Politics

Growth, growth and more growth. Possibly more than any other member of the Gilroy City Council, Cat Tucker has had to ponder the impacts of growth in Gilroy and surrounding communities. She served as vice chair of the Gilroy General Plan Advisory Committee and chaired the board of LAFCO of Santa Clara County. In this Q&A, Tucker talks about how LAFCO decisions impact South County cities and how Gilroy can maintain its identity as it continues to grow.

Wearing t-shirts with “Stomp out Sprawl” emblazoned across their chests and carrying two large file boxes filled with more than 3,500 signed petitions in support of an urban growth boundary (UGB) for Gilroy, the folks of Gilroy Growing Smarter (GGS) were in a celebratory mood on Monday at City Hall.

Greeted by nearly two dozen people who came to express concern Monday over a proposed zoning change, the City Council unanimously denied an application that would have cleared the way for construction of 16 two-story “duet-style” single-family homes along Hecker Pass Road.

Gilroy voters received a note last week from its schools chief, a four-page plug for Measure E, the $170 million bond question on the June 7 ballot to fix and build schools—and pay employee salaries, it turns out.

Perry Woodward is more than the mayor of Gilroy. He’s been on the Valley Transportation Authority for seven years and was its chair last year. He now chairs the Caltrain board. These are two of the most important groups overseeing area transit.

Gilroy residents can learn more about a possible half-cent sales tax measure to fund countywide transportation at a public meeting Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at Gilroy City Hall.The first in a series to be held in the county throughout the month, attendees will have an opportunity to provide input on the transportation projects and programs that have been identified through the Envision Silicon Valley process, an effort started last year by Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority.Under the aegis of Envision Silicon Valley, Gilroy and the 15 other jurisdictions of the VTA identified approximately $47 billion in transportation projects they want to see funded through a possible sales tax measure for the November ballot.“This is a good opportunity for people who want to know more and talk with the VTA and see the plan,” said Mayor Perry Woodward, who is a member of the VTA Board.“If there is a project that folks want to see on this ballot measure, that isn’t on it, or something is on it they feel shouldn’t be on it, this is your opportunity to come and be heard.”The proposed half-cent sales tax measure would be for 30 years and go towards easing congestion in the region.“We are sending 12,000-14,000 commuters into Silicon Valley each day to work—five of the seven City Council members included—and the congestion is terrible, and this will help deal with that,” said Woodward.“It’s important from a quality-of-life standpoint for our residents, but it is also important for the economic vitality of South County,” he continued. “If something is not done, and it takes two hours to get to Silicon Valley, then we are like Los Banos or King City, in terms of our travel time. That would be a very negative thing to our economic development.”The potential sales tax measure would help fund projects both big and small, including Phase 2 of the BART extension into Santa Clara and downtown San Jose, as well as road improvements in Gilroy.“It would give us $1 million a year for street maintenance,” said Woodward. “There is always a lot of talk about the need for additional funding for street maintenance and this extra $1 million a year would help fill that missing gap.”According to the most recent State of the Streets Report, Gilroy needs to spend about $3.3 million per year for the city to meet its own target of a Pavement Condition Index score of 70. Current funding level is about $300,000 per year.Other projects identified for funding through the possible sales tax measure include a new interchange at Highway 25 and Highway 101, replacing the temporary intersection that was installed in the 1980s and extending Santa Teresa Boulevard to South San Jose.“So if you were coming from Hollister and you wanted to take a back way and not get on Highway 101, you could take Highway 25 to Santa Teresa and continue all the way into South San Jose. It creates a whole new corridor for regional traffic,” Woodward said.After the public meetings, the VTA board will vote in June putting the half-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot. Once there, It would require a two-thirds voter majority to pass. For more information go to: www.vta.org/envision-silicon-valley/envision-silicon-valley

“The learning curve is very steep,” said Daniel Harney, regarding his first 100 days as a member of the Gilroy City Council.Selected to fill the vacancy following former mayor Don Gage’s retirement in December, Harney stepped up to the dais Jan. 25.Not one to sit back and watch everyone else at work, over the course of the last three months the eBay executive, husband and father of two helped select new City Administrator Gabriel Gonzalez as a member of the selection subcommittee and supported the city’s move to join the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority, becoming Gilroy’s representative on that initiative’s governing board in the process.“Gilroy is the fourth-largest energy consumer in the county and joining the SVCE authority provides our city the ability to purchase electricity from a higher percentage of renewable energy sources, helps lower Gilroy’s greenhouse gas emissions and gives our residents more consumer choice—versus PG&E,” said Harney.“More importantly, it sends a clear and direct message to other Silicon Valley cities that Gilroy will be a leader when it comes to sustainability and resolving shared problems in our county.”Messaging is a major concern for Harney, who feels the city suffers from a problem of misperception based on misinformation.“When I’m out speaking with people, they tell me they don’t go downtown because of the crime problems downtown. Some of the lowest crime rates are downtown,” said Harney.“There is a ton of misinformation out there and there is a lack of dialogue. People have a perception of something; they hold on to that perception and then it becomes a reality. Communication, different channels of communication, can change all that.”Harney said he would like Gilroy residents to be excited and proud of their city.“Gilroy is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. Our population is becoming more diverse, culturally and demographically. Our wine and tourism industry continues to grow; our downtown and industrial vacancies are much lower than in recent years.”While there are problems—“our roads may not be in the best condition and our growth plan is not resolved,” Harney stresses that Gilroy “is heading in the right direction” and that residents must not lose focus on the fundamentals, to “remain financially sustainable, grow our economy, upgrade our city infrastructure and create a livable community for all.”Many of the issues Gilroy is currently grappling with are not unique to the southernmost city in Santa Clara County.“Many neighboring Silicon Valley cities face the same problems that we are facing, including water, transportation, deteriorating road conditions and planning for high speed rail,” he said. “We need to ensure that we are properly positioned and represented in many of the Santa Clara County cooperatives that help resolve issues with growth.”As for the debate over the proposed urban growth boundary (UGB) initiative brought by the citizen action group Gilroy Growing Smarter in reaction to the contentious 721-acre Rancho Los Olivos housing project formerly proposed for land north of the city, Harney admits the “community remains divided on how and when to grow.“Understanding the key issues of the UGB is important and is why I supported the decision to fund an independent analysis of the impacts to schools, housing, traffic and the fiscal impact this change may have on the city.”At the April 18 City Council meeting, the council approved a further $75,000 to fund an independent report on the impacts of the citizen-led UGB initiative, bringing the total approved funding to $150,000.

A Gilroy woman said she alerted Gilroy High School officials and police more than a year ago to sexual texts sent by Gilroy High School science teacher Doug Le—who was arrested April 26 on suspicion of soliciting lewd pictures from minors—but nothing was done.

Gilroy has lost small businesses to other cities and frustrated others with what’s seen as hostility and over-regulation that created a seething cold war between City Hall and Main Street.It’s too late for merchants who fled or closed, but new signs point to a possible ceasefire, a thaw, more cooperation and a revitalization of what has been an ailing historic downtown business district.“There was a time when all you had to do was look at anybody from the city and the answer was no, or the answer was so obviously unhelpful you did not know how to proceed,” said Linda Williams, who quit her job in biotech and, with no retail experience, bought the long-established Nimble Thimble Quilt Shop and moved it into an aging downtown storefront she purchased and renovated at 7455 Monterey Road.Now, she said, “I am starting to change my mind, I am guardedly optimistic.”Downtown activist Gary Walton has done business in Gilroy for 30 years. He, too, detects a change for the better.“I have a lot of faith, I am actually optimistic about downtown,” he said, two days after showing a prospective new downtown businessman around.It’s time for the city and merchants to pull together and stop being adversaries, according to Walton.“If the city staff understands this is a partnership, rather than ‘we need to control those dirty bastards and make them crawl through broken glass,’ we are going to do a lot in the future,” he said.What has been so frustrating, he said, is “the city has absolutely no road map that tells how to get a permit, no timelines for the process. Other cities have flow charts for the process. If Gilroy would clearly spell out the steps and give you a road map and tell you how long it takes, instead of it all being hit and miss.”Merchants complain that the city doesn’t provide much help getting through a maze of rules and point to a lack of help from city staff—concerning permits for signage, expansion, licensing and earthquake safety—making it extremely complicated to open a mom and pop store.Examples of discord reveal a continuum of clashes that have pitted the city against merchants for years, most notably during the reigns of former city manager Tom Haglund and former Mayor Don Gage, according to some critics.Gage has been accused in the past of trying to force his esthetic likes and dislikes down the throats of a unhappy merchants with repressive design standards and bans on certain types of businesses.He and Haglund resigned last year and relieved and hopeful merchants point to other changes in key city positions that could augur a newer, kinder relationship with the merchant community.Take auto-related businesses, for example, which Gage repeatedly tried to ban from the downtown while encouraging them along the freeway. The city has since backed off on that downtown restriction, according to Walton.But not before there was damage. With a small desk, filing cabinets and a phone—nothing that smacked of the automobile industry—John Trinchero ran a successful car wholesale business at a 7810 Monterey Street storefront for 23 years until 2012.His family ran businesses in town since the 1920s, including its first pizza parlor and the old Hecker Pass Inn that fed diners for 50 years on First Street.At 73, Trinchero wanted to retire and for two years tried to turn the business over to his European university-educated son.But that required a new business license for the proposed new ownership, the city told him, which would trigger a city law that at the time banned auto-related businesses in the downtown that did not exist before its passage, according to Trinchero, now 77.He reluctantly closed shop and retired and his son returned to Europe. He still is bitter.“Opening a small business in Gilroy and getting the city to let you operate after you open is near impossible,” Trinchero wrote about the situation. “Dealing with city employees who seem to be trained to keep small businesses [tied up] with so much red tape you just give up,” he wrote.In an interview this week he said, “These are just mom and pop businesses, but you can’t get any help from the city.”Another merchant said her sales fell 20 percent and she was threatened with fines when the city enacted a new sign ordinance that many found overbearing.“They try to squeeze money out of you any way they can,” she said of the citations and regulations.She opposed the Gage-led Measure F, a proposed city sales tax hike that voters rejected last year, wondering why people would buy in Gilroy if the tax had passed.She and her husband wanted to purchase and renovate an old building for their business and met with city leaders, but were so badly treated they gave up and opted for Morgan Hill, she said. New city leadership is no better than the old, she said, calling Gilroy “a nightmare” to deal with.“When Walmart came in the city waived so many things, but for small businesses they won’t waive anything,” she said. “I love Gilroy, but for a small business Morgan Hill is much more embracing, they were welcoming.”She asked not to be identified, fearing retaliation by the city if she ever tries to return.Walton was not surprised. Her reaction, he said, “is not unusual. It is really sad when people fear their government, it shows that people feel that it is corrupt and not fair.”At Predator’s Archery on Monterey Road, a half-block south of the iconic Old City Hall, owners Curtis Campisi and Mike Pierce have in 23 years turned a $10,000 investment into an international business that grosses $1.1 million a year and employs a half-dozen people. Among the state’s 25 archery dealers, it ranks fourth in sales, Campisi said.When they tried to expand into a next-door storefront for a second indoor archery range, they were shocked by the city’s response.The city halted the project, demanded a new, wooden design to meet historic standards and slapped them with an additional $4,000 permit fee for being in a historic district.That brought the fees to $8,000 on a project budgeted to cost $5,000, Campisi said. And when it came to knowing exactly how to proceed, the city was no help, the Gilroy native said.“They need a resource liaison, someone who will hold [applicants’] hands and tell them the guidelines,” Campisi said.After more meetings, Campisi seems confident that at least some of the fee will be reduced. Still, he questioned the $4,000 fee and what it actually pays for.At the Nimble Thimble, Williams said ending friction between the city and merchants boils down to keeping the lines of communication open.“I really do think in the last six months things have gotten much, much better,” she said.In spite of what she was put through, Williams said, “I am glad I did it. I moved from Pasadena to Gilroy and I love it. I want to be part of downtown and I want it to be a good town, the kind I want to live in—we just have some things to figure out.”Walton is determined to figure out and fix things and, characteristically, is operating beyond the city’s reach to do so.He is forming a design committee made up of professionals who will voluntarily assist merchants with their issues, to fill the void he believes has been created by a city staff and leadership that has not been people- or business-friendly.The committee will prepare merchants before they ever approach the city, Walton said.Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, he said, citing studies that show cities that welcome and help them are more economically vital than those that don’t. Indeed, downtown merchants as a group are one of the city’s largest employers, he said. The welcoming must start at the top, Walton continued. The smooth to rough cycles the city goes through in dealing with merchants are tied to its leadership, and it’s the tone of that leadership that is reflected in the way the staff handles small businesses, he said.“You have to be business-friendly in order to accomplish the economic development this community needs; there is an inverse relationship between the amount of regulation and amount of business in a community,” he said.But there are signs that things indeed are improving, according to the longtime businessman.In his tireless efforts to attract businesses to town, Walton last Saturday walked through several vacant stores with a bookshop owner contemplating relocating his store from Mountain View to Gilroy. A top city planning staffer showed up to help.“On her own time,” Walton said. “That is a good sign.”