GILROY
– Gilroy is no longer the fastest growing of Santa Clara
County’s 15 cities, but it is still adding population much quicker
than average in a county hit hard by a slumping economy, according
to newly collected census information released earlier this month
by the state Department of Finance.
Between Jan. 1, 2002 and Jan. 1, 2003, Gilroy grew by 1,150
people from 43,850 citizens to 45,000
– or 2.6 percent – the second highest growth rate in the county
during that period, trailing only Los Altos Hills’ 2.8 percent
increase. Los Altos Hills grew from 8,000 to 8,225 people last
year.
GILROY – Gilroy is no longer the fastest growing of Santa Clara County’s 15 cities, but it is still adding population much quicker than average in a county hit hard by a slumping economy, according to newly collected census information released earlier this month by the state Department of Finance.
Between Jan. 1, 2002 and Jan. 1, 2003, Gilroy grew by 1,150 people from 43,850 citizens to 45,000 – or 2.6 percent – the second highest growth rate in the county during that period, trailing only Los Altos Hills’ 2.8 percent increase. Los Altos Hills grew from 8,000 to 8,225 people last year.
“This data is very encouraging because it shows us we are right on target with (City) Council’s controlled growth goal,” Mayor Tom Springer said. “The economy is still in bad shape in this area, and people are realizing that Gilroy is the most affordable area in the county.”
Between 2001 and 2002 Gilroy ranked first in the county with a 2.9 percent growth rate, but due to recent growth control efforts such as the tightening of the city’s Residential Development Ordinance, Gilroy’s growth rate is coming in line with the City Council’s set goal of a roughly 2.4 percent annual growth increase, Springer said.
The county-wide average growth rate last year was .8 percent, with the cities of Campbell, Sunnyvale and Los Altos along with unincorporated county areas losing from .1 to .4 percent of their populations, while Los Gatos’ population remained exactly the same.
All other cities in the county measured population increases, including Morgan Hill, which grew from 34,750 people to 34,900 in 2002 – an only 0.4 percent increase, and ranking it eight in county growth. In 2001, Morgan Hill was third in county growth with a more than 2 percent increase.
As a whole the county added 13,100 people, boosting its population .8 percent from 1,716,800 citizens to 1,729,000 and solidifying it as the fifth largest county in the state and the largest in Northern California.
In San Benito County, Hollister grew from 36,150 people to 36,600, or 1.2 percent – its smallest annual growth in five years.
“With population growth, the goal should always be to keep controlled and steady growth,” Springer said. “If your population stops growing, the population begins to age too rapidly and you get in trouble with schools and senior housing, etcetera. … It’s a fine line you don’t want to fluctuate much.”
According to Gilroy’s General Plan developed in 2000, the city’s infrastructure and services will be prepared to house 62,500 residents by 2020. In 1960 Gilroy’s population hovered around 12,000.
“I tell every business that moves in here that we expect to increase our population by 1,200 a year – so we’re pretty darn close,” said Bill Lindsteadt, director of Gilroy’s Economic Development Corporation, which has helped recruit a large number of national commercial retailers to the east side of town. “Businesses like to come to a place where there is controlled growth. They have a good picture of how many houses will be built in Gilroy over the next 10 years – so there aren’t many surprises.”
Gilroy’s RDO will allow 3,450 residences to be built in the city during the next 10 years, and Gilroyans can expect an average of 2 to 3.5 people per household, depending on the type of development, Springer said.
“If you have senior housing – which we are planning – the number is lower,” he said. “But the household average will jump with affordable housing, which we also have planned.”
Statewide, Gilroy’s 2.6 population increase ranked 98th out of 476 California cities, of which 410 gained population, 33 lost citizens and 33 experienced no change.
The city of Hughson in Stanislaus County added more than 200 houses to earn the state’s fastest growth rate at 16 percent.
For more information: www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAPH/
