to conduct surveys of likely Morgan Hill voters—recommend placing only the RDCS measure on the ballot, and not pursuing a revenue measure for November 2016 due to a lack of support among survey respondents. The meeting will start 7 p.m. July 27 at council chambers, 17555 Peak Ave.
