GILROY
– Paul Correa believes there should be a mix of civic planning
know-how, land-use experience and a cultural understanding of
Gilroy within a City Council. But Correa says the entire mix can be
found in a single candidate – him.
GILROY – Paul Correa believes there should be a mix of civic planning know-how, land-use experience and a cultural understanding of Gilroy within a City Council. But Correa says the entire mix can be found in a single candidate – him.
“They need someone up there to help them think out the issues more,” Correa said. “I know how Gilroy is and how it has changed over the years. I can bring a lot to the table in terms of my professional and educational background.”
Correa, 31, is a 25-year Gilroy resident who attended Gilroy elementary, middle and high schools and Gavilan College before moving on to Santa Clara University where he graduated in 1996. Correa has advanced degrees from Harvard in education and UC Berkeley in city planning.
But it’s his real-world experience in city planning that Correa believes separates him from other candidates. Correa is a former land-use planner for the City of San Jose and currently is self-employed in the same field. He is in his third year on the Gilroy Planning Commission.
Correa says he believes in a growth model that preserves community character, generates jobs and creates affordable housing.
He believes Council could use a watchdog when it comes to economic growth.
“I want to be making sure Council doesn’t make any missteps in terms of continuing to try and grow retail-wise. I don’t want to be undercutting existing businesses and making it harder to revitalize downtown,” Correa said. “There comes a point where you do not want to oversaturate the marketplace. We’re a controlled-growth community. We can only handle so much square footage of big box retail.”
For large retail businesses coming into town, Correa said he wants to see an economic impact report done before approving a project. He sites the Wal-Mart effort to move its existing store from Arroyo Circle to the Pacheco Pass shopping center as a prime example.
“I’m completely in support of the market system, but there comes a time when you need to step up” and look at the company’s track record from pay and benefits to promotions, Correa said. “I’m not afraid to say it. I don’t like Wal-Mart, period.”
Correa says the number of homes the city will allow to be built over the next 10 years, roughly 3,500, is workable. However, he’d rather see a more even distribution of the permits between large-scale and small-scale developers, specifically infill projects. Infill projects are projects bordered by already existing developments, rather than projects proposed for areas surrounded by mostly vacant lots near the outskirts of town.
As for downtown revitalization, Correa says the medical clinic that will replace the Garlic Festival Store fits within city codes and can be a stimulator of foot traffic and spending downtown.
Correa is a supporter of reducing and waiving permit fees to make it easier and more desirable for businesses to move to downtown. He says efforts to revitalize downtown should focus on finding “cornerstone” projects that will act as business catalysts.
He doesn’t see the proposal for a train museum as Gilroy’s most environmentally friendly way to jump-start downtown. Rather, he’d like to see a project that renovates the old cannery building into a popular spot.
“All it takes is one big project and one big tenant to get in there (downtown) and it will start to trigger other people in terms of their interest to come down there,” Correa said.
Although Correa calls current spending on police and fire services a “high number,” he would not propose cuts if elected to the dais. In fact, Correa wants to see more fire staffing in the northwest quad of Gilroy, an area he said is underserved.
Correa is not against economic incentive packages, but he voted against one as a Planning Commissioner that involved the Pacheco Pass Center “big box” shopping center at Highway 152 and U.S. 101. The incentives, which come mainly in the form of waived development impact fees, were based on sales tax revenue projections from the developer.
“The (developer’s) assumptions were based all upon when the economy was at its peak,” Correa said. “We’re in a current economic decline, so we need to alter those numbers.”
Correa supports entry into the Open Space Authority – an agency which charges local governments to preserve and maintain open space. In return, Gilroy would get back a percentage of the fees for park construction.
“It would create a leverage point for us to help our park issues,” Correa said.
