Council members delay final approval of 260-unit affordable
housing project
Gilroy – Nonprofit developer South County Housing continues its roller coaster ride at the hands of city councilmen, who have once again thrown the fate of its latest affordable housing project into limbo.
On Monday, councilmen delayed final approval of the 260-unit Rancho del Sol project in hopes of buying time to study Gilroy’s affordable housing policies in depth. The 4-2 vote was expected to be a procedural formality following initial council approval last month. But a last-minute plea by Councilman Roland Velasco convinced fellow councilmen Dion Bracco and Russ Valiquette to hold off on a final vote for several weeks. Velasco hopes to delay the project at least until May 3, when council meets to study Gilroy’s affordable housing stock and policies promoting low-income housing.
The councilman says officials have taken a “piecemeal approach” to affordable housing and that further studies are necessary before new projects go forward. He and Councilman Craig Gartman, who also voted against the regulatory change, insist that Rancho del Sol runs foul of policies that encourage neighborhoods with mixed housing types and income levels. They claim the project will glut the city’s north-central area with low-income housing.
Mayor Al Pinheiro recused himself from the vote since he sells insurance to South County Housing, leaving an exasperated Russ Valiquette in charge.
Valiquette said “there’s part of me that agrees with” Councilmen Peter Arellano and Paul Correa, who supported the project. He also wanted time for additional study but did not want to reject the project outright. Valiquette ultimately favored postponing the matter until the April 3 council meeting. At that time, councilmen will ask South County officials, who did not attend this week’s meeting, if they can hold off on the project for another six weeks.
South County Executive Director Dennis Lalor said the organization has a contract to purchase the 36-acre project site in north Gilroy, just west of Monterey Road, but has not yet finalized the deal.
“Clearly there is a time sensitivity, but just as clearly we have been committed to working with the council for the last five or six months,” Lalor said. He declined to say how much the nonprofit has already invested in the project.
Rancho del Sol narrowly escaped defeat late last year when outgoing Councilman Bob Dillon voted in favor of the project, after opposing the zone change needed to clear the way for it. While lauding the project, which subsidizes low-income units with market-rate homes, he called the zone-change request a “designer ordinance” catering to a single organization.
Since then, South County Housing officials have scaled back the project and come up with new zoning language. The retooling – along with several months of lobbying – was enough to win 4-2 approval in late February on the zone change. The critical swing vote came from newly elected Councilman Bracco, who set aside his earlier objections after touring South County Housing’s developments in Morgan Hill.
At the time, Bracco said the city must take stronger steps to encourage affordable housing. This week, he had different considerations in mind.
“I’m willing to err on the side of caution,” Bracco said. “I would rather the council get more educated on this and come back and make a decision.”
