GILROY
– A controversial commercial and housing development off Santa
Teresa Boulevard and First Street is – much to the delight of
neighbors – being split in half.
GILROY – A controversial commercial and housing development off Santa Teresa Boulevard and First Street is – much to the delight of neighbors – being split in half.
Instead of building a 104-unit residential complex between Cypress Court and First Street, the Benassi family will build just 24 senior-living units there in the short term.
Some time later, the longtime Gilroy family will build 40 single-family “patio homes” (small detached houses), where 80 multifamily apartment units were initially planned behind the senior housing.
Then, in a third phase of the project, a strip mall facing First Street – just east of Santa Teresa Boulevard – will be constructed.
With the reduced number of homes, neighbors who worried traffic would overwhelm their quiet streets are breathing a sigh of relief.
“It’s one of those rare opportunities where there is a plan that’s a win-win situation for all,” said John Kent, a consulting developer for the Benassis.
The plan is win-win because existing residents will see less traffic on their streets and the Benassis will get to develop a lucrative residential housing complex for seniors and regular families.
Late last week, e-mails and letters from neighbors poured into City Hall praising the new plan. Residents had been fretting over the one-way-in, one-way-out Cypress Court access to the development.
“This plan is a fair compromise because it still funnels traffic from the residences onto Cypress Court, but with the reduced number of units, the impact of traffic and on-street parking should be decreased,” stated John and Nancy Hewitt in a letter to City Council.
The Benassi project represents one of the last vacant strips of commercial land on First Street. Some neighbors still want the Benassis to design the project so two roads – one preferably off of First Street – would access the new residences. However, city staff said the 104-unit complex would not significantly impact streets in the area.
Nonetheless, at the direction of the Gilroy Planning Commission back in March, Kent met with neighbors to develop a workable second access off First Street, but to no avail.
Kent and city staff showed City Council Monday night several versions of the two-way access plans. For each, using a First Street access road gravely interfered with residential traffic and pedestrians, staff said.
The problem stems from the third part of the Benassi development which includes commercial shops fronting First Street. A 47,000- to 60,000-square-foot grocery store likely would anchor the commercial strip.
Roughly drawn plans for the commercial zone show the access road crossing a parking lot, a loading dock and pedestrian access ways.
“What I see here is people going through parking lot and loading dock areas with two different mindsets,” said Traffic Engineer Kristi Abrams.
Some will drive through with the intent to complete errands and others will drive through with the intent to get home, “It’s just not compatible,” Abrams added.
Unless the Benassis and the neighbors can come up with a workable plan, the access road off First Street will lead only to the commercial lots, not the residential homes.
