Sale of site will help offset $29 million bond shortfall for new
high school
Gilroy – Although the rejection of a special zoning exemption for the Las Animas Elementary School site would spell trouble for the local school system, it appears unlikely the city will give district officials the nod.
Councilman Craig Gartman, said he has no plans to vote in favor of the school district’s request – slated for Thursday’s planning commission meeting – for a nonprofit exemption similar to the one crafted for Bonfante Gardens.
“They don’t quite fall into that category,” he said, pointing out that the section specifically calls for a 501c3 nonprofit, such as Bonfante Gardens.
But Gilroy Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Steve Brinkman pointed out that while the district may not fall into the specific 501c3, it is not a for-profit institution and serves the children of the community.
In an attempt to offset a gaping $29 million hole in Christopher High School construction costs, GUSD is hoping to skip some of the city’s lengthy zoning steps, thus speeding up the process and reaping the most financial benefits possible from the 10-acre plot of land.
To do so, the district is requesting that its excused from the city’s housing competition and is allowed to apply for up to 99 building permits. If the exemption is not granted, GUSD will have to enter the Residential Development Ordinance competition, the city’s growth control measure.
While the latter is an option, it wouldn’t serve the district’s best interest since the number of permits awarded may not make for a viable project and the date set for development by the city may be years from now, Brinkman said. An RDO competition for 191 building permits is scheduled for next year.
Gartman said he was caught by surprise when the district brought up the issue during a joint study session with the city “and at the time we said ‘no way.’ ”
The councilman said he doesn’t understand why the school district didn’t throw its name in the RDO competition five years ago. It wasn’t until a few months ago that district officials began tapping city officials shoulders, Gartman said.
“Your lack of planning doesn’t suddenly become my crisis,” he said. “And the school district made a conscious decision on how they (chose) to move forward on this and now they’re in a bind and asking us for special favors to bail them out.”
But Brinkman said that doesn’t aptly describe the situation one bit.
“The last competition was in 2001, we didn’t even have a Facilities Master Plan,” he said. “We couldn’t have participated.”
Still, despite the conflicting views, district and city officials do agree that the Las Animas plot of land can’t simply be left alone. While Mayor Al Pinheiro has voiced his opposition to the plan to invoke the nonprofit status, he has said he won’t rule out designing a special exemption for school districts.
Gartman said he’s open to suggestions and is meeting with school board President Pat Midtgaard today to discuss the issue. Also, he pointed out that the site is located in a residential area, a positive for the district.
That’s the stance school officials are taking, that the plot of land sits among north-end neighborhoods, so eventually it will be developed.
“It’s a project that’s going to happen anyway,” Brinkman said. “So our question is very simple: ‘Why wait?’ ”
