Alternate construction plans endorsed by most council members
include a quarter-mile long wall and removal of some Deodara
trees
Gilroy – A retaining wall more than a quarter-mile long will rise and 30 historic cedars will fall along Hecker Pass Highway, the city’s scenic western entrance, under two construction plans endorsed by a majority of councilmen.
With state transportation officials offering to relocate the deteriorating Uvas Creek Bridge either to the north or south, council members and planning commissioners Monday night overwhelmingly favored the northern plan.
Such a move would spare 15 of the majestic Deodara cedars lining the south side of Hecker Pass, but would require wrapping a 1,600-foot retaining wall around the intersection of Burchell Road and the scenic highway.
The desire to avoid another 1,550 feet of retaining wall farther east, as part of plans to widen Hecker Pass between the bridge and Santa Teresa Boulevard, led most councilmen to favor expanding the road to the south. That plan means that 26 Deodara on the south side of Hecker Pass would have to come down.
Officials rejected a plan to widen the road from two to four lanes.
Since the fall, city leaders have mulled the best way to balance the rural character of Hecker Pass with upgrades needed to clear the way for hundreds of new homes. Residential development planned for both sides of the highway have triggered state requirements for additional turning lanes, wider shoulders and other safety improvements.
Monday night, councilmen and commissioners considered alternate plans to widen Hecker Pass to accommodate an intersection with a future road facing Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Councilman Roland Velasco expressed concern about a plan that would require cutting into the northern hillside to create a second retaining wall along the scenic highway.
“We don’t want 3,200 feet of wall,” he said.
Velasco pointed out an arborist’s findings that the cedars that would have to come down under the alternate plan are the least healthy of the historic Deodara lining Hecker Pass. The retaining-wall option would save 26 trees but could entangle the city in eminent domain proceedings to seize the required land.
Hecker Pass landowners also favor plans to cut down the cedars to the south, rather than building a retaining wall to the north.
Landowner Joel Goldsmith said in an interview that the northern plan would create a “drop-off” between the highway and the church’s parking lot and the access road to the hillside residential community.
“I think the trees need to be a high priority, but I don’t believe that they are the only priority,” he said.
Such landowners are pitted against local residents and environmentalists, who favor cutting into the hillside as the least of all evils.
“It would be a lesser consequence than removing the trees,” said Connie Rogers, a member of local environmental group Save Open Space Gilroy.
The dozen or so landowners seeking to develop the Hecker Pass corridor must shoulder the vast majority of costs for the road widening project. The retaining-wall plan endorsed by SOS would cost landowners $6.76 million; the option landowners favor would save them nearly $2 million.
Either road-widening option would cost the city $494,000.
City council members are expected to formally vote on plans for the bridge relocation and road widening at their Jan. 23 meeting. Caltrans officials are not bound by the city’s recommendation, but they have said they give strong consideration to local opinions.
Caltrans representatives will hold an open house Thursday to give residents another chance to provide feedback on the Uvas Creek Bridge relocation.
Relocation Open House
– What: State officials with Caltrans will hold an open house to hear public feedback on plans to relocate Uvas Creek Bridge,
– When: Thursday from 4 to 7pm
– Where: South Valley Middle School, 385 IOOF Ave.
