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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
June 4, 2003 A new vision for Coyote Valley GROUP OFFERS BLUEPRINT FOR AVERTING SPRAWL IN COVETED SOUTH S.J. CORRIDOR By Mike Zapler, Mercury NewsIn a perfect world, Jeremy Madsen would love to see Coyote Valley -- a bucolic expanse of farmland, creeks and gently rolling hills at San Jose's southern edge -- kept just as it is. But he knows that's not likely. What is likely is that the economy will someday rebound and that the area will be developed. So Madsen and his colleagues at the Greenbelt Alliance are pushing for what they call the next best thing: an area devoid of sprawling high-tech campuses with "vast seas" of surface parking, cookie-cutter tract homes where people have to drive to get a cup of coffee or a sandwich, and exclusive enclaves for the wealthy. Instead, the group wants to see the valley of 6,800 acres grow into a "new town" where people live in dense neighborhoods and can walk to work, school, the grocery store or the park. When built out, Coyote Valley would have 80,000 people, more than the combined populations of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. This vision for the future of Coyote Valley was outlined by the Greenbelt Alliance on Tuesday in a report developed after consultations with environmental, transportation, and land-use experts. Based on the tenets of "smart growth" and "new urbanism," the proposal would scrap a longstanding city policy calling for office parks in a northern section of Coyote Valley, and homes in a separate corridor to the south. The alliance, an open space and "livable" communities advocate, envisions a place that is "home to people all across the income spectrum," said Madsen, the group's field director, "where jobs, housing, schools and shops are conveniently located close to one another and can be reached via transit, on foot or by bicycle, reducing the impact on the region's already crowded highways." San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, co-chairman of a task force examining how Coyote Valley should be developed, said he hadn't read the Greenbelt Alliance report but welcomed the group's input. The mayor has invited talks over whether to eliminate development triggers in Coyote Valley that prevent housing from being built until 5,000 jobs are added there -- an idea the alliance endorses as a way to encourage mixed-use development. Steve Schott Jr., vice president of Citation Homes, which owns 100 acres in Coyote Valley, was skeptical about building homes near offices. High-tech companies may not want houses around the corner, he said. Among the planks of the report, titled "Getting It Right: Preventing Sprawl in Coyote Valley": • Building community. The proposal calls for dissolving the barrier between north Coyote Valley, which is slated for large office parks, and mid-Coyote Valley, designated for homes, to promote communities combining the two. It also endorses a "Town Center," in the mold of Palo Alto's downtown, where mass transit would be within walking distance of most residences. • Protecting the environment and agriculture. The report proposes an 860-acre network of parks easily accessible to residents and workers. The alliance would preserve land around the area's creeks, using them as drainage channels and open space. It calls for the preservation of some agricultural land -- for local farms and community gardens. And it concurs with the city's intention to preserve the 3,300-acre south Coyote Valley area as a buffer between Coyote Valley and the bedroom community of Morgan Hill. • Social equity. At least 20 percent of all housing developments would be designated as "affordable." People who cannot afford to -- or choose not to -- drive, would be able to use an extensive system of mass transit -- bus, train or light rail. Planning of Coyote Valley is expected to continue for several years at a cost of millions of dollars. Madsen said he hopes planners will use the report as a resource. Ultimately, Coyote Valley is expected to accommodate 50,000 jobs, 25,000 housing units and more than 16.7 million square feet of commercial space. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Greenbelt Alliance report is available online, at www.greenbelt.org. Mike Zapler can be reached at mzapler@mercurynews.com or (408) 275-0140. ### |
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