Nine proposals hit City Hall Friday at the deadline for the
competition of market-rate permits
Gilroy ? The edge of foothills in southwest Gilroy, a tree-lined corridor that winds toward the Santa Cruz Ridgeline, and south Gilroy farmland wedged between car dealerships, hotels and a new sports complex have been targeted for large-scale housing projects in the latest scramble to cash in on the city?s lucrative real estate market.
Nine development proposals ranging from 10 homes to 236 homes streamed into City Hall Friday, the last day developers had for this winter?s competition for 191 permits for market rate homes. Developers asked for a total of 521 units in the competition, which is the last time city officials will hand out market-rate permits until 2013, when they hold a full-scale housing competition for thousands of units. The permits now available are left over from the last competition in 2003 and various projects that required fewer permits than expected.
?I would say that it generally follows the patterns we?ve seen in prior competitions,? City Planning Manager Bill Faus said, ?where the vast majority are adjoining land where development has already occurred, and a small percentage are projects that are just outside the city ? In terms of the dart bard, we?ve pretty much got a good range of projects here.?
Two 10-unit projects have been proposed for the intersection of Thomas Road and Santa Teresa Boulevard, an area just east of the foothills that has seen a number of new homes rise this summer.
To the northwest on Hecker Pass, land next to Bonfante Gardens is being targeted for 61 homes. The area is part of a broader development effort pushed by a dozen owners of the farmland and hillsides surrounding the corridor. The latest proposal for Hecker Pass development, submitted by Pacific Capital Bancorp and Raley?s grocery, would bring the total number of homes headed for the area to 567.
Developer James Suner has also proposed a 70 unit mixed-use development in the city?s northern reaches, while Michael McDermott and Vincent Giacalone are seeking to monopolize the permits in this winter?s competition with a 236-unit project in south Gilroy.
Council members have said they would judge projects against a list of priorities, with preference going first to partially finished projects that require additional units for completion. A 45-unit project in northwest Gilroy comes closest to meeting that requirement, Faus said, though council members will also consider if a project is surrounded by existing development, located near the city center, preserves open space or provides affordable housing.
Developers hoping to get a share of the remaining permits must pass through a lengthy review process at the hands of city staff, planning commissioners and city council members. The entire process is expected to last between six and nine months.
Once the market-rate units are snapped up, only permits for low-income and senior housing will remain. Despite freeing such units from the hassles and uncertainty of a lengthy competitive process, officials have had a tougher time getting developers to build affordable housing.
The next major housing competition in 2013 is expected to be judged under a new set of criteria that give preference to developers of affordable units, eco-friendly designs, and other socially desirable projects.
