The Hecker Pass area is a jewel
– a beautiful entrance to Gilroy; $2 million in street
improvements is not sufficient to justify fast-tracking its
development. But that’s what the Planning Commission and City
Council have done. More than that, the street improvements do
nothing to mitigate the negative impact that development w
ill have on our public schools.
The Hecker Pass area is a jewel – a beautiful entrance to Gilroy; $2 million in street improvements is not sufficient to justify fast-tracking its development. But that’s what the Planning Commission and City Council have done. More than that, the street improvements do nothing to mitigate the negative impact that development will have on our public schools.
The Hecker Pass area is a textbook example of problems created by granting exceptions to city policies and force feeding land-use policies without regard for what makes common sense in an area.
Instead of more spacious housing, Gilroy will get dense, clustered development. That makes sense for downtown, but isn’t the Hecker Pass area more suited to upscale, ranch-style homes that don’t pack the corridor with traffic and pock-mark it with dense development?
Of course, the land wouldn’t even be in question if the city had not prematurely annexed Bonfante Gardens. Hecker Pass would not have been contiguous to the city. And the approval to build homes on “excess” Bonfante Gardens land to bail out the financially teetering amusement park only adds to the pressure … ah, what a tangled web city planners weave.
The city’s residential development ordinance was designed to avoid straining city services – police, fire, library, sewer, water, road maintenance and more – with a crush of new residents.
It also has the benefit of not dumping scores of new students into Gilroy Unified School District facilities, which are already overcrowded.
The schools don’t receive adequate funding under state formulas to create facilities required by new housing. Building 400 houses in three years on Hecker Pass will only make things worse.
The city claims it has no leverage to fix the school problem: “… Our hands are tied,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said. But Gilroy Unified School Superintendent Edwin Diaz has presented the Council with 10 ways to include schools in the mitigation process culled from other cities. Of course, that would mean that the City of Gilroy – proud owner of the highest impact fees in the NATION – won’t have carte blanche to squeeze every city amenity out of the developers. The city would actually have to start looking out for “someone else” – the school district and our students. Perish the thought.
The city has leverage, of course. It could start to make sense of development plans by refusing any development exceptions. Then it can stop residential development until the school facility problem is resolved.
Children who move into new homes should expect quality school facilities, not overcrowded portable messes.
If the city’s sewer system was over capacity, the city would be slapped with a building moratorium. Too bad there’s not a Regional School Quality Control Board.
Maybe the folks that back the new development restrictions proposed by the Local Agency Formation Commission are right. Maybe Gilroy can’t help itself. Maybe Gilroy can’t say “no” to any development proposal. Maybe it’s time for residents who can and would say “no” to step up and run for City Council.
