New draft environmental impact report finds substantial impacts
on public services and more
Coyote Valley’s proposed Gavilan College satellite campus will create major traffic jams that would necessitate the widening of U.S. 101 to handle the northbound congestion from Tennant to E. Dunne avenues.
That’s according to the findings of the recently released draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Gavilan College campus that would be constructed on a 55-acre property in south San Jose to accommodate an estimated 10,000 full-time students and approximately 505 employees, including faculty and staff.
Other impacts found by the report, released Feb. 22 and prepared by the San Jose-based David Powers and Associates consulting firm, included an abundance of undesired noise for the surrounding areas and that demand for public services such as fire and police would need to be addressed.
The proposed college site is around 1.8 miles southwest of the Bailey Avenue and U.S. 101 interchange.
Still, despite the negative findings, those who’ve been supporting the building of the campus on Coyote Valley land, remain optimistic.
“(This project) will serve existing residents that live predominantly in Morgan Hill,” said Steve Kinsella, superintendent and president of Gavilan College. “It will provide a close option for those students. Instead of driving to San Jose, they can drive the four miles north to the new campus.”
Morgan Hill Unified School District trustee Shelle Thomas shared some of the same enthusiasm about the campus.
“So many kids travel north, not south, (for school) and to have something out of the sphere of influence of Morgan Hill and Gilroy would be good. If (the) Coyote Valley (project) goes, it will be important to have an educational presence there. There will be more programs available for the kids,” said Thomas.
The college campus project has been in the works for three years.
It would have the standard facilities expected of a community college campus such as classroom and administration buildings, gymnasium, athletic fields, and parking. A police academy complex would also be included, fully equipped with indoor firing range and classroom facility.
Along with the proposed project plans is a listing of the overall objectives that planners hope to accomplish with the building of the site.
They hope to expand the facilities of the existing college to support the last two years of unprecedented growth experienced by Gavilan Joint Community College District.
They also wish to recapture more than 1,800 existing Gavilan Joint Community College District students, approximately half of all Morgan Hill’s community college students, that are currently commuting to more northern community college districts including West Valley-Mission, San Jose-Evergreen College, and Foothill-DeAnza. Associated with this last objective is the advantage of reduced travel distances and times for students, and reduced fuel energy consumption and air pollution emissions for the environment.
According to Kinsella, the chief representative of the college for this project, they are also looking to the future.
“We hope to provide for future residents of the Coyote Valley region,” said Kinsella.
The public review period for the draft report began Feb. 22 and will continue through April 7. During this timeframe any questions and comments concerning the project or the draft EIR will be heard.
According to San Jose senior planner Susan Walsh, the Coyote Valley Specific Plan has been in the works since it was first initiated by the San Jose City Council in August 2002. The future project is set to develop the 3,500 acres of undeveloped land north of Morgan Hill and will include several sports fields, two high schools, new roads, and parks situated around the area’s lake center and east side of Monterey Road. The 19-member Coyote Valley Specific Plan Task Force is overseeing the development that is still under preparation and is expected to be considered by the San Jose City Council in the beginning of 2009.
According to Darryl Boyd, principal planner of the EIR for the Coyote Valley Specific Plan, the city of San Jose is expected to have formal written comments concerning the Gavilan College Coyote Campus Project draft EIR sometime before the April 7 deadline.
Get involved:
Read the draft environmental impact report for the proposed Gavilan College campus in Coyote Valley at
