Gilroy
– The neighbor of a vaunted solar-powered housing project will
continue a crusade tonight to have the development scaled back in
size.
Gilroy – The neighbor of a vaunted solar-powered housing project will continue a crusade tonight to have the development scaled back in size.
Tom Howard, an Oak Court resident, has been the most outspoken critic of the Hanna Square Project, which would involve converting a half block of Gurries Drive into a gated haven of 18 solar-powered homes. Though lauded as an eco-friendly project that will improve a crime-ridden neighborhood, Howard and a few fellow neighbors worry the development will increase traffic and rob them of precious sunlight.
A weekend meeting with developer Chris Cote did little to bridge differences, Howard said.
“In the winter time, it will cut off my neighbor’s morning light and it will cut off my winter light similarly,” said Howard, who himself is planning to install solar panels on his roof. “We are not against the project. We are against the project as it stands. We think there need to be fewer units on the alley, and they need to be shorter.”
Cote has proposed building 11 townhomes along the back edge of the property, which abuts an alleyway and overlooks Howard’s home. Cote has insisted to planning commissioners that he cannot reduce the height of the homes because it will reduce the efficiency of the solar panels and his ability to offer parking to each home.
“The shadows are not going to affect his property,” Cote said Wednesday. “For one or two months a year, there may be some shadows that cross the alley and brush his driveway, but they will never cross the alley and block him out.”
The developer noted that plenty of other neighbors have come out to support the project. With their support, Cote plans to urge commissioners tonight to favorably recommend the project to city council members, who have final authority over housing developments.
A sideshow developing around Cote’s proposal has been the status of two planning commissioners with ties to the project. Joan Spencer, who is Cote’s girlfriend, and Joan Lewis, who lives next door to the project site, joined fellow planning commissioners in discussing the project earlier this month, despite questions about the propriety of doing so.
Spencer received approval to vote on the matter from a state ethics watchdog agency, but has since said she would recuse herself from the final vote tonight. Lewis, who lives a few doors down from the project, has not said if she will vote. State law bars public officials from voting on housing projects or other matters that could affect them financially. In order to vote, Lewis would likely need a statement from a Realtor stating that Cote’s project would not drive up her property value.
“I’m sure Joanie Lewis would have recused herself had she gotten the right information the first time,” Planning Commission Chair Tim Day said, referring to inaccurate information provided to Lewis that led her to believe she could vote on the matter.
“I think that Joan Spencer is making the right decision by recusing herself,” Day added.
The special meeting, originally scheduled for 7pm, will not begin until 8pm because Commissioner Art Barron must attend a wake for a family member, according to the city planning department. Four of the seven commissioners must be present for a meeting to take place, and Commissioner Tom Boe will be absent while commissioners Lewis and Spencer are expected to recuse themselves.
Notice of the time change was publicly posted Tuesday at City Hall, in time to meet the 24-hour notice period required by law, according to City Clerk Rhonda Pellin.
