San Jose should change its greenbelt policies to allow lights
and bathrooms at the Sobrato High School football field, as well as
San Jose’s proposed 15-field soccer complex on Monterey Road,
Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate wrote in a June 13 letter to San Jose
planners.
Morgan Hill – San Jose should change its greenbelt policies to allow lights and bathrooms at the Sobrato High School football field, as well as San Jose’s proposed 15-field soccer complex on Monterey Road, Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate wrote in a June 13 letter to San Jose planners.
“Allowing sanitary sewers to serve such a use would be in the public interest,” Tate wrote in the letter, which the Morgan Hill City Council endorsed Wednesday night. “Similarly, allowing lighting of the existing Sobrato High School fields, which are adjacent to urban services, would make better use of public investment, be in the public’s interest and would not compromise the goals of the greenbelt.”
Sobrato high’s sports fields, as well as San Jose’s proposed soccer complex, are located north of Morgan Hill limits and within the Coyote Valley greenbelt.
San Jose’s proposed soccer complex is located on 73 acres near Monterey Road and Burnett Avenue.
San Jose planners notified Morgan Hill officials in April they were preparing an environmental impact report for the project.
The notice of preparation announced a 30-day public comment period that ended in May, which Morgan Hill officials missed.
However, San Jose planner Janis Moore said the city’s concerns would still be considered as the environmental document is developed.
“I don’t know how we’re going to respond because I haven’t gotten the letter,” Moore said. “But this proposal is not going to include any permanent structures or lights because it is meant to abide by the greenbelt policies.”
As currently described, the soccer complex would abide by San Jose policies that apply outside of the city’s urban growth boundary and urban service area.
While the project includes 15 fields, parking, concession stands, restrooms, a maintenance yard, tournament offices and storage sheds, all of the facilities would be housed in modular buildings. No expanded infrastructure improvements nor additional roads would be provided.
San Jose planners expect to have the environmental impact report completed by the end of the year.
The entire project might be approved by the San Jose City Council in 2008.
