Uncategorized

Residential burglary

After a vehicle collided with two pedestrians in the busy downtown corridor of Morgan Hill this past weekend, city officials assure residents that more safety measures are coming to the neighborhood.On Saturday night, March 12 about 11:30 p.m., two women were struck by a gray Ford while walking in the crosswalk at Third Street and Monterey Road, in front of Ladera Grill restaurant, according to Morgan Hill police Sgt. Carson Thomas. The vehicle was traveling southbound on Monterey Road when it struck the pedestrians.One of the pedestrians was transported to an area hospital, and was released later that evening, Thomas said.The driver of the Ford was cited for excess speed under the conditions, which were wet and rainy, Thomas added.“The estimated speed (of the vehicle) was about 30 mph. The driver told the officer he had a difficult time seeing because his window was fogged up and (because of) the weather,” Thomas added. The speed limit on Monterey Road downtown is 25 mph.Thomas added that one of the pedestrians was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness, and the “male half” was arrested on suspicion of obstructing an officer after he tried to stop the officer from contacting the injured woman.The accident happened as the City of Morgan Hill is in the process of rebuilding its downtown and trying to make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. In September 2015, the city council approved a long list of “traffic calming” measures for downtown streets, sidewalks and crosswalks; but they decided against the option of installing flashing lights at downtown crosswalks, similar to those seen on West Edmundson Avenue in front of the Centennial Recreation Center.Some of these measures have been completed, such as the temporary installation of speed bumps on Monterey Road on each side of Fourth Street and movable reflective signs denoting pedestrian crosswalks at key intersections, City Manager Steve Rymer said. However, the council elected not to reinstall the larger speed bumps that were removed from the area of the Third Street crosswalk last summer.Other upcoming safety improvements include expanding sidewalks on Monterey Road, and narrowing the vehicle travel lanes from 10.5 feet to 10 feet. The city will also install paint markings for bike lanes on the pavement, and restripe the roadway when other downtown street improvements are complete.“The idea is to enclose the downtown and calm traffic by bringing everything together,” Rymer said.The city also plans to install a traffic light at Fourth Street and Monterey Road, at which time the speed bumps will be removed. That light is also intended to slow down vehicles on Monterey Road, and keep traffic orderly as it enters and exits the new Fourth Street Garage.All of these measures together are expected to cost about $600,000.In the summer of 2015, the city also enacted a “road diet” experiment, in which Monterey Road through the downtown was reduced to a single travel lane in each direction. The intent of the experiment was to slow the traffic and improve safety, but the concept failed to gain momentum as a permanent measure in the face of heated opposition from residents and business owners.

What will become of nearly 1,200 acres of prime farmland in the Southeast Quadrant now that the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission has denied the City of Morgan Hill’s request to annex a portion of the property?There are both long-term and short-term answers to that question. The city’s plan was to expand its Urban Service Area around 229 acres and turn it into a Sports-Recreation-Leisure district, using developer fees and existing local open space funds to purchase permanent agricultural easements on other farmland elsewhere in the SEQ .But LAFCO shot down that plan March 11.County authorities, environmental nonprofits and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority are working on a regional ag preservation framework, which is expected to be complete in 2017. At that time, the county can compete for a share of $40 million available statewide through cap-and-trade funds, but that funding isn’t guaranteed. This is the long-term goal.The county recently received a $100,000 “Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation” grant to draft this framework.Committee For Green Foothills Environmental Advocate Julie Hutcheson said despite the anticipated fierce competition for the cap-and-trade funds, the fact that Santa Clara is one of only three counties in the state to receive the SALC grant is a good omen.“This is what we’ve been saying for years: step back and take a look at this from another perspective,” Hutcheson said of the city’s and county’s competing ag preservation proposals following the March 11 meeting. “The county is very serious about protecting the agricultural resources in this part of the county. Their involvement may help secure funding in purchasing agricultural easements. It’s a very hopeful process.”In the meantime, without any restrictions on the SEQ farmland, most of it can be developed into five- to ten-acre residential lots, under current county zoning. The most recent occurrence of this possibility is seen on Trail Drive, where five “McMansion” estates—in the parlance of some members of the public who spoke at the March 11 meeting—are under construction on roughly five-acre lots each.“We feel good that we set the bar pretty high; we’re the only city in the county that has (an agricultural preservation) program,” said developer Gordon Jacoby, a longtime proponent of the city’s SEQ ag preservation plan and SRL district. However, he added that SEQ property owners might not wait for the county’s ag plan without any guarantees, since they are “getting older” and not as interested in farming as they used to be.Jacoby sold a 22-acre agricultural parcel in the SEQ to the City of Morgan Hill last year for about $5.3 million. The city intends to one day build baseball and softball fields on the site. The sales contract with the city allows Jacoby to retain a portion of the site for a future commercial development.David Puliafico and his family own a 38-acre site on Tennant Avenue, which is also tagged in the city’s proposed SRL district for future sports fields. Puliafico said at the March 11 LAFCO meeting that his family has farmed the property in the past, but they don’t now and they never will.“We could have sold this property for five McMansions years ago,” Puliafico told the commission. “We believe in the city’s plan, for thousands of children to come play on our land. This is prime spot for the kids to come.”Angelo Grestoni of Top Flight Sports Academy said he left the March 11 meeting “really upset” about LAFCO’s decision. He owns a nearly four-acre parcel near the intersection of Tennant Avenue and Condit Road, where he hopes to one day build an indoor basketball facility.His gripes had as much to do with the procedural aspect of the meeting as the merits of the commission’s decision, which also nixed plans by the San Jose Diocese—at least temporarily—to build a new private Catholic high school in the SEQ.“They didn’t take any time to understand the city’s position,” Grestoni said. “Here’s a perfect opportunity by the city to do something to enhance sports for the youth and bring in a Catholic high school. That has to be valuable for a community.”Don Hordness, a longtime farmer and owner of Royal Oaks Mushrooms on Watsonville Road, was at the rejected end of a second annexation request, by a narrow 4-3 vote, at the March 11 LAFCO meeting. Hordness took exception to the idea that the OSA is going to run any future agricultural easements in the area, rather than experienced farmers.“The Open Space Authority has no farmers on their board. This is within the City of Morgan Hill’s sphere of influence, and they need to be the ones that control this land,” Hordness said. “The future of ag in the county has got to be with the people who are working the land.”

Crime lab technicians, eyewitness victims, Morgan Hill police officers, a telecommunications records specialist and even the family member of one of the suspects have testified so far in the trial for two of 14-year-old Tara Romero’s alleged murderers.The trial for Fernando Mateo Lopez, 24 of Gilroy, and Primitivo Hernandez, 27 of San Jose, started March 2. It is expected to continue at least until the end of this month at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose.Deputy District Attorney Miguel Valdovinos continues to present the state’s case and call witnesses to testify about the incidents leading up to and the investigation following the fateful night of Nov. 4, 2011.That was when Romero, a freshman at Sobrato High School at the time, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside the Village Avante apartment complex, near the corner of Cosmo and Del Monte avenues. Three of her classmates were injured by the same gunfire. Five suspected Sureño street gang members opened fire on Romero and her friends, mistakenly targeting them to settle an ongoing feud with a rival gang, according to authorities.During Santa Clara County Criminalist Trevor Gillis’ testimony March 10, he explained he tested  tactical samples from the suspects’ hands and vehicle—a Chrysler 300—for gunshot residue. MPHD detectives supplied those samples to the county crime lab.Gillis said he “detected particles that are characteristic of gunshot residue” on the samples taken from all five suspects, as well as on the sample from the exterior of the vehicle.Gillis described gunshot residue as the “microscopic leftover material from the discharge of a firearm.” Such materials are likely to be found on “someone who shot a firearm or was in close proximity to a (discharged) firearm,” Gillis noted.Under cross-examination by Hernandez’ attorney Nicole Lambros, Gillis added that gunshot residue could be transferred from someone who recently shot a firearm to another who had not touched a gun, for example by shaking hands.Officers detail response to shots firedEarlier in the trial, Morgan Hill police officers testified about their involvement in the response and investigation of the fatal shooting.On March 3, former MHPD Officer Brandon Richards testified he was on patrol the night of Nov. 4, 2011, when he saw a gold Chrysler 300 roll through a stop sign at the intersection of Spring and Del Monte avenues.Richard started to pursue the vehicle for the traffic violation, not immediately knowing that its occupants might have been involved in a deadly drive-by shooting.Before he caught up to the Chrysler, however, Richards heard over the police radio that a shooting had occurred and the suspects fled in a gold car.“When the call came out, I felt that vehicle was involved (in the shooting),” Richards said on the witness stand.The vehicle was out of Richards’ sight by the time he turned around, but moments later he found the Chrysler parked illegally outside an apartment complex on Barnell Avenue, he testified.Richards then approached the now unoccupied Chrysler on foot and saw a “revolver type” handgun and a spent shell casing on the floorboard behind the front passenger’s seat, he said.The officer called for backup and officers set a perimeter around the apartment, suspecting the alleged shooters were inside. After securing a search warrant about 5 a.m. Nov. 5, Richards and other officers entered the residence. Richards said he quickly noticed a blue belt on a living room sofa, and the word “Sureño” written on the interior wall above a bedroom window in the two-story apartment. The color blue is often associated with the Sureño street gang.The victims in the Nov. 4, 2011 drive-by shooting were not associated with any criminal street gang activity, according to police.MHPD Cpl. Scott Purvis testified that he arrived to the apartment about 11 p.m. as a member of the SWAT team, which was assigned to “call out” the suspects and anyone else who was inside the Barnell Avenue building. Just before midnight, four of the suspects and two of their family members exited the building without incident.Later, after Purvis and another officer “cleared” the apartment and remained behind in the downstairs kitchen, they heard sounds coming from upstairs. They determined the noise was coming from a bedroom closet.“I look inside the closet, and I see clothes moving,” Purvis said. The movement was coming from a shelf about six feet high. Recognizing that it was a person hiding, they told the subject to show his hands. That’s  when they discovered it was Hernandez hiding “with quite a bit of neatly folded clothing on top of him,” Purvis said.A resident of the Village Avante apartment complex, who was 12 years old at the time of the shooting, also testified March 3. He told the prosecutor and defense attorneys that he was sitting on his living room couch watching television when the 2011 shooting happened.He said he heard tires screeching outside and a series of gunshots. At the same instant, he “heard (a) bullet impact the wall and penetrate a couple walls” inside his apartment.After running upstairs to alert his brother of the commotion and call his father, the witness saw a bullet on the bathroom floor, where it apparently came to rest after entering the residence and striking at least two walls.Jury to determine suspects’ fateThe trial is taking place in Superior Court Judge Linda Clark’s courtroom in San Jose.The 12-person jury and five alternates consist of eight women and nine men.Lopez and Hernandez, who are charged with murder and attempted murder, sat quietly through the proceedings, dressed neatly in buttoned-down shirts and slacks. They were not handcuffed or restrained during the testimonies.The other three suspects—Esmeling Bahena, 22 of Morgan Hill, Ricardo Diaz, 23 of Morgan Hill and Ramon Gutierrez, 21 of Morgan Hill—will be subject to separate court proceedings.Diaz pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, and is expected to testify against Lopez and Hernandez, according to authorities.

Morgan Hill’s boundaries won’t be expanding by more than 300 acres any time soon, after the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission voted March 11 to deny two annexation requests by city officials.Following four hours of public comment and discussion, the seven-member commission voted 5-2 to deny the city’s proposal to expand its Urban Service Area around 229 acres of farmland in the Southeast Quadrant (SEQ).That motion followed a failed effort by three of the commissioners to annex only the 40-acre portion of the SEQ project that is tagged as the future site of the private St. John XXIII Catholic High School. Commissioner Johnny Khamis (San Jose City Councilmember) joined Commissioners Mike Wasserman (county supervisor) and Cat Tucker (Gilroy Councilmember) to support that partial annexation.Only Wasserman and Tucker opposed the denial of the entirety of the SEQ plan—a motion made by Commissioner Susan Vicklund Wilson.Ultimately, the majority of the commission agreed that the SEQ annexation would violate LAFCO’s primary duties: to limit urban sprawl, encourage infill development in existing city boundaries and to preserve farmland and open space.Although the LAFCO decision was not a complete surprise—the commission’s staff issued a scathing report in February recommending denial of the city’s proposals—the dismay among SEQ proponents was palpable in the county meeting chambers following the vote. City officials, farmers, SEQ property owners, youth sports advocates and the San Jose Diocese spoke in favor of the plan during the March 11 public comments.“We are obviously disappointed that what’s been a 10-year planning process has been denied in such a dismissing fashion,” City Councilmember Larry Carr said. “But that doesn’t mean Morgan Hill is going to stop trying to preserve agriculture. The landowners have hung in there for 10 years, and now a yet-to-be-defined county process is going to ask them to hang on longer.”The county-led process Carr referred to is the Sustainable Agricultural Conservation Framework. The county and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority received a $100,000 grant last year to work on the framework, which would apply a regional effort to preserve prime farmland on urban edges throughout Santa Clara County—similar to the SEQ properties the city proposes developing into sports fields and related commercial uses (with a new Sports-Recreation-Leisure zoning).The draft countywide framework won’t be complete until 2017, after which the county will compete for a share of $40 million in public cap-and-trade funds to preserve farmland.This countywide effort to preserve ag and the city’s ag mitigation plan in the SEQ have been seen by observers as competing interests leading up to the March 11 vote.“It’s really troubling that the city has been at this for 10 years, and yet haven’t heeded the siren call of so many organizations and individuals” who have consistently pointed out the SEQ project’s shortfalls, Commissioner Linda LeZotte said at the March 11 meeting. “The city is part of a region and state that has an interest in preserving agriculture. There are a whole slew of things this project doesn’t conform to.”LeZotte and other commissioners said the city’s boundary expansion request and proposed “conversion of prime farmland” are “premature.”Added Commissioner Sequoia Hall, “I know (the city) is dedicated to a path of a sustainable living community, but I don’t think this plan gets us all the way there…We should be focusing on more regional cooperation, and get rid of this ‘doing it yourself’ mentality. This (SEQ) ag preservation plan is a little more ‘do it yourself.’”And while most of the commissioners agreed there is a need for a new high school in South County, as well as more youth sports facilities in Morgan Hill, a motion by Wasserman to annex only the future Catholic high school property failed.“I want to support the high school, I want to see ball fields, but they need to be aware of where they are going in the community,” Hall added. “Ball fields are commercial. The (proposed) SRL complex should be treated more commercially. Sports fields should be planned where the community is…You should not go outside your jurisdiction—rezone and be creative within your jurisdiction.”City Manager Steve Rymer said in his 15-minute presentation on the SEQ plan that a key aspect of the project is to embrace the already growing reputation of Morgan Hill as a regional youth sports destination, and build more facilities that can achieve that goal. Last year, the city paid $5.3 million to purchase 22 acres of farmland in the SEQ to build baseball/softball fields (next to the intersection of Tennant Avenue and U.S. 101).Development of these facilities in the 229-acre SRL district would finance agricultural preservation farther east in the SEQ with mitigation fees, which would be supplemented by up to $6 million in the city’s open space fund.Although LAFCO staff and commissioners noted that the city has plenty of vacant land inside its city limits on which to build sports facilities, Rymer noted most of this land is commercial and industrial, and thus not suitable for such uses.“We don’t believe using our vacant commercial lands (for sports) is a responsible use of those lands moving forward,” Rymer told the commission.A total of 50 members of the public spoke during the March 11 public hearing before the commission voted on the SEQ proposal. Those opposed to the plan included environmental and open space advocates as well as interested residents.Bible Church, mushroom farm annexation denied againNot to be overlooked on the March 11 LAFCO agenda was another application by the city to expand the USA around about 70 acres in southwest Morgan Hill, south of Watsonville Road.The commission voted 4-3 in favor of denying the request, with Wasserman, Tucker and Khamis opposed.The annexation request of the area known as “Area 2” included Royal Oaks Mushrooms’ property, Oakwood School, Morgan Hill Bible Church, adjacent residential properties, a strip mall and other remaining farmland.The city wanted to expand the USA in order to make its borders more orderly, and bring in some of the properties to the USA that are already in the city limits, according to the city’s application.Owners of the Morgan Hill Bible Church property supported the annexation because they want to take advantage of nearby city services and infrastructure.During commission discussion, Khamis said it is “almost ridiculous” to not allow the church to hook up to nearby sewer lines, which would eliminate their need to maintain a septic leach field on the property.Royal Oaks owner Don Hordness plans to move his agricultural operation to another area and sell his Morgan Hill site for a 123-unit senior housing complex. He presented LAFCO with an executed agreement with the city to pay mitigation fees to permanently preserve an equal acreage of agricultural land elsewhere in town in exchange for building on top of his existing farmland.“It should be stated this (agreement) is the first of its kind in the county,” Hordness told the commission. He added that the area surrounding the mushroom farm on Watsonville Road is no longer compatible with agriculture, with increasing traffic and the “odiferous effects” on growing residential neighborhoods and the K-12 school.Carr said after the meeting that the commission’s vote on Area 2 was “even more shocking” than the denial of the SEQ plan. He added that LAFCO, county planning, the OSA and others keep telling the city that its agricultural mitigation plan is inadequate, but they have never specified exactly what is missing or how it could be improved.In 2013, LAFCO considered an earlier request to annex the same properties. That request was denied because the city and Hordness did not have a plan to mitigate the loss of agriculture. Now that such a plan is in place, LAFCO staff and a majority of commissioners think it doesn’t do enough to preserve farmland.

Morgan Hill police have responded to a number of property crimes in recent days—including a home invasion robbery—and are cautioning residents to keep their doors and windows locked.At 9:33 a.m. March 14, police responded to the 17000 block of Rosemary Circle on a report of a home invasion, according to a press release from Morgan Hill Police Department.Officers arrived and spoke with the victims, who said two suspects entered the home and demanded they open the safe, police said. The suspects said they had a weapon, but the suspects never brandished it.The suspected robbers got away with an undisclosed amount of cash and property, according to police. Neither victim was hurt during the incident.The victims described the robbers as Hispanic males, police said. One was about five feet, three inches tall and about 140 pounds. He was wearing a black mask which covered the bottom half of his face and spoke with a Spanish accent.The other suspect was described as about five feet, four inches tall and about 150 pounds, police said. He was wearing a black ski mask, a black hoodie and dark pants. He also spoke with a Spanish accent per the victims.The suspects may have been seen leaving the area in a dark silver colored vehicle, police said. Police are looking for neighbors in the area who might have video surveillance footage to assist in the investigation.Then at 9:15 a.m. March 11, a resident on the 400 block of Cascades Court reported a suspect was attempting to break into her residence using a pry tool, according to MHPD. The victim said the suspect ran when she opened up the blinds.The suspect was described as a male, about five feet, seven inches tall with a thin build, according to police. The suspect wore a black beanie with openings for the eyes and mouth, a pair of black or blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt.He was last seen running southbound toward Community Park on West Edmundson Avenue, police said. Morgan Hill officers arrived on scene within minutes and were unable to locate the suspect. A neighbor in the area reported seeing a dark colored SUV in the area around the time of the incident.At 6:35 a.m. March 10, a resident on the 17000 block of Tassajara Circle reported seeing a subject in their backyard, according to police. The subject was a dark-skinned male wearing black and gray clothing.  Morgan Hill officers were unable to locate the subject.“The Morgan Hill Police Department wants to take this time to remind our community to lock their windows and doors even when they are home and beware of their surroundings,” police said in the press release.Anyone with information about these incidents can contact MHPD Detective Fernando Del Moral (408) 779-2101.  

The Al Navaroli Young Musicians Competition came about after the passing of Gilroy resident, music lover and avid supporter of the South Valley Symphony the contest was named for. It was created to showcase the young musicians and teachers in our area. Now in its eighth year, the winners performed solos with the South Valley Symphony orchestra in their spring concert March 5 at Gavilan College.