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Latest NewsDevelopers abruptly pull out of Coyote Valley planning In a sudden turn of events, the developers funding the Coyote Valley Specific Plan process decided to not renew their funding agreement with the City of San Jose. Citing the troubled economy, a dismal housing market and costly planning delays, the developers withdrew. This is another victory for Greenbelt Alliance in the fight to preserve the farmlands of Coyote Valley. Greenbelt and other advocates submitted over 1,300 pages of comments on the draft environmental impact report last summer, which led to the City’s decision to re-do the report, further frustrating the developers. The future of Coyote Valley may be folded within the ongoing larger city-wide General Plan update in San Jose. Greenbelt Alliance has a seat on the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan Task Force. Westfield abandons Mega-mall on ‘660’ in Gilroy In a victory for Greenbelt Alliance and local advocates, the developer Westfield withdrew in early February all plans for the fertile working farms outside Gilroy’s city limits. Originally, Westfield had planned to build a mega-mall on part of the 660 acres on the east side of town. This caused the City of Gilroy to begin the East Gilroy Specific Plan process to decide land uses for the entire area. Greenbelt Alliance and SOS-Gilroy argued that the acreage was an inappropriate place for development. Not only is the “660” in a floodplain, but it is some of Santa Clara County’s last remaining prime farmland. Also, Gilroy has recently pumped millions of dollars into its downtown—the heart of the community near the Caltrain line, and the right place for development. Westfield will instead redevelop the old Walmart site within city limits and the City has abandoned its Specific Plan process. Read Greenbelt Alliance’s letter to Gilroy here. San Jose Eyes Inclusionary Housing On December 11, 2007, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to
take a thorough and open look at how inclusionary housing
might
work citywide. While San Jose has been a leader in the creation of homes,
it has fallen short in providing homes for low-income residents.
Over the next several months, the City of San Jose will hold three stakeholder
meetings to get input on how to craft a policy that would lead to more
new affordable homes while providing flexibility and incentives to developers.
The City could make a final decision on whether to adopt such a policy
in June 2008. Santa Clara County Farmland
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