Editorials

The bungled attempt to slide the largest development in Gilroy’s history through the county Local Agency Formation Commission came off the rails this week when LAFCO sued the city in Santa Clara County Superior Court. It’s unprecedented for a city to be dragged into court by the very agency whose approval it needs, and the mayor and council members who voted to submit the half-baked application for a highly unpopular project should be embarrassed about the way this all was handled.Citizens elect leaders to make wise and cautious decisions that reflect the will of their constituents, and the North Gilroy Neighborhood District initiative reflected none of those qualities.Mayor Perry Woodward, especially, displayed poor judgment. He makes money litigating as a profession—he has sued the city of Gilroy and this newspaper in the past—and just signed on to work for a big San Jose law firm. He, more than anyone, should understand the need to follow procedures and keep the city out of court. Litigation between taxpayer-funded entities is a game that no one wins.Luckily, landowner Jeff Martin made a sound decision to withdraw the application, promptly and without fuss. He has been a part of the community long enough to know which way the wind’s blowing, and he wants to do the right thing.In our view, a project this big should undergo a community visioning period, or charette, otherwise the nice watercolors, elegant website and new name—Rancho Los Olivos—are just lip gloss on a boar. It should have widespread community buy-in before it is handed off to regional agencies for approval. The process should not simply move from a small political in-group clumsily and arrogantly telling Gilroyans what’s best for them to a slick PR campaign by an out-of-county agency hired to sell the plan. Instead, if it’s to move forward, there has to be a genuine willingness to listen to a community that has spoken up loud and clear.“I asked the applicant to please rescind their application to allow for time for the city and greater community to better understand the proposal, the benefits to our community, how it gains local control and fits within the collective long-term vision of Gilroy’s future,” Woodward said in the developer’s press release. First off, why was the mayor of Gilroy’s position expressed through the project publicist’s press release, rather than in a city announcement? Does the mayor work for the city, or the developer? Second, should the mayor, after two weeks on the job, be using the personal pronoun and instructing a private applicant how to conduct his business affairs? And, third, is the problem really that the citizens of this community are too uneducated about the project’s fabulous benefits to “understand”?If Woodward really wants to bring the community around on this defining issue, he can start by creating an inclusive city leadership, which means not hand-picking ideological soulmates for mayor pro-tempore and council appointee. If he goes ahead with Peter Leroe-Muñoz as his second-in-command and then engineers Bob Dillon’s appointment—many City Hall watchers believe that that backroom deal’s already been cut—Woodward will have a de facto four-member voting block to accelerate Gilroy’s expansion over the objections of a large number, if not a majority of residents. And because a new general plan is in the works, Gilroy will live with the results of this political gamesmanship for decades to come.We hope Woodward’s colleagues on the council will realize that a mayor who’s crashing into walls should not be followed blindly. Being aggressive and taking initiative can sometimes be confused with leadership.A proclivity for action, to be sure, can be a very good thing when accompanied by sound judgment and a consensus of support. But when a moral compass is spinning freely and ambition charts the direction, what appears to be a march forward can really be just a bunch of lemmings sprinting to the cliff’s edge, dazzled by the brilliance of a $3 billion payday.

Downtown Gilroy’s getting a bookstore and the town is abuzz.Crazy, right?Maybe not.When we heard how excited people were about a used bookstore relocating here, we shook our heads. A used bookstore? Is that going to save our struggling downtown? We already have a Barnes and Noble in the big box store ghetto on the other side of the freeway. And let’s face it, while we love books, they are not the big force driving business they once were. They are like the hit rock band that now plays county fairs. Lovable, but not in their economic prime.But then we had a vision.A day doesn’t go by when we don’t hear someone say that Gilroy’s downtown doesn’t have the class of Morgan Hill’s and they wish we had the outdoor chain restaurants that have taken over our northern neighbor and made it a destination. We’ve watched it happen in Campbell and Willow Glen, which have grown from sleepy, antiquated downtowns to hot night spots.And, yes, Gilroy could do the same. Why it hasn’t is a mystery.But maybe it shouldn’t. Maybe there’s another tack. Maybe we should play on our strengths.Gilroy has the genuine feeling of an old, quaint town with locally owned businesses you can’t find anywhere else.Maybe we need to celebrate that and market it more. We’re not just the Garlic Capital of the World, which is a big drawing card, but we are also one of the last real California towns. We keep it real. Yeah, we have chain stores, but we keep them on the other side of the tracks.Take a stroll on Monterey Road downtown and you will find an archery store; a funky, lovable bowling alley with a restaurant that serves food from around the world; a great Mexican bakery and several Mexican restaurants that are like a trip south of the border; a sewing shop; a pottery studio and store; two exquisite American food restaurants in historic buildings; an auction shop; a high-end kids resale shop; garlic specialty shops and restaurants; a classic car shop; amazing antique stores; and soon, a high-end used bookstore.It’s all a great start and it should be marketed better.The owner of Garbo’s Collectibles once told us that he took out ads in Los Angeles for his business and was shocked by how many people came here, loving the city’s old California feel. What many locals see as underdeveloped and embarrassing, outsiders praise for its authenticity.So what else can we do to improve it?We need more public spaces downtown. Mayor Perry Woodward is pushing for an amphitheater where the billiards hall is now and that’s a good step. But what we really need are places to bring kids to after they see a concert or play there.We need a museum downtown, or an attraction that will bring in families. We need more benches and more shade, so people can stroll and stop. We need more outdoor dining. We need more ice cream and pizza shops for families.We also need someone with the vision to bring it to life. We’ve got the history, the local shops and plenty of empty storefronts to fill. We need more activities to attract people downtown, like farmers markets and concerts. We can be proud of the good things we already have. We have a vibrant mix of local shops and cultures, Mexican and American, that is pure and real and not tacky.This isn’t Napa or Disneyland. It’s an agricultural and historical city with things you won’t find anywhere else.