Gilroy
– An agricultural tourist destination featuring a farmer’s
market, orchards, wine tasting, a child-sized rail system, an
education center and man-made lakes may be coming to Gilroy’s
northern edge.
Gilroy – An agricultural tourist destination featuring a farmer’s market, orchards, wine tasting, a child-sized rail system, an education center and man-made lakes may be coming to Gilroy’s northern edge.
The Farm Park has been proposed by the owners of Guglielmo Winery who hope to create a new community center that celebrates the South Valley’s agricultural heritage.
“With everything covered in asphalt and concrete, a lot of people forget about the history of the valley,” Gary Guglielmo said Friday. “We want an attraction that will not only take care of the kids that will provide education and enjoyment for everyone who comes.”
The Guglielmo family has been growing grapes in Morgan Hill since 1925. Guglielmo owns the winery with his brothers, George and Gene. He said the family has been looking to develop the property for several years.
“With our family being in wine, we wanted to look at a use that would promote agriculture in this valley,” Guglielmo said. “Not just a farmer’s market, but an education center for kids to come by and see what different crops look like, see how they grow.”
But before the Guglielmos can move forward with their plan, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors must take the unusual step of approving a single-parcel amendment to the county’s general plan. The property the family wants to develop is a 30-acre parcel immediately west of Highway 101 and south of Masten Avenue. Currently the land is zoned as open space, part of an Open Space Reserve set aside by Gilroy and the county in 1980 as a way to coordinate planning.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage said he would support the amendment. Other supervisors could not be reached for comment. Guglielmo said he’s confident the board will approve the change.
“I’m not concerned,” he said. “Every response from the county has been very enthusiastic about this type of project. The key thing that everyone has been excited about is something that will promote the history of agriculture in this valley.”
In approving the Guglielmo’s request to change the zoning of the property to agriculture use, the county planning office called the reserve “obsolete,” and the planning commission voted to recommend that county supervisors adopt the change. Planner Bill Shoe said Friday he hopes the supervisors will consider the proposal in May. He said his office received no complaints from neighbors about it.
Erin Gil, production manager for Grass farm’s Garden Accents, which is across Masten from the site, praised the idea.
“It sounds wonderful. I think agriculture needs any boost it can get. We’re an endangered species,” Gil said. “It’s a way to preserve an historic part of South County. It’s a way for generations of families to pay homage to their ancestors, and show the community where food comes from besides the aisles of Safeway and Nob Hill.”
Although the land is outside Gilroy city limits, it is inside the city’s sphere of influence, giving officials a limited say in the project. Gilroy Planner Melissa Durkin said Friday that she hasn’t seen details of the project, but the city has agreed that there’s no good reason to prohibit the zoning change.
County planners determined that there’s no environmental cost to the project, but Marilee Fichera, who lives near the site, at the intersection of 4th Street and Santa Clara Street, across from Rucker Elementary School, said she feared traffic could overwhelm the neighborhood.
‘It would be fun, but they need to make sure they’ve got good parking,” she said. “Parking is already hard. If you come around when school is letting out, it’s a madhouse.”
Guglielmo said his family invested in the property in 1989 because it’s visible from the highway and has already started thinking about how to ease traffic flow.
“Traffic will be a concern because Masten is a very, very busy street,” he said. “We have to mitigate that by determining where to put the entrance.”
As yet, there’s no time frame for opening the farm park. Guglielmo said his family and their investors aren’t ready to move forward right away.
“It’s really a tough question to determine timing once we get the issues settled and the green light to move forward we’ll start meeting with the players,” he said.
Features
• Wine tasting
• Child’s railroad system with bridges over man-made lakes
• Orchards
• Pumpkin patch
• Entertainment Pavilion
