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With one of their colleagues doubting they will be able to preserve a vast amount of farmland, the Morgan Hill City Council approved the long simmering Southeast Quadrant annexation, land use and agricultural preservation plan last week.The council voted 3-1 July 15 to send the plan to the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which will be tasked with the effort’s ultimate approval. Councilmember Rich Constantine voted against the plan, and Councilmember Marilyn Librers was absent from the meeting.The complicated plan required a series of 10 separate votes by the council. These include:• Amending the city zoning code to include an agricultural mitigation plan and a new “sports/recreation/leisure” land use classification;• Extending the “urban service area” boundary in the SEQ;• Requesting of LAFCO the annexation of 215 acres into the city limits;• Pre-zoning a 38-acre parcel “public facilities” where the San Jose Diocese plans to build the South County Catholic High School;• And applying the new SRL classification to several private properties in the SEQ.Constantine voted “no” to each item in succession at the July 15 meeting. He noted that the many agencies and environmental groups that are likely to be affected by and involved in the plan have repeatedly said the city’s SEQ document falls far short of its stated goals to preserve agriculture and open space. These include LAFCO staff, the county itself, the Santa Clara Open Space Authority and private nonprofits.Constantine stressed after the July 15 meeting that he is not opposed to sustainable, responsible development nor the SEQ plan as a concept.“I don’t want to stop the process,” Constantine said. “We are saying we want to promote agriculture and open space, yet the main groups that are responsible for those entities say we’re going about this in the wrong way. I have a problem with that.”He added that the agricultural mitigation program is unlikely to achieve its goals. This program would require developers to pay a per-acre fee that would go toward the permanent preservation of an equal acreage of farmland on which they plan to build.“To say that you’re going to take acreage in the Southeast Quadrant and mitigate acreage that’s already in the Southeast Quadrant, that doesn’t make any sense,” Constantine added.The SEQ is about a 600-acre patchwork of farmland and large residential lots on the east side of U.S. 101, roughly bound by Maple, Foothill and San Pedro avenues. For the better part of the last decade, the city has been working on the SEQ development and preservation plan that was finally approved July 15.Projects proposed in the SEQ are a large-estate planned development to be built by the Chiala family, which plans to preserve up to a five-to-one ratio of agriculture on their project; the Catholic high school at the northeast corner of Murphy and Tennant avenues; and a city-sponsored baseball/softball facility at Tennant Avenue and the U.S. 101 interchange. Existing sports uses in the SEQ are the Outdoor Sports Center and the Aquatics Center, both owned by the city.The LAFCO board has not yet agendized the city’s requests for an upcoming meeting, but is expected to do so in the coming months.

United Natural Foods, Inc., the $6 billion-strong natural foods distribution firm set to open in Gilroy within weeks with promises of upwards of 500 jobs will instead delay the start of business until February and lay off dozens of workers, some of whom began work today.

A young criminal detainee was found and taken back into custody shortly after he escaped from the Santa Clara County Boys Ranch in northeast Morgan Hill over the weekend, according to authorities.The 17-year-old inmate, Anthony Ruezga of San Jose, escaped from the facility on the 19000 block of Malaguerra Avenue about 9:15 p.m. July 18, according to a press release from Morgan Hill police. Authorities provided the teen’s description and asked residents in the area to keep an eye out and report any sightings to police.The following morning, July 19, police reported that Ruezga had been found and taken back into custody. MHPD Sgt. Carson Thomas said Ruezga was found on the Boys Ranch property, and he apparently had not left the facility grounds while his presence was unaccounted for.Police also reported that five inmates of the Boys Ranch attempted to escape in the same incident, but Ruezga was the only one who was successful.The inmates tried to escape by staging a “disturbance” on the ranch property, according to Thomas. The inmates tried to flee while the staff was distracted, and all the attempted escapees except Ruezga were were captured “immediately.”The escape attempt and disturbance did not result in any injuries to the facility’s staff, Thomas said. Some of the inmates had to be medically cleared after the incident, but no serious injuries were reported.Ruezga had been incarcerated for his involvement in property crimes, and did not have a violent background, authorities said.

South Valley Middle School is now $20,000 richer thanks to the all-star efforts of a popular sixth grade math and science teacher.

We're having a baby boom at the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center.

What motivates groups of people to spend their free time memorizing lines and building sets and rehearsing for hours—for no pay?

Residential burglarySomeone, between 6 p.m. July 1 and 1:20 p.m. July 3 on the 11000 block of Watsonville Road in Gilroy, stole various items including a vehicle from a detached garage of a residence. The suspect also entered the main house by prying open a side door and stole items from there as well.Someone, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. July 7 on the 12000 block of Foothill Avenue in San Martin, ransacked a residence and stole electronics and jewelry estimated at $5,653.BurglarySomeone, between 4 p.m. July 3 and 10:30 a.m. July 6 on the 1600 block of Pacheco Pass in Gilroy, broke into a locked equipment barn and stole $2,800 worth of various tools.Someone, between 10 p.m. July 11 and 10 a.m. July 12 on the 12000 block of Uvas Road at Watsonville Road in Morgan Hill, cut and pried open the bars that were locking the coin bins inside arcade games and stole $500.Grand theftSomeone, between midnight Jan. 1 and midnight May 1 on the 900 block of Maple Avenue in Morgan Hill, stole seven fishing poles from a garage estimated at $2,450.Someone, between 5:30 a.m. July 1 and 6 p.m. July 6 on Pacheco Pass at Lovers Lane in Gilroy, stole a construction mobile light tower from a construction site estimated at $6,000.Grand theft of vegetablesSomeone, between 4:30 p.m. July 8 and 9 a.m. July 9 on the 4300 block of Davidson Avenue in Gilroy, cut and stole about five pallets’ worth of corn growing on the stalks worth about $2,400.Theft by credit cardSomeone, between 6:30 p.m. July 7 and 1:44 p.m. July 8 on the 16000 block of Oak Glen Avenue in Morgan Hill, used the victim’s credit card and purchased $1,168.28 worth of goods at various stores in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose.Public intoxicationA 34-year-old man was charged with public intoxication at 2:20 a.m. July 12 on Santa Teresa Boulevard at Scheller Avenue in Morgan Hill.Stolen vehicleSomeone, between 8 p.m. and 11:43 p.m. on the zero block of Buena Vista Avenue in Gilroy, stole a vehicle parked in front of a residence.DrugsA 41-year-old woman was charged with bringing a controlled substance into a detention facility and being under the influence of a controlled substance at 5:30 p.m. July 8 on East Luchessa Avenue at Chestnut Street in Gilroy.A 47-year-old man was charged with possession of a controlled substance and resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer at 8:28 p.m. July 5 on Monterey Street at Lewis Street in Gilroy.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

The Morgan Hill City Council agreed to purchase a 22-acre property outside the city limits for about $5.3 million in order to build new baseball and softball fields.