Morgan Hill annexation request denial benefits no one
On a 4-3 vote, Santa Clara County’s Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) voted last week to deny the city of Morgan Hill’s application to annex 37 acres planned for a South County Catholic high school.
As a 20-year veteran of the Morgan Hill City Council, the past 12 as mayor, I’ve used a test of beneficiality to guide my policy votes, testing who will benefit and how. Sadly, in applying the test to LAFCO’s application rejection, I conclude that there is no benefit to anyone.
While the 37 acres in question will retain an “agriculture” designation, its use for agricultural purposes is extremely marginal as attested by the Chiala family, whose attempts to farm it have proved unsuccessful.
The Catholic Diocese, owners of the property, can — and may well — sell it for development of up to four ranchettes permitted by county zoning, creating the very sprawl that environmental groups are trying so hard to prevent.
The environmental groups
believe that annexation of the 37-acre site will lead to many more requests for annexation. However, if Morgan Hill works closely with LAFCO, the county and the Open Space Authority, we have the opportunity to make this very beneficial annexation the last one, firmly declaring that the balance of what the
city calls its Priority Agricultural Conservation Area shall remain in agriculture and encouraging owners to pursue agricultural easements that guarantee it in perpetuity.
If the vote had gone the other way, there would have been many positive benefits:
• The 1,600-student Catholic
high school meets a huge demand for a private school in the South County.
• The 37 acres of mitigated productive agricultural land would be put under permanent easement.
• An opportunity created to work collaboratively to maintain more agriculture and promote more agricultural easements.
• Reduced traffic congestion by removing cars from the freeway, saving thousands of commute miles.
• Environmental benefits from reduced green-house gas emissions.
Weighing these benefits against none at all, it seems like a no-brainer to grant the application and annex.
The two elected officials that represent South County agree and voted against denial. The third no vote came from a city council member who made a very thoughtful suggestion that the decision be delayed until certain criteria were met, criteria that we could easily and happily meet.
I am very disappointed that we will not have that opportunity and will apparently lose our chance for the South County Catholic high school to meet the demand for educational services in underserved South County.