Residential growth control in Morgan Hill, known in its various
incarnations as Measure E, Measure P and on the March 2 ballot as
Measure C, has become a hallmark characteristic of the city over
the last quarter century.
Residential growth control in Morgan Hill, known in its various incarnations as Measure E, Measure P and on the March 2 ballot as Measure C, has become a hallmark characteristic of the city over the last quarter century. We urge Morgan Hill voters to continue to embrace planned, controlled residential growth by voting yes on Measure C – and we wonder aloud whether a growth ordinance in Gilroy would be a good idea.
Why? Because a growth ordinance would remove some of the at-times dubious flexibility that Gilroy’s Council has in awarding, shifting and allocating building permits.
A dedicated group of 20 or so Morgan Hill volunteers worked for months to craft a plan that balances the interests of the city, schools, developers and residents. They’ve come up with a fine proposal that achieves that goal remarkably well – and most importantly, ensures that Morgan Hill will continue to be a wonderful place to live.
One only has to remember the stresses unchecked growth placed on Morgan Hill’s infrastructure and schools to understand how important residential growth control has been in shaping the community. Without it, roads, water and sewer systems, police and fire services and every other basic city government function would be strained beyond capacity.
As for our schools, double-tracking at Live Oak High School became necessary before the first residential growth control ordinance was approved in 1977 by voters to restrain what many considered to be an out-of-control pro-growth City Council.
The measure has been tweaked once, in 1990, when voters approved Measure P. That was nearly a decade and a half ago, and it is time to again make adjustments to the growth control policies to keep making sure they continue to meet Morgan Hill’s needs.
Measure C makes these important changes to Morgan Hill’s growth control rules:
• Updates the population cap from 38,800 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2020 – a change that keeps the city’s growth control laws consistent with its recently adopted general plan.
• Encourages downtown development – especially mixed-use projects near public transportation hubs – and development in the city’s core, which has Wright Avenue as its northern boundary, Cosmo Avenue as the southern boundary, Del Monte Avenue to the west and Butterfield Boulevard to the east.
• Fixes the formula used to determine how many new residential units can be built each year to reflect the current average household size of new home dwellers and to take into account permitted but as yet unbuilt homes.
• Makes it possible for Morgan Hill to meet its housing requirement as defined by ABAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments, which is not possible under Measure P’s restrictions. Although this mandate currently has no penalty for cities that fail to meet it, that situation is likely to change, especially with a money-hungry state legislature looking to increase revenue in any and every way possible.
• Improves city government efficiency and allows developers more planning time by changing the competition for housing permits from an annual event to an every-other-year occurrence.
The City Council and the Measure P Update Committee took a long, thoughtful look at this measure. City Council, to its great credit, resisted the temptation to fiddle with the committee’s recommendation and approved it as submitted. It is now up to Morgan Hill voters to voice their approval for the committee’s proposal that protects our quality of life. Pass Measure C.
