Development plans threatening rural character along Hecker Pass
postponed
Gilroy – A former mayor and a pastor were among the critics who pressured city leaders Monday night into postponing development plans that threaten the rural character of Hecker Pass Highway, the city’s scenic western entrance.
Former Mayor Roberta Hughan, who led the city from 1983 to 1991, appeared before council to remind leaders and residents about the history behind 115 Deodara Cedars lining the south side of Hecker Pass. In the 1930s, as part of the nationwide Arbor Day movement, local students were bussed out to the city’s scenic western gateway to plant two truckloads of trees.
Seventy years later, several dozen of those trees are threatened by plans to build two access roads between Hecker Pass and hundreds of homes slated for Hecker Pass corridor. Specifically, the proposal has triggered state requirements for wider shoulders and turning lanes that could require chopping down 26 historic cedars along the south side of the road.
“My mother was one of those students (who planted the trees) and was very proud of her role in that,” Hughan told the council. “We’re one of the few cities that still have an original tree row in place. We have quite a responsibility here.”
For months, residents and environmentalists have grown increasingly uneasy with Hecker Pass development plans, especially as details emerged about the extent of road widening that would be required under state standards. City council approved the Hecker Pass Specific Plan last January, but only learned in recent months that the proposal for two new intersections – one facing Burchell Road and a second facing Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd – would require cutting down dozens of historic trees to the south, or installing a 1,550-foot long retaining wall in the hillside to the north.
Roughly 20 members of Save Open Space Gilroy and their supporters, who favored the retaining wall option as the least of all evils, staged a rally outside City Hall before council convened its meeting. Most held placards reading “Save our historic tree row.”
Inside, three members of the group gave speeches reiterating their belief that additional studies are needed to flesh out details not covered in the Hecker Pass Specific Plan.
But the strongest criticism of widening plans came from residents who live just north of the proposed eastern intersection.
Susan Bassi, who lives at 1733 Hecker Pass Road, said that either road widening option would affect her home and others located just north of the highway.
“I gasped when I saw the retaining wall and that we would lose a little of the driveway,” she said. “Even a southern expansion would take away a great deal of the church parking lot and driveway. I believe that has been greatly minimized and attention should be paid to that.”
She supported a suggestion by Councilman Craig Gartman to consider eliminating the eastern intersection.
Pastor Ronald Koch of the Lutheran Church exhorted council members to focus instead on a Third Street extension, off Santa Teresa Boulevard, as the main access point for new neighborhoods.
“I think the best thing is to review this whole thing,” he said.
Council members agreed, delaying a vote on the project until they can hold another study session exploring alternatives.
