I (Brian) just came back from a meeting in Morgan Hill to discuss the City’s proposed “Greenbelt”, which is unfortunately linked to a proposal to establish a new and expanded Urban Line Limit for the City. While a protected greenbelt could be a good idea, the proposal to create a 50-year, Urban Line Limit beyond the current Urban Growth Line could be a recipe for sprawl.

The issue we were discussing is the unincorporated, southeast area of the City. While most of the discussion was about a greenbelt, another concept under consideration is a 200-acre industrial campus, plus vaguely-defined residential development. We at CGF have heard this before – it sounds like Coyote Valley, complete with a sales pitch for a greenbelt, but vague on how to finance environmental protection. What’s ironic is that Morgan Hill, unlike San Jose, is alarmed about the impacts of Coyote Valley development, but then may be poised to make the same mistake.

We can’t completely rule out the idea that something beneficial will result from this process, but we will have to follow this issue carefully.

(Morgan Hill staff claimed some information is on their website, but I couldn’t find it. I’ll put up a link when I do.)