The fate of one of Gilroy’s oldest homes and dozens of historic
trees along scenic Hecker Pass Highway will be decided Monday
night, when council members hold their first regular meeting of the
year.
Gilroy – The fate of one of Gilroy’s oldest homes and dozens of historic trees along scenic Hecker Pass Highway will be decided Monday night, when council members hold their first regular meeting of the year.
In the 1930s, as part of a nationwide movement known as Arbor Day, local students were bussed out to the city’s scenic western gateway to plant 115 Deodara cedars. Seventy years later, two major construction plans threaten to eliminate more than a third of those trees.
The first involves the relocation of Uvas Creek bridge, which state transportation officials at Caltrans say is deteriorating. Caltrans has ruled out the possibility of fixing the bridge in place, and has asked council members to choose relocation alternatives to the north or south. Most council members are eager to spare 15 Deodara cedars along the south side of the road and have expressed support for the northern option. That alternative would require wrapping a 1,500 foot retaining wall around the intersection of Burchell Road and Hecker Pass.
To avoid another 1,600 feet of retaining wall farther east along Hecker Pass – as part of a separate road project – most council members have expressed support for a southerly road widening just west of Santa Teresa Boulevard. The widening is necessary to install turning lanes and shoulders to provide safe access to a pair of roads that will eventually connect Hecker Pass to hundreds of new homes.
Local environmentalists eager to save 26 Deodara cedars favor the northern widening option, which would cost Hecker Pass landowners an additional $2 million. Those landowners argue that such a plan would “butcher the hillside” to the north to save the least healthy of the 115 Deodara lining the south side of the road. To bolster their case, the landowners have pointed to a city-commissioned arborist report stating the trees have only a few decades to live, but environmentalists question those findings, arguing that only one of the trees is unhealthy.
In addition to the bridge plan, Caltrans has final say over the road widening.
Willey Center – market or modernize
The debate over the Willey Cultural Center, a 150-year-old home constructed on Fifth Street by one of Gilroy’s first pastors, initially centered on whether or not it was worth spending $166,610 to upgrade the facility. Officials wanted to know if a new backyard patio and other improvements, intended to allow for larger events, would generate enough revenue to justify the cost. Some have suggested selling the home to boost revenues.
On Monday, city staff will present projections intended to help council decide.
In addition to the Hecker Pass trees and Willey house, council on Monday will vote on the following matters:
– A bid of $3,783,782 by The Don Chapin Company to perform a year-long overhaul of the street and sidewalks along a two-block portion of downtown Monterey Street
– New right-of-way standards for future residential development, including requirements for wider sidewalks and planting areas.
Council Agenda
– What: City Council meeting
– When: Monday, Jan. 23 at 7pm
– Where: Council Chambers, City Hall 7351 Rosanna St.
– For a copy of the agenda, visit www.ci.gilroy.ca.us
