Santa Clara County and the City of Morgan Hill are continuing to
forge ahead on the new courthouse, but county concerns may force
the city to change the designs again.
MORGAN HILL – Santa Clara County and the City of Morgan Hill are continuing to forge ahead on the new courthouse, but county concerns may force the city to change the designs again.
According to Garret Toy, the director for the Business and Housing Services, the Environmental Impact Report was accepted on June 25 and the escrow closed on July 10. A workshop will be held tonight to discuss the design of the courthouse.
While the county says the site will be an elegant place, it fears the current plans will force the project over schedule and over budget.
“It is not possible to accommodate (the city’s) request to begin a joint site master planning exercise after the (Redevelopment Agency’s) acquisition of the adjacent property without significantly delaying the courthouse project cost beyond the project budget,” Kevin Carruth, director for the General Services Agency, said in a June 20 letter.
Despite budgetary concerns from the county, Mayor Dennis Kennedy says that the relationship between the city and the county is good. He concedes a few problems existed, but things are running smoother than before.
“Overall the cooperation with us is well,” Kennedy said. “After some initial bumps in the road, we’re working well together.”
The 80,000-square-foot, $40 million, two-building justice center is planned for Butterfield Boulevard and West Diana Avenue on a site next to the railroad tracks and south of the CalTrain park-and-ride lot.
Six courtrooms, a holding facility for prisoners, jury rooms and related offices would occupy a 35-foot high building. A smaller one-story building to the north would house district attorney, probation and public defender offices.
A meeting about the courthouse will be held today at 5 p.m. at City Hall Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave.
