Plans to bring thousands of jobs and homes to Coyote Valley
haven’t sat well with Morgan Hill officials who say traffic would
spill onto South County streets without a clear understanding of
who would pay for road improvements.
By Jeremy Barousse and Tony Burchyns
Staff Writers
Morgan Hill – Plans to bring thousands of jobs and homes to Coyote Valley haven’t sat well with Morgan Hill officials who say traffic would spill onto South County streets without a clear understanding of who would pay for road improvements.
“The (draft environmental impact) report said that things needed to be changed but they didn’t say what needed to be changed or how to change it,” said Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate. “We hope [San Jose planners] will take a little more responsibility.”
The city of San Jose released its $2-million draft “EIR” for the Coyote Valley Specific Plan March 30. The specific plan is a land-use document to bring roughly 80,000 people, 50,000 jobs and 25,000 homes north of Morgan Hill’s green belt. The draft environmental report is a legally mandated document to address the likely physical impacts the project may cause, such as traffic congestion, air and water pollution, and noise.
Tate and the Morgan Hill City Council submitted a June 28 letter to the city of San Jose responding to the draft EIR. The public comment period closed June 29, and the city of Morgan Hill and other local governments, organizations, private enterprises and individual residents submitted more than a combined 1,000 pages of written feedback. San Jose planners will respond to the questions in a revised EIR due out this fall, said San Jose principal planner Darryl Boyd.
“We want them to pay attention to our letter,” Tate said. “We know that the city of San Jose is taking its time and holding its (development) triggers, but we hope they will follow the process and come back with a more thorough report.”
