Gilroy
– Although some South Valley residents still have their doubts
about Coyote Valley, San Jose city officials and consultants
Saturday did their best to impress skeptics and supporters
alike.
Gilroy – Although some South Valley residents still have their doubts about Coyote Valley, San Jose city officials and consultants Saturday did their best to impress skeptics and supporters alike.
About 200 residents attended the Coyote Valley Specific Valley Task Force public workshop held at Coyote Creek Golf Club, where they got a chance to voice their thoughts on San Jose’s ambitious urban development project.
With slide shows and attractive brochures, planners touted their vision of a mixed-use, new-urban community that, in about 20 years, would house 70,000 people and provide 50,000 technical and industrial jobs in the 7,000-acre stretch between San Jose and Morgan Hill.
The visions disseminated at Saturday’s meeting were saturated with San Jose’s enthusiasm and determination to take advantage of the largely undeveloped land. Ken Kay, a planning consultant for the project, said Coyote Valley presents a one-of-a-kind opportunity for San Jose to take advantage of the empty space.
Three strategies have been devised for the community’s layout, and each splits the land into three areas: an industrial area closest to Bernal Road, a greenbelt space closest to Morgan Hill and a residential area sandwiched in between.
A primary goal of Coyote Valley is to incorporate sustainable living, a relatively new concept for San Jose.
For example, Coyote Valley residents would be encouraged to travel through the community not by car, but by foot or via a trolley system that links neighborhoods to one another.
The extreme density of the community – resembling that of Manhattan – would make errands and outings within close proximity from home.
Two of the three alternative designs include a 60-acre, man-made lake that would serve as the community’s center.
Hubs of retail, restaurants, office buildings and high-rise housing would surround the lake, and nature would find a home in a large garden and parkland.
It might sound picturesque, but several lingering issues continue to plague some South Valley residents who remain doubtful of the project’s feasibility.
Many are unsure how San Jose plans to mitigate issues such as heavy traffic congestion, ground water contamination and crime and gang-related activity. City officials and consultants also have yet to reveal how the city is planning to pay for the project, as city officials have said public funds will not be used.
Another pressing concern is public education in Coyote Valley. If no new school districts are created specifically for Coyote Valley, and if San Jose doesn’t assume responsibility, it will fall into the hands of the Morgan Hill Unified School District. So far, it looks as though that burden is heavy.
Peter Mandel, a Morgan Hill resident running for a spot on the Morgan Hill school board, said consultants are suggesting numbers for enrollment for Coyote Valley’s junior and high schools that far exceed state recommendations. The same is true for acreage of planned school sites.
Although the school board has been trying to express their concerns to San Jose, Mandel said, communication has not been consistent and planning has forged ahead. But Mandel is hopeful the situation will improve as planning gets more specific.
“I’m reasonably hopeful the city will engage in better communication with the district,” he said. “I think (San Jose and its consultants have) heard what the board has to say, but they haven’t always listened. They haven’t reacted. But it’s my hope that that interlock of communication will happen sooner than later.”
One current resident of Coyote Valley is worried about the impact such rapid development might have on people already living there.
However sparse development is in Coyote Valley now, she said, the area is home to a few thousand people and property owners who will pay the price once the ball gets rolling.
Additionally, she said, few answers have been provided from San Jose regarding the multitude of effects the growth might have on current residents.
Another meeting will be held Aug. 30 for members of the Coyote Valley Specific Plan Task Force to devise a plan to present to city council in late September.
