With its approach to building color and design, Gilroy is moving in the wrong direction and is losing ground to establish and market itself as an attractive suburb in which to live.
As an urban planner and architectural professional, I know there is a time and place for extreme color palates to be used, and gateway corridors, and downtown in particular, are not the places for it.
Downtown should be kept to a higher design standard, one that focuses on harmony and design between tenant spaces and buildings while preserving and maintaining the historic and charming architecture that makes downtown Gilroy unique and vibrant.
Allowing abrasive colors to make their way design-wise into such sensitive areas is ridiculous and I cannot believe the lack of comprehension and forward thinking by the city council to properly address these issues. They must be blind and ignorant to the fact that the city’s gateway corridors are awful, dilapidated and resemble more of a slum environment than a thriving Silicon Valley suburb.
I was born and raised in Gilroy and am disgusted with how the city has allowed this issue to perpetuate into a beast that cannot be tackled without strict and severe enforcement, rules which we all know would never be enforced based on the city’s lack of drive and overall laziness toward other community issues. Illegal signage is one good example.
This entire thing is a joke and a crock, and will only hurt the city’s image in the end, resulting in lowered property values because of eyesore properties and increased vacant tenant spaces in the city’s core, leaving a failure of a downtown revitalization project to sit in shambles.
In the end, allowing such design to run rampant puts an end to the design modernization and outward appeal of the city. If I was to move to the South County today, Gilroy would be on the bottom of my list regardless of lower home prices and a moderate commute. I’d much rather reside in a community that values architectural character, historical preservation and revitalization, or which at least is governed by those with a backbone and common sense.
I’d say to all Gilroyans, keep the complaints coming. Let the City Council know your dissatisfaction with their role in governing our community, and if they continue to defy the concerns of the community VOTE THEM OUT!
Mr. Gibbons was born and raised in Gilroy and attended Pacific West Christian Academy. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he focused on architecture and environmental design and graduated in 2013 with a BS in City and Regional Planning. He resides in the Central Valley.
