Morgan Hill
Measure
A, Morgan Hill's effort to revitalize downtown, passed last May with a resounding victory. Nearly 60% of voters said yes to more homes in the heart of their community near the Caltrain station. Measure A was the reincarnation of Measure H which failed in the November 2008 election.
Morgan Hill’s downtown is a charming, tree-lined street designed with the pedestrian in mind. This is the ideal location for more homes, within walking distance of the train station. For too long, local merchants have struggled to keep their doors open. Residents have tended to bypass downtown to shop in San Jose or at the Gilroy outlets. Thriving, vibrant downtowns have one thing in common: lots of people who live nearby. Measure A confronts this issue head-on.
In a letter formally endorsing Measure A, Greenbelt Alliance stated that Morgan Hill can have the best of both worlds- a vibrant, walkable downtown and a fully protected greenbelt. Greenbelt Alliance participated in the Measure A campaign by doing community outreach and making the link between more city-centered growth and a community buffer between neighboring cities.
However, just as Morgan Hill wraps up celebrating this victory and moving onto the nuts and bolts of bringing more homes downtown, the City is preparing to study development proposals in the Southeast Quadrant. The Southeast Quadrant is 1,250 acres of working farms that abuts San Martin on the eastern side of Highway 101. Currently, this land is outside of Morgan Hill’s city limits and Urban Growth Boundary.
The Morgan Hill City Council recently kicked off several studies, one of which will look at the viability of agriculture. However, the studies are really laying the foundation to annex this fertile land into the City. Greenbelt Alliance remains opposed to this land grab. Read on for more of the history of this contentious issue.
In 2002, a study committee was commissioned by the City of Morgan Hill to establish an Urban Limit Line. The goal of this was to target land beyond the line for permanent protection as a greenbelt.
Morgan Hill already has an Urban Growth Boundary, established in 1996, which promotes city-centered growth and protects land outside the city from development for 20 years.
There's a twist. If the Urban Limit Line is drawn outside of the existing Urban Growth Boundary, currently protected land (the land between the two lines) will actually be opened up to development—the opposite of what was originally intended. Greenbelt Alliance has worked to ensure that an Urban Limit Line would protect farmland and natural areas permanently, rather than threatening land that is already protected.
The City Council approved an Urban Limit Line that closely follows the existing Urban Growth Boundary, with the exception of 1,250 acres of farmland abutting San Martin. The City commissioned an Industrial Land Market Study to see if this land was needed for future growth and the results further supported Greenbelt Alliance's position—that this land is not needed anytime soon to accommodate new homes and jobs. Greenbelt Alliance does not support opening this farmland to development and maintains that better use of land within the Urban Growth Boundary can meet the needs of a growing population.
The City of Morgan Hill, however, appears to be intent on opening this area to development and is currently pursuing a new zoning designation that would allow for intensive sports and recreation facilities on fertile land.
San Martin
Morgan Hill is blessed to be surrounded with rolling, oak-studded hillsides and working farms. Not only does the possible development of land outside the Urban Growth Boundary threaten this pastoral setting, but so does the possible incorporation of the rural community of San Martin.
In a sudden turn of events, San Martin's latest attempt at incorporation came to an abrupt end last November. Incorporation proponents had wanted to include the entire valley floor in between Morgan Hill and Gilroy within their city limits. This would have opened the door for sprawl development and destroyed any opportunity for greenbelts in South Santa Clara County. Even though San Martin's quest for cityhood has been shelved for now, they could pursue this again in the future. Morgan Hill residents must protect land within their city's boundaries to preserve their idyllic surroundings.
What You Can Do
To find out how you can protect Morgan Hill’s greenbelt, contact
Field Representative Michele Beasley by email or
by calling (408) 983-0856. Greenbelt Alliance can add your name to a growing
list of Morgan Hill residents
who support a tight urban limit line.
Send a letter to the editor of the Morgan
Hill Times stating your desire
for a protected greenbelt and support for locally grown, fresh produce.
Read columnist Wes Rolley’s thoughts
on local produce.
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