The task force directing Coyote Valley growth voted Monday to
replace the economic prerequisites needed to build in the area with
a policy statement that allows any development
– residential or commercial – that will pay for itself.
San Jose – The task force directing Coyote Valley growth voted Monday to replace the economic prerequisites needed to build in the area with a policy statement that allows any development – residential or commercial – that will pay for itself.
At least that’s what some task force members think.
Dan Hancock, a developer with Shappell Industries who helped create the so-called triggers in 1993, said the policy statement alone will be enough to protect the city against ruinous growth.
“In my judgment, the triggers were created to ensure that development would not be a drain on city services,” Hancock said after a unanimous vote to forward the policy statement to the San Jose City Council. “If a plan proves to not be a drain on city services, I don’t see how the triggers are needed.”
But interviews with several members of the task force revealed confusion about the policy statement’s implications.
“It isn’t clear whether it replaces the triggers or supplements the triggers,” Eric Carruthers, a retired planner, said. “I think we have a flowing process here. The actions we’re taking are provisional, so we can move forward. If we have aspects that need to be changed, we’ll change them.”
Those attending the meeting were as mystified as the task force members about what the vote will mean.
“They don’t know what they voted for,” said Brian Schmidt, a legislative advocate with the Committee for Green Foothills and a frequent critic of the Coyote Valley Specific Plan. “They don’t know if they just removed a major provision of the city’s general plan. Does city staff know? Will the City Council know?”
The triggers, which call for residential development of Coyote Valley only after there are 5,000 new jobs in the area and firm financial footing for San Jose, will prevent development until they are removed or Silicon Valley undergoes a economic renaissance. San Jose is projecting several years of budget deficits and no major employer has expressed interest in the area since Cisco Systems pulled out of a deal to build a campus there when the technology bubble burst.
But two weeks ago, economic consultants said that the housing market is hot enough to enable residential developments to pay for the massive infrastructure needed in Coyote. Homebuilders and officials have said that new homes could be built as soon as 2008 if a housing-first policy is adopted by the San Jose City Council.
Two members of the council, San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, and Forrest Williams, crafted the policy statement as part of memo they floated in May to jump-start Coyote development. Neither Gonzales nor Williams, who head the task force, were available for comment after the meeting, but both are in favor of new, or fewer, triggers.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, who has expressed reservations about the effects the proposed 50,000 new residents in Coyote will have on county roads and services, said he thinks the triggers are still in place. For now.
“I don’t think we voted to replace the triggers,” Gage said. “There are still things we need to talk about, like phasing and the 2-to-1 [ratio of jobs to housing model], but there are implications there. We’re not satisfied with all that.”
The task force also agreed Monday that mitigation fees to protect the greenbelt at the southern and eastern edges of Coyote Valley should be spread among all residential and commercial projects and not be paid only by homebuilders who develop land at low densities. Members also voted to enforce policies that call for 20 percent of housing in Coyote be so-called affordable housing.
All policy developed by the task force must be approved by the San Jose City Council before it becomes part of the city’s general plan. By November, the council is expected to consider a plan that will allow at least 5,000 new homes to be built pending completion of Coyote Valley’s environmental impact review and clearing of other regulatory hurdles.
The task force will take up home building at its next meeting, Monday, Sept. 12.
Coyote Valley development: Why it matters
Developing the 7,000 acres of Coyote Valley will eliminate the most significant non-urban buffer between San Jose and South County. The Coyote Valley Specific Plan envisions a pedestrian-transit-friendly-community of 25,000 homes, 50,000 jobs and 50,000 residents. The plan has been contingent on a series of economic triggers that were created in 1993 to ensure development occurred at a reasonable pace and only when necessary. The San Jose City Council will now consider whether to remove the triggers and allow residential development right away, a proposal that will meet opposition from:
Santa Clara County officials, who are worried that fast-paced or hopscotch development will strain county roads and other services.
Morgan Hill Unified School District officials believe thousands of new residents will overwhelm the school district, which includes Coyote Valley.
Environmentalists, who consider Coyote Valley to be critical habitat and an important ecological resource. They say San Jose should focus development in other areas, such as downtown and the North First Street corridor.
Land owners in the southern, or greenbelt, section of Coyote Valley, who think the plan, which doesn’t allow development in that area, damages their property values.
