It’s been five months and the good news is that all the parties
are talking and at the table. Now it’s up to Gilroy to solve the
problem
Perhaps the city, school district and developers are poised to get right down to the real nitty gritty on how to build school facilities in our community. It’s taken five months to get there since former Superintendent Edwin Diaz came out with a desperation list of 10 ways to help build schools in December.
Hopefully, the serious horse trading that must take place can now start to commence in earnest. Each month that goes by is precious time lost. And the time to solve this is now because Gilroy is in a de facto building moratorium due to the sluggish housing market.
The city – and this bears repeating until it clearly happens – must acknowledge the importance of planning for schools at the outset when developers approach. It has to be crystal clear that the need for school facilities must be met, and that the city will insist on nothing less. Moreover, Gilroy’s City Council has to concede that it cannot simply extract higher fees from developers. Our city, home of the highest impact fees in the nation as far as we can determine, simply cannot squeeze more blood from developers – at least not in this economy.
The truth is, it’s unlikely that another boom economy which fueled an insane housing market a few years back will return anytime soon.
So, the city will have to back off its endless extraction list and make room for schools.
There is room for creativity in the process, however. Consider the interest the Westfield Group – developers of Valley Fair and Oakridge in San Jose – has in building a gigantic mall in Gilroy. In the development agreement process, the Gilroy Unified School District could be a major beneficiary.
What could be more Gilroy-friendly than a multi-national corporation contributing $10 million to wonderful new school facilities? Bring on the Westfield Elementary School Wolverines.
Of course, that’s the home run ball, and though the City Council and school district should be aware of those opportunities, the plan for the future has to be built on solid local policy. Toward that end, the city should review the development agreements it has signed with Glen Loma and the Hecker Pass developers. Can it shift some existing developer contributions to the schools?
But most importantly, the city must make school building an absolute priority in the development process. It’s time to get to the nitty gritty.
