Our View: St. Mary School should not have to wait for a
resolution regarding the levying of an unfair fee
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. At this juncture, it’s unclear whether the elected leaders in Gilroy will have the collective gumption to find a way to ensure that St. Mary’s School does not have to pay an exorbitant traffic impact fee for building a science lab that will not increase the amount of students – i.e. traffic – attending the school one single iota.
City Administrator Jay Baksa has apparently, and unfortunately, marshalled the troops on this one. The hired-gun city attorney is doling out stern legal warnings, and City Engineer Kristi Abrams is trotting out the trusty Washington Monument argument. That’s the one where the bureaucrats tell everyone that if taxes aren’t raised, they will have to close the Washington Monument. In this case, if St. Mary’s is granted a waiver, every applicant for a building improvement might have to pay for a $10,000 traffic study.
All in all, it’s an incredible display of hogwash.
It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the city will bend over backwards to waive traffic impact fees for big businesses moving into town but spits and screams when a school that has been part of this community since 1871 wants to build a new science lab.
One suggested “solution” is for the school to move the science lab to a part of St. Mary’s property that flanks Monterey Road. That’s an enterprise zone in Gilroy and would qualify for a fee waiver. But the school shouldn’t have to do that. It has been planning the lab for more than two years, and it has been sited on the grounds in a specific place for good reason.
Moving it would trigger additional expense, planning time and, quite possibly, higher costs that the school should not have to bear.
Another idea surfaced at the City Council meeting Monday night: St. Mary should pay the fee and, if the city staff finds a way to waive it, the $19,000 would be refunded. That avoids the core issue and places the onus on the school when it should be on the city for the levying of an unjust fee.
The heart of the matter bears repeating: St. Mary School is building a science lab. There are no additional students associated with this project, thus there is no traffic impact. Therefore there should be no traffic impact fee. It’s simple common sense.
One of the paper tigers brought up by city staff concerned worries over having to review matters on a case-by-case basis. If the city has a similar case with such clarity, we’d like to hear it.
Regardless, the Council – in absence of a formal fee appeal board – is the de facto appeal board.
Council members must internalize the distinct separation between city staff and community representative. Elected officials should embrace the opportunity to right obvious wrongs in city policy and, in no uncertain terms, direct the city staff to find the solution they prescribe. That’s what they are elected to do.
This is a clear case of an unfair fee. The resolution should be swift, fair and understanding of the school’s predicament.
