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In 2023, we saw the certification of our Housing Element, that portion of our 2040 General Plan that must be certified every 8 years by the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD has become increasingly particular with wording and commitments contained in these local jurisdiction documents to ensure that they foster statewide housing goals. Gilroy’s Housing Element was substantially complete on May 1, 2023, and we received official notification on August 21, 2023. Subsequent to May 1, we received two building applications from developers citing “Builder’s Remedy” in an effort to justify development projects on land not zoned for their proposals. Builder’s Remedy is a common phrase that references a section of California’s Housing Accountability Act that punishes jurisdictions (by forcibly allowing housing development irrespective of zoning) that do not comply with State law, one criterion for which may be a non-compliant Housing Element. Gilroy’s Housing Element was compliant with HCD on May 1, the date it was rendered substantially complete. Consequently, it is the position of the City that Builder’s Remedy does not apply to either of the two developer applications received after May 1. What comes from here, not only for Gilroy but for the many jurisdictions in California facing developer applications to build as though zoning doesn’t exist, remains to be seen.
We saw the opening of several new businesses in our downtown in 2023 and community events that attracted record numbers of people. We passed an ordinance to address health and safety concerns of mobile/sidewalk vending in public spaces. We sent to bid the construction project that will rehabilitate our downtown alleys into pedestrian-only pathways for strolling, dining, shopping, and gathering. Disappointing is that the bids we received were all more than 50% above the amount of the grant allocation from CalTrans (Clean California Grant) to clean up and improve these alleys. Revisions to the project are currently being considered together with the State of California to make the bidding realities fit the grant allocation and what it’s meant to achieve. The project will then be re-bid. Also for the benefit of our downtown, we began a Downtown Parking Management Plan and opened the new 7th & Eigleberry parking lot. What a difference having that parking lot makes to the visibility and presence of the Gilroy Veteran’s Hall. And the mural that was added in 2023 to the west facing wall of the building … Wow!
Preparations to add two NHL-size ice rinks to the Gilroy Sports Park are underway. Most recently, we approved design documents to add a stoplight on Monterey Street at Monterey Frontage Road and improve the roadway all the way to the Sports Park entrance and, wait for it, the Gilroy Ice Center. As you may have read from our City Administrator in last week’s Email Express, conceptual design work of the facility should be done this spring. When actually finalized, it will be presented to the City Council and open to the public for discussion and comments. Exciting progress!
Our street improvements continued throughout the city for a second consecutive year, and a third begins this spring. We celebrated the addition of a 4th weekday commuter train from the Gilroy Transit Center and the return of weekday bus service to Salinas.
After four long years, the City of Gilroy and the Garlic Festival Association were released as defendants in the largest of the lawsuits filed from the 2019 Garlic Festival mass shooting incident. While grateful for this ruling, we remain a community profoundly impacted and empathetic towards all whose lives are forever changed. A permanent memorial monument has been installed in the memorial garden at Christmas Hill Park.
In 2024, we have much to accomplish. The infamous 10th Steet Bridge and elusive Santa Teresa Fire station top the list of overdue capital improvement projects. The 10th Street Bridge will see its third attempt at a federal grant application for the more than $20 million needed to construct. Environmental work has begun, the process from which yields more and more information that strengthens each grant application. Construction of our 4th fire station is the responsibility of the Glen Loma Corporation who has not yet begun construction, or dedicated the specified land to the City, or paid the dollar amount specified in the development agreement to allow the City to begin construction. As we pursue final resolution of this matter, we will continue to use the temporary station at Christmas Hill Park that has now been remodeled to include elements necessary (sleeping quarters, shower, kitchen and office) for 24-hour staffing in the Santa Teresa Fire District.
Improving public safety, whether response to fire, medical emergencies or unlawful activity, is an ongoing effort with challenges shared statewide. As a top priority of your city council, expect much discussion in 2024 to better meet demand for these essential city services.
Two major roadway projects are in the works. Though actual construction at the 101/152/10th street overcrossing is likely more than 2 years out, expect an additional lane in each direction on 10th Street extending from Camino Arroyo to Automall Parkway/Chestnut Street. Farther south on 101 at 25, construction improvements for this interchange should begin this Fall, a project likely to take 3 years to complete, followed by the extension of Santa Teresa Blvd. across Castro Valley Road and connecting at 101/25.
Undoubtedly the most exciting undertaking coming our way is the potential addition of a community center within a Civic Center Campus makeover on the 3 blocks between Church Street and Dowdy Streets from 6th to 7th Streets. Community discussions will help form a plan on what this makeover should include, and the voters will ultimately have to approve a ballot measure to pay for it, similar to the voter approval that authorized the rebuild of Brownell and South Valley Middle Schools, and for Gavilan College to improve and expand their campuses. The existing condition of Wheeler Auditorium (where I took gymnastics and ballet lessons in the 1970s!), the Senior Center, and the old police station (also known as the “Annex Building”) hinder our ability to better utilize those spaces. When locating a multi-purpose community center, a gathering space for outdoor events, and facilities that meet demand for recreation and service programs for all ages (youth, adult and seniors alike), what better place than in the heart of the City on property we already own. Let’s go, Gilroy! Bring on 2024!
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