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In the first year of the Measure S residential development competition, the City of Morgan Hill will allow developers to build 195 homes—a sharp reduction from the annual average of about 250 over the last decade.The city council voted 4-1 April 19 to set the number of homes to be built in fiscal year 2019-20. The final approved total allotment of 195 followed a lengthy council discussion, and in fact lowered the planning commission’s recommendation of allowing 200 homes to be built that year.Developers will compete for these home allotments through the Residential Development Control System in about six months.The council’s vote was the first time the body had a chance to limit housing construction under Measure S, an update to the RDCS approved by the voters in November 2016. The growth of Morgan Hill was a hot topic among the public during the campaign season preceding that election, which also featured two council seats and the mayor’s office. Councilmember Rene Spring was one of the most vocal slow-growth candidates in the council race, in which he received the most votes out of five on the ballot.Measure S sets an annual maximum number of housing allotments at 215, but allows the council to reduce that number as low as they want each year until the measure expires in 2035. Measure S also caps the city’s population at 58,200 for 2035.One of the key improvements in the RDCS sought and touted by council members and city officials who placed Measure S on the ballot is that it has the provisions to prevent future “spikes” in population and housing construction—similar to what has occurred in Morgan Hill since about 2012.During the April 19 discussion, council members tried to determine a housing allocation number for 2019-20 that would prevent such spikes, based on other units allocated in previous years but not yet built. The approval of 195 was a “compromise” among council members, according to some of the elected officials.“Based on the data made available to us, there might be another spike of building coming toward us, and lowering this number will help ease that spike a little bit,” Spring said. “Also it will ensure we are not exceeding the population growth that is defined for measure S for 2035.”How low to go?Earlier this month, the Morgan Hill Planning Commission recommended the council allow up to 200 homes in 2019-20 under Measure S. But that recommendation was a narrow 4-3 vote, with some commissioners arguing for an even sharper reduction than 200, according to Morgan Hill Principal Planner John Baty.Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr noted there are two housing projects underway downtown—Sunsweet and Barley Place—as well as some new housing for seniors in the pipeline. All of these unbuilt yet approved—or soon to be approved—units could result in another flurry of growth when the first Measure S homes are built, Carr explained.“We could see this sort of spike in our population figures,” Carr said. “We need to start doing something about that. If we start lowering the number now, we’ll lessen some of these peaks and valleys.”Carr initially supported the planning commission’s recommendation of 200 homes for 2019-20. However, that motion failed and Spring proposed an allotment of 190 homes. Then Carr asked Spring to amend the number to 195, which passed.Carr added that lowering the maximum number of homes in the first year of Measure S “sends the right message.”“We told voters with Measure S that the council will have the ability to make changes like this if they see issues. I see an issue so I thought we should start to lower it,” Carr said.Mayor Steve Tate also pointed to the new downtown and senior housing projects approaching as evidence that the city’s population could rise faster than planners prefer if the Measure S allocation is not reduced below 215. He added that the number can’t be lowered too much, because that would impact residential projects that might have started construction on their first RDCS allocations, but have many more phases and requests for more units remaining.“I think it’s a good compromise,” Tate said of the 195 maximum for 2019-20. “We felt the population impacts that have been going on justify that.”Residents have become increasingly weary of residential construction in Morgan Hill since builders and developers started to recover from the recession of 2010.When that recession began, developers who had RDCS allocations couldn’t start building because they didn’t have the financing. When the money returned, the council extended the deadlines for developers to act on their old RDCS allocations, resulting in the non-stop construction of hundreds of homes throughout Morgan Hill since about 2012.Lower number could affect affordable home supplyCouncilman Rich Constantine cast the only dissenting vote against 195 homes on April 19. He said he wasn’t convinced of the threat of a coming housing construction spike. Lowering the annual housing allocation in the first year of Measure S is a “kneejerk reaction” when the measure has more than 15 years left to keep the city’s population manageable, he added.Constantine also argued that lowering the annual housing allocations makes it difficult for developers of large projects—such as the 300-unit DivcoWest residential/industrial project proposed on Jarvis Drive—to get their construction started. In turn, that makes it unlikely that these developers will want to build more affordable housing, which the city also needs.“We have to be able to accommodate those projects that we’ve already approved,” Constantine said.Before the voters approved Measure S, the city’s RDCS allowed an average of 247 homes to be built annually from 2006 to 2016, as the council approached a population cutoff of 48,000 in 2020. Morgan Hill’s current population is just under 44,000.

In an effort to reduce pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle collisions, the Morgan Hill Police Department will partner with law enforcement agencies throughout Santa Clara County April 26 to conduct a high-visibility, directed traffic enforcement operation, according to a press release from MHPD.The operation, hosted by MHPD, will take place 7 to 11 a.m. April 26. Similar operations will be conducted monthly throughout the year, rotating through the participating agencies.On April 26, Officers from Campbell Police Department, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Mountain View PD, Milpitas PD, San Jose PD, Santa Clara PD and Los Altos PD will be deployed within the City of Morgan Hill, cracking down on vehicle code violators, the press release states. Special attention will be paid to pedestrian and bicycle violations along the arterial roadways of Morgan Hill.These violations will include pedestrian right-of-way, jaywalking, three-foot buffer for bicyclists, red light/stop sign violations, distracted driving and any other dangerous violations that are observed.The Morgan Hill Police Department reminds motorists, pedestrians and cyclists:• Pedestrians and bicyclists should cross streets at marked crosswalks or intersections and obey traffic signals such as “Walk” and “Don’t Walk” signs;• Pedestrians and bicyclists should not wear headphones or talk on their cell phones while in the roadway;• Bicyclists should have their bicycle equipped with a white light on the front visible from a distance of 300 feet and a red reflector visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear, during darkness;• Bicyclists operating on the roadway are subject to obeying all rules of the road, including stop signs and lighted traffic signals;• Bicyclists shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian.The MHPD press release adds that some of the “unsafe behavior associated with pedestrian and bicycle violations, crashes and fatalities” includes:• Speeding (even 5 MPH can make the difference between seriousness of injuries);• Failure to stop for red lights or stop signs;• Failure to yield to pedestrians and bicyclists;• Distracted driving;• Blocking crosswalks;• Turning on permitted light (green signal) but not looking for pedestrian properly crossing in crosswalk, resulting in right and left turn crashes with pedestrians.

Golden State Assembly LLC, a manufacturer of communications, power and lighting cables, is about to move into the largest vacant industrial space in Morgan Hill.The company, based in Fremont, is expanding its operations into the 81,185-square-foot building at 18220 Butterfield Blvd. in Morgan Hill, according to Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Edith Ramirez.Alien Technologies formerly occupied the building, which sold for $8.35 million in January.Golden State Assembly manufactures cables for power, lighting and communications for the medical, automotive, solar, consumer, communication, audio, video and technology industries. The company specializes in custom assemblies, box builds, full integration systems and harnesses, according to a press release from Ramirez.Golden State Assembly employs 260 people at their Fremont manufacturing plant, and is currently hiring for both locations. They’re planning to expand their total staff from 260 to about 680, according to Ramirez.Cesar E. Madrueno, President of Golden State Assembly, said he is excited about their recent acquisition in Morgan Hill.“Morgan Hill is a strategic move for us because this expansion in south Silicon Valley will allow us to quickly get up and running in this building, in a location that has a reverse commute, and will allow us to quickly expand our workforce to be operational within a couple of months from purchasing the building,” Madrueno said in a statement.The company will host a soft opening celebration and walkthrough of the building with city staff and one of Golden State Assembly’s key customers 11:30 a.m. April 25 at 18220 Butterfield Blvd.

Two people died in a traffic accident on Santa Teresa Boulevard in southwest Morgan Hill Sunday night.About 7:15 p.m., Morgan Hill Police responded to the area of Santa Teresa and Native Dancer Drive on multiple reports of a collision involving major injuries, according to authorities.When officers arrived, they saw a Toyota Camry in the roadway with significant front-end damage, police said. The female driver had exited the Toyota and was contacted on the east side of Santa Teresa Boulevard. She was later transported to a local trauma center with non-life threatening injuries.Also at the scene when police arrived was a Chrysler Sebring on the west shoulder of Santa Teresa Boulevard, according to authorities. Two male subjects were inside the Chrysler. They were unresponsive and appeared to have significant injuries.Officers attempted to rescue the Chrysler driver but the vehicle was on fire, police said.Morgan Hill Fire Department personnel arrived and attempted to rescue the occupants of the Chrysler. Despite the rescue efforts, both men inside the Chrysler were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.Both occupants were extricated from the Chrysler, police said. Authorities have not released their names.The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office also responded to the scene and began an investigation. MHPD continues to investigate the accident as well.So far, officers have determined that the Chrysler was traveling northbound on Santa Teresa at a high rate of speed, according to authorities. The driver lost control of the Chrysler in the area of Sunshine Street and Native Dancer Drive. The vehicle drifted sideways into oncoming traffic and struck the Toyota.Anyone with information about this collision can contact MHPD at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

With overwhelming support from local business representatives, the Morgan Hill City Council April 19 approved the Economic Blueprint, which has been in the works since 2015.The Blueprint serves as a long-term guide for city planners and the private sector to grow Morgan Hill’s economy and public revenues by addressing current impediments to such growth and capitalizing on existing opportunities.The five-member council approved the Blueprint unanimously, after representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association and Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance submitted their comments in support of the document draft released by city staff last week.In summary, the Economic Blueprint lists four key industries that planners expect to drive the economy and create jobs, revenues and a “fiscally sustainable future:”• Innovation and advanced manufacturing;• Retail;• Tourism, including leisure, agriculture, wine production and recreation;• Healthcare, particularly the medical service and diagnostics industries.“By articulating clear intentions with these industries, and developing implementation strategies, the city, the business community, businesses, developers, investors and other economic development partners will be better positioned to realize the dividends of a focused and collaborative effort,” the Blueprint reads. “From the city's perspective, a primary responsibility is to make land use and policy decisions that will attract investment, remove unnecessary barriers, achieve economic sustainability and in return enhance the community's quality of life.”Members of the public who spoke at the April 19 meeting urged the council to keep its eye on what they see as a top priority for the economic health of Morgan Hill: attracting more jobs to town.John Horner, President and CEO of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, noted the vast discrepancy between the number of working residents in town versus the number of jobs in the city limits.“From 2002 to 2014, if jobs growth had kept pace with resident growth, there would be another 3,500 to 4,000 jobs in Morgan Hill,” Horner said.In a letter to the council, Horner also emphasized the many roadblocks to business growth here that are listed in the Blueprint: higher city planning/building fee structures than neighboring cities, the absence of new commercial or industrial square footage in Morgan Hill and the conversion in recent years of hundreds of acres of undeveloped industrial land for residential uses.“The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce has been very concerned about our city’s decade-plus history of adding working residents at more than 10 times the rate of local job creation,” Horner’s letter states. “Becoming ever more of a bedroom community is unhealthy and unsustainable from economic, environmental and quality of life viewpoints. Contrary to the arguments some have made in the past, adding more places for people to live has not resulted in more local jobs.”Councilmember Caitlin Jachimowicz commented that the effort to bring more jobs to Morgan Hill is not only a “quality of life” issue; it’s also a public safety concern because all the commuting creates more congestion and traffic hazards on the roads.“We have a moral imperative to help people with their safety and quality of life, to be able to work in the place that they live,” Jachimowicz said.Data and measurementsThe 59-page Blueprint is full of financial and demographic data that illustrates the need for an ongoing focus on the four categories listed above. For example, residential properties in Morgan Hill generate about 67 percent of the city’s general fund revenue, but account for about 75 percent of general fund costs. By contrast, commercial properties contribute about 28 percent of general fund revenues, but only about 21 percent of the costs, page 16 of the Blueprint draft states.In addition to the four key industry sectors listed above, the Blueprint also establishes “four pillars” that align with the city’s General Plan 2035 priorities: maintain the quality of life, fiscal sustainability, job growth and tourism.The Blueprint establishes “benchmarks” that city planners and developers will be encouraged to meet along the way toward these goals. These include policies that facilitate zoning and General Plan allowances for certain types of new development, additional marketing for sports-related and lodging projects, potential new funding sources for property improvements, among many others.The Blueprint includes detailed “work programs” that offer a timeline of when these benchmarks should be completed, and which city department will take the lead on each strategy.Another key measurement for the success of the Economic Blueprint will be the frequent evaluation of “economic indicators” in Morgan Hill. These include:• The city’s unemployment rate (currently 4.1 percent)• Jobs/housing ratio (1.42 in 2010)• The number of retail businesses in town (112 in 2015)• Annual sales tax revenue ($8.8 million projected this year), property tax revenue ($6.3 million), transient occupancy (hotel) tax ($2.6 million)• Commercial vacancy rate (5.24 percent in 2016)• Total jobs in Morgan Hill (15,700 at the end of 2015)• Business to business revenue ($1.18 million in 2016)• Number of hotel rooms available in town (912 as of October 2016), and the occupancy rate of these rooms (now about 70 percent).The process of drafting the Economic Blueprint began in 2015, and has been led by city staff members Edith Ramirez and John Lang. It has also included input from the council and planning commission, as well as “thought leaders” and “pathfinders” from the private sector and neighboring public agencies.The Economic Blueprint draft can be viewed on the city’s website, morganhill.ca.gov.

Gary Harmon, a former Morgan Hill producer who is now accused of embezzling at least $500,000 from local victims, is out of custody as he awaits his arraignment May 9.Harmon was transported to Santa Clara County Jail April 7 from Clark County Detention Center in Nevada, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erica Engin. Police in Las Vegas arrested him March 23 in that city on suspicion of grand theft and securities fraud in relation to at least two victims in Morgan Hill. The arrest warrant was originally filed by MHPD.Specifically, Harmon faces two counts of grand theft and three counts of securities fraud (violations of the California corporations code), according to authorities.Harmon, formerly a Morgan Hill resident and local high school teacher, also faces an “aggravated white collar crime” enhancement to the charges, which means he is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from his victims, Engin added.He was released from Santa Clara County Jail on bail April 8, just a day after he was booked at the local facility, Engin said. He will appear for his arraignment May 9 at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.If convicted of all five charges, Harmon faces a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.Harmon is the director of ARTTEC, a music and film production company now based in Nevada. Under Harmon’s leadership, ARTTEC produced a number of shows in Morgan Hill up until about 2014. These performances included Kiefer Sutherland and his band ZZ Lightfoot, SmashMouth, Queensryche, Survivor, Greg Kihn, Bret Michaels and others.

For the second time in less than a week, a motorcyclist died April 19 in a traffic collision at the intersection of Leavesley and Holsclaw roads in Gilroy, according to authorities.About 9:05 p.m., a Honda Accord was traveling northbound on Holsclaw Road, just south of Leavesley Road when the driver came to a stop at the intersection of the two roads, according to a press release from the California Highway Patrol.At the same time, a 62-year-old Los Banos man riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle was traveling eastbound on Leavesley Road. As the motorcycle approached the intersection of Holsclaw Road at an unknown rate of speed, the Honda proceeded from the stop sign directly into the path of the motorcyclist on Leavesley Road, according to police.The motorcycle collided into the left front fender of the Honda, which was driven by a 17-year-old Morgan Hill man. A 14-year-old passenger was also in the Honda.Fire and emergency personnel responded to the scene, where the motorcyclist was pronounced dead after paramedics attempted first-aid, police said. The motorcyclist has not been identified.Police do not think alcohol or drugs were a factor in the collision. An investigation into the accident is ongoing.Just five days earlier, on April 15, Richard “Ricky” Luciano Martinez, 53 of Gilroy, died after he collided with a vehicle at the same intersection. Martinez was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Leavesley Road when a 2000 Ford traveling westbound turned directly in front of him onto Holsclaw Road, according to police.Martinez was pronounced dead at the hospital, after he was transported from the scene, police said.Anyone with information about either of the fatal accidents can call CHP at (408) 848-2324.

Violent crime, robbery, burglary and auto theft are on the rise in Morgan Hill over the last year, according to a recent report from Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office. However, a new countywide initiative to combat these trends—which are mirrored in other nearby cities—is being implemented by the D.A.On April 12, Rosen issued the office’s first report ever that compiles crime data from county law enforcement and judicial agencies, as well as figures from individual cities located within Santa Clara County.Spurred by this 32-page analysis, Rosen’s office will be launching initiatives targeting gun crime and residential burglaries. These efforts are intended to more quickly match weapons and ammunition with the criminals who used them, and to take serial home burglary gangs off the streets, according to DA’s Office staff.“Through a more data-driven approach to crime, our county law enforcement partners will be able to better utilize their limited resources for efficient and effective crime fighting,” Rosen said. “This recommitment to fighting crime with the latest and most comprehensive data will strengthen our collaboration for years to come.”The crime data analysis, titled “Crime in Santa Clara County,” details a historically safe county facing new criminal challenges—namely residential burglaries and a recent spike in violent crime—with a declining number of officers to address them, summarizes a press release on the report.The DA’s new Weapon Initiative will increase staffing at the DA’s Crime Laboratory in order to speed up the processing of guns and bullet casings collected as evidence in crimes. Rosen expects this effort to lead to “more arrests, and more prosecutions.”To combat residential burglaries, the DA’s Crime Strategies Unit will partner with local police task forces to identify and prosecute burglary crews. The DA’s report notes that a small number of “prolific burglars” are responsible for a large portion of the residential burglaries in the county each year.The DA’s Crime Strategies Unit uses data analysis to improve officials’ understanding of crime and the prosecution of crime in the county, according to the press release. The CSU shares that intelligence with local police departments, other units in the DA’s office and the public to help solve crimes and “promote fairness and equity in the criminal justice system.”The numbersThe recent trend of declining property crime and rising violent crime mirrors that of the nation as a whole, according to the report. Gun cases in particular have risen slowly, and slightly, in Santa Clara County in the last five years, from 974 in 2012 to 982 in 2016. Gun cases are defined as gun-related crimes (629 in 2016) and crimes with a gun enhancement (353 in 2016).The DA’s report also contains a number of charts and tables illustrating different incidents of crime and changes in each of the county’s cities. In Morgan Hill, three categories of crimes increased by double digits from 2015 to 2016: violent crime (15 percent increase), aggravated assault (16 percent), robbery (20 percent), burglary (11 percent) and auto theft (3 percent).Property crimes in general in Morgan Hill dropped by 12 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the report.