A small but determined subcommittee of five got down to work on
a recent Wednesday afternoon, trying to figure out what to
recommend to the full Urban Limit Line committee about a greenbelt
for the southeast quarter of the city. They came up with three
options after tackling some questions.
A small but determined subcommittee of five got down to work on a recent Wednesday afternoon, trying to figure out what to recommend to the full Urban Limit Line committee about a greenbelt for the southeast quarter of the city. They came up with three options after tackling some questions.
Should a greenbelt be developed at all? How would it be defined? What plan would best manage a greenbelt?
The Urban Limit Line is a line designating the ultimate edge of where the city would be allowed to grow over the next 50 years. Land inside the ULL would remain subject to city zoning regulations and have the benefit of city services.
Property outside the line will be unincorporated and under the control of Santa Clara County and would not be able to have city services.
Chairman Alex Kennett began the meeting by laying out the subcommittee’s intent.
“Our purpose is to create an opportunity that has been denied us in the process of creating a 50-year growth boundary for Morgan Hill.”
The city has provided the subcommittee, composed of Anne Beale, Tim Chiala, Joe Mueller and George Thomas, with professional help in the form of Walter F. Kieser, a land-planning economist. Kieser said he will “crunch the numbers” around the three options. The results of this crunching will show how much each plan could cost to operate and if it is feasible for Morgan Hill.
He and other consultants will guide the subcommittee through the dense and complicated issues surrounding the possible application of greenbelt status to some currently agricultural and undeveloped land.
Kieser is also advising the Coyote Valley Specific Plan Task Force as it determines the look of the valley north of Morgan Hill.
The subcommittee noted that these options are just a beginning and not necessarily the final word on developing the rules for maintain a certain open, rural feel for the area. They are open to suggestions.
Option one: The greenbelt would encompass land from Fisher Avenue, west to Hwy. 101 to Maple Avenue, out to Carey Avenue and to the east foothills.
Option two: Would try greenbelt landscaping along Maple and Tennant avenues, keeping the rural feel on those primary travel streets.
Option three would strive to minimize the urban envelope and maximum the greenbelt with lower rates of development. The planned industrial/commercial space would be included in the urban part. Agriculture, Kieser said, would be stabilized almost as it is now.
It was option two, having a greenbelt line Tennant Avenue, that caused the most discussion. Mueller said he didn’t want the rural atmosphere of Tennant to end up like the very commercialized East Dunne Avenue.
“Let’s put some open space along Tennant,” Mueller said. He suggested placing commercial and other development off the street, behind the greenbelt area.
“How you treat Tennant will matter,” he said.
Chiala mentioned being taken with the way Wente Vineyards in Concord places its vineyards along the roads with buildings in back.
Beale first brought up the open space surrounded Tennant strip.
“If we put the open space along Maple,” Beale said, “not many people will see it but, if it is along Tennant, many more people will.”
Chiala will make a presentation at the July 8 meeting, laying out issues in the agricultural community about the city establishing a greenbelt that includes their land. Issues about property owners being able to sell their land to subsidize retirement and other projects have already emerged from full ULL committee meetings.
Chiala, with his father George, owns and runs a large produce-growing and selling business in the area. They own land in the quadrant. Chiala said he would enlist the help of local farmers and ranchers for his presentation.
Full ULL committee meetings are on hiatus until the subcommittee completes its work. The southeast quadrant proved to be the most contentious and issue-ridden part of the city drawing lines to determine what levels of development would be allowed where.
The point is to preserve the open space, predominantly on hillsides and in selected spots, that make Morgan Hill the semi-rural retreat that it is.
Future subcommittee meetings, all open to the public, are scheduled for Thursdays, July 8, July 29 and Aug. 26 (tentative), 10 a.m.-2 p.m. with a final meeting Thursday, Sept. 7 from 5-9 p.m. The public is especially encouraged to attend from 7-9 p.m. to review the subcommittee’s work to date.
City Council Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.morganhill.ca.gov (type “urban limit line” in the search area or call 779-7271.
