Preservation policy would require new housing projects to match
their surroundings
Gilroy – A plan to revitalize one of Gilroy’s oldest neighborhoods has sparked a policy idea that could leave less room for grumbling by residents – at least those worried about new homes cropping up in their back yards.
Gilroy City Councilman Russ Valiquette has not fleshed out the details of his Neighborhood Preservation Policy, but the concept is simple: The city should require new housing projects to match the character of the surrounding neighborhood. And by character, he means the size of homes, their style, even their “density” (developer jargon for the number of homes allowed on a given piece of land).
Valiquette floated the idea earlier this month at a meeting of the city’s Historic Heritage Committee, which reviews construction plans to ensure the integrity of historic homes. An effort to raze half a block of single-story, World War II-era homes on Gurries Drive and to replace them with a gated community of three-story, Victorian houses does not sit right with Valiquette.
“I used to live on Gurries in one of those multi-family units,” Valiquette said of the 14 homes targeted for demolition. “I don’t have a problem with those units being torn down because over the years the upkeep has been minimal. It would be nice to get some new living spaces in there. But not 20-plus units that are three stories high.”
The Gurries Drive project, put forward by developer Christopher Cote, is not the first to spark concern among city leaders. In recent weeks, Valiquette criticized efforts by the Gilroy Unified School District to convert Las Animas Elementary School into 99 homes. During the meeting, Valiquette pointed out that a 60-unit project would better match the density of the surrounding area. Prior to approval, school district officials anxious to wring millions of dollars from the project agreed to create a buffer of free-standing homes between condominiums – or some other “high-density use” – and the surrounding neighborhood.
The neighborhood preservation policy Valiquette is now backing encapsulates concerns that led to a furor on Miller Avenue last year, when residents of the stately, tree-lined street led a revolt against plans to replace two single-story homes with half a dozen two-story units.
After modifying plans, a divided city council approved the project, in part because nothing in the city’s zoning regulations prohibit such a development. Valiquette fears council will apply a similar logic to Cote’s project on Gurries Drive, which is zoned for three-story housing.
“You’ve got to look at the letter of the law and the spirit of the law,” said Valiquette, who was one of three councilman who voted against the Miller Avenue project. The councilman said he asked staff for a policy recommendation that would give greater weight to the identity of a neighborhood than to the technical requirements of zoning laws.
“Obviously, if a council member has ideas he’d like to float, we’d certainly go through the process,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said. “I don’t know enough details to know if I’d subscribe to it or not. We already, on many levels, try to complement the surrounding neighborhood. We have historic preservation (guidelines), though not everything 50 years old is worth saving. If he wants to enhance those policies, our job is to certainly hear it out.”
Cote, who expects to submit plans in coming weeks for the Gurries Drive project, said he would follow council wishes when it comes to the size and number of homes. But he warned that reductions in either area would spell fewer homes with bigger price tags.
He also argued that Valiquette’s policy idea could prove counter-productive on a street of run-down homes that, in recent years, has seen a string of car thefts and burglaries.
“I bought half the block,” Cote said, “specifically so I could change the character of the neighborhood.”
