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The long-anticipated draft environmental review of the City’s proposed plans for the Morgan Hill Southeast Quadrant was published on City’s website Friday afternoon. The voluminous document lists the many potential impacts of the City’s plan to extend the City limits and urban service area into the roughly 1,200-acre area on the east side of U.S. 101, which is generally bound by the freeway, Condit Road, San Pedro Avenue, Carey Avenue and Maple Avenue. The draft Environmental Impact Report released Friday considers the City’s proposed agricultural lands preservation program, general plan and zoning amendments and boundary adjustments in the SEQ. The City wants to annex about 660 acres of the SEQ.One developer who has already committed to a project in the SEQ is the Diocese of San Jose, who plans to build South County Catholic High School on about 40 acres of mostly undeveloped land along Murphy Avenue, between Barrett and Murphy avenues. That campus will be build in phases with extensive academic facilities as well as a number of sports fields, according to the SCCHS website. The Diocese purchased the property for the school last year. The City’s goal in the SEQ is to preserve  agricultural land and open space, while introducing zoning for more sports, recreation and leisure uses, according to City officials. This plan has been under consideration by the City and residents for more than 10 years - since the last time the City updated its General Plan. “It is a huge step going forward, finalizing the one quadrant that wasn’t planned in terms of open space,” said Mayor Steve Tate. “I think of it as more of a Southeast Preservation Plan, to preserve as much active agriculture as we possibly can. What’s not active agriculture, we want to be as open as possible so the recreation and leisure overlay will play to that, and the fields at the Catholic high school will play into that.” The SEQ is currently in Santa Clara County’s land use jurisdiction. Land uses there now include the City’s Outdoor Sports Complex, and low-density residential developments. Longtime Morgan Hill developer Gordon Jacoby has kept an eye on the City’s plans for the SEQ for more than 10 years. He recently represented the owner of about a 25-acre parcel in a pending deal with the City, who wants to purchase the property for a baseball and softball field complex. That property is also in the SEQ, just south of the intersection of Tennant and Murphy avenues. Jacoby said the City’s SEQ plan is “unique” to almost any other city or county in its effort to preserve undeveloped spaces the way they are. “We’re dealing with only a handful of farmers that remain in Morgan Hill that farm on 5 to 30-acres (each), and they’re having to compete with folks in San Joaquin Valley and Salinas,” Jacoby said. “(The SEQ plan) deals with the economics of trying to balance things so the farmers can compete. It creates a zone to get conservation money. It is a totally different plan than is done elsewhere. Other cities have been big on housing development or industrial.” Although Jacoby, who has years of experience commissioning and reading environmental reports, had not completed the massive document by Friday afternoon, he said the impacts of the SEQ plans identified in the document that he’s glanced over are “fairly slight.” “This is a plan to try to incentivize farmers to stay around,” Jacoby said. Complementing the EIR is the City’s proposed Agricultural Mitigation Policy, which is also in the review process. City staff hope to have the mitigation policy approved before the EIR, according to Morgan Hill Community Development Director Andrew Crabtree. That policy will require future developers to offset their elimination of open space by paying a fee to purchase undeveloped property elsewhere in the City for permanent preservation. The minimum review period for public comment for the draft EIR is 45 days, but Crabtree said that will likely be extended. After that will follow a series of amendments and approvals by the City Council, leading to an eventual annexation application to the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission. The EIR is expected to cost about $482,000 to produce. The City paid about $173,000 of that, with private developers who have proposed projects in the quadrant picking up the rest of the tab. The draft EIR is available on the City’s website at www.morganhill.ca.gov. 

MHPD arrestsPetty theftRobin A. Anacleto, 25, 1:14 p.m. Nov. 22, at Target, 1061 Cochrane Road.Shane T. Trujillo, 21, 9:20 a.m. Nov. 25, at Target, 1061 Cochrane Road. James W. Himebauch, 21, 12:36 a.m. Dec. 10, at U.S. 101 and Cochrane Road. Municipal code violationMargaret A. Rusk, 49, 3:43 p.m. Nov. 22, on La Bella Court. DUIErik M. Payne, 25, 12:04 a.m. Nov. 23, at Monterey Road and California Avenue. Jennifer Ayala, 23, 2:43 a.m. Nov. 23, at East Dunne Avenue and Park Way. Nora R. Hernandez, 41, 1:13 a.m. Nov. 30, at Monterey Road and Wright Avenue. Controlled substanceTracy S. Nickerson, 52, 2:33 a.m. Nov. 23, at Wright and Hale avenues, for possession of paraphernalia, being under the influence and possession of narcotics. Jesus F. Ortiz, 28, 1:09 p.m. Nov. 23, at Condit Road and East Dunne Avenue, for being under the influence and possession of narcotics. Alex D. Santos, 45, 12:12 a.m. Nov. 25, on the 16500 block of Condit Road, for possession for sale. Samuel Amaya, 44, 4 a.m. Nov. 26, on the 16500 block of Condit Road, for possession of narcotics, being under the influence and possession of paraphernalia. Daniel Gil, 26, 7:28 a.m. Nov. 27, on Condit Road, for possession of paraphernalia, being under the influence. Ian M. Turner, 22, 8:21 p.m. Nov. 30, on the 300 block of Via Loma, for possession of paraphernalia. Timothy U. Camarillo, 18, 2:32 p.m. Dec. 1, at Depot and First streets, for being under the influence.Thomas J. Mendoza, 34, 11:20 p.m. Dec. 1, at Sanchez Drive and Old Monterey Road, for being under the influence. Victor N. Urroz, 37, 12:18 a.m. Dec. 4, at Spring Avenue and Monterey Road, for possession of narcotics, possession of marijuana. Kiara A. Hawkins, 18, 12:18 a.m. Dec. 4, at Spring Avenue and Monterey Road, for possession of narcotics, possession of marijuana. Scott K. Morris, 35, 3:56 a.m. Dec. 5, on the 700 block of San Pedro Lane, for being under the influence, possession of paraphernalia. Isaac Guzman, 24, 11:55 p.m. Dec. 10, on the 16500 block of Condit Road, for possession. Possession of a switchblade knifeGabriel Soto, 18, 4 a.m. Nov. 23, on Half Road, also on suspicion of an open alcohol container or marijuana while driving. Failure to stop at the scene of an accidentJames J. Kelly, 62, 12:21 p.m. Nov. 23, at Vineyard Boulevard and Tennant Avenue. Discharging a firearm or BB gunWilliam S. Iseman, 58, 5:30 p.m. Nov. 23, on the 15000 block of Bellini Way. TrespassingRyan C. Rosen, 28, 10:31 a.m. Nov. 26, on Church Street. Cynthia J. Anderson, 61, 11:12 a.m. Nov. 26, on the 16600 block of Church Street. BurglaryCody A. Flores, 22, 2:44 p.m. Nov. 26, on the 700 block of West Main Avenue. Driving without a valid licenseAntonio N. Moya, 26, 6:53 p.m. Nov. 26, at Diana Avenue and Butterfield Boulevard. Roman G. Rocha, 42, 5:49 p.m. Nov. 27, at Hale and Tilton avenues. Luis Garcia Chavez, 25, 3:03 p.m. Nov. 30, at East Main Avenue and Calle Mazatan. Fidel V. Gonzalez, 27, 4:45 p.m. Dec. 2, at Madrone Parkway and Cochrane Road. Manuel J. Camacho, 67, 4:34 p.m. Dec. 3, on Walnut Grove Drive.Rudy M. Gonzalez, 31, 9:05 p.m. Dec. 5, at Monterey Road and Roosevelt Avenue. Johnny G. Canseco, 26, 9:43 p.m. Dec. 5, at Sutter Boulevard and Serene Way. Kristy Rosene, 37, 7:30 a.m. Dec. 6, at Diana Avenue and St. Joseph Court. Juan C. Garcia, 36, 2:58 p.m. Dec. 6, at U.S. 101 and Cochrane Road. Nickolas E. Delmue, 26, 12:05 a.m. Dec. 8, at Maple and Murphy avenues. Oscar Castro, 28, 10:10 a.m. Dec. 9, at Sunnyside Avenue and Watsonville Road. WarrantValerie M. Soto, 34, 1:15 a.m. Nov. 27, at Cochrane Road and Madrone Parkway. Kristyna L. Balga, 25, 1:19 a.m. Nov. 27, at Cochrane Road and Madrone Parkway. Judy L. Franks, 46, 12:46 a.m. Nov. 29, at Tennant Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard. Mathew C. Wood, 51, 3:33 p.m. Nov. 29, at Monterey Road and Spring Avenue. Victoria A. Crawford, 22, 8:21 p.m. Nov. 30, on the 300 block of Via Loma, also on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia. Jose G. Laralopez, 43, 11:02 a.m. Dec. 1, on Vineyard Boulevard. William E. Green, 51, 11:56 p.m. Dec. 2, at Crest and Main avenues. Andrew M. Barrios, 24, 12:11 a.m. Dec. 6, on the 17600 block of Hill Road. Miguel Reynoso, 32, 8:58 a.m. Dec. 6, at Fitzgerald Drive and Monterey Road. John A. Jimenez, 51, 1:26 p.m. Dec. 6, on Burnett Avenue. Spousal abuseJose R. Paredes, 35, 9:09 a.m. Nov. 29, on the 100 block of Mathilda Court. Robert J. McSherry, 25, 12:21 p.m. Dec. 6, unidentified location. Victor J. Castaneda, 28, 1:53 a.m. Dec. 7, unidentified location. Drunk in publicAmanda M. Scadina, 32, 2:56 a.m. Dec. 9, at Llagas and Old Monterey roads. 

Should the school board offer Steve Betando, the interim superintendent of Morgan Hill Unified School District, a 3-year contract to become permanent superintendent?