Lack of communication between planners, council and Gilroy
School District have resulted in surprises
Residents living in the Wren Avenue area of Gilroy are about to
get 350 more neighbors
– all of whom will have access, at least, to local schools.
Lack of communication between planners, council and Gilroy School District have resulted in surprises
Residents living in the Wren Avenue area of Gilroy are about to get 350 more neighbors – all of whom will have access, at least, to local schools.
On Monday, council members and board members of Gilroy Unified School District held a study session in which a new replacement elementary school was discussed. And paying for the rebuilding of Las Animas School on Wren Avenue is a new 99-home in-fill development just blocks away.
It’s the price the city and its citizens must pay in order to keep up with Gilroy’s burgeoning housing growth. When the district obtains properties – either donated or through mitigation deals the city has made with developers – school officials do one of two things. They can use the land for school purposes or subdivide what they can’t use into lots and sell it to developers in order to get the most for their buck.
While that may sound like a good deal for Gilroy schools and families with young students, some deals end up more successful than others. In the case of the Las Animas project, school officials have been working for several years with developers to create an agreement that will satisfy both the district’s needs, the developers’ and the city’s.
“Some have suggested we went through smoke-filled rooms [in resolving the Las Animas project],” said the school district’s Steve Brinkman, speaking at the joint workshop. “But we have been working with city staff for three months and applied for the General Plan amendment since last July.”
Developer John Donahue explained that the new development that’s paying for the rebuild of Las Animas would be 99 single story homes in an older, established neighborhood of like dwellings. He said after meeting with people living in the neighborhood, it was clear they did not want to see apartments or two-storied homes going in overlooking the existing homes. So the density – and in turn, the money reaped from the development – won’t be as high as it could be for the school or the developers.
City Administrator Jay Baksa asked Donahue that if it were “virgin property” – land that had no pre-existing homes nearby – would he propose the same project.
“No, I would look at more density,” Donahue said. “But let me put on my dirty, nasty slimy developer’s hat.”
The remark drew laughs from all, but Mayor Al Pinheiro added a serious note to the discussion.
“We know you’re trying to make the most money you can, just as we’re trying to get as much from you that we can [as a council] to protect the city,” Pinheiro said.
When asked how much they stood to make on the sale, school officials could not give a clear answer.
What was evident at the informal pow-wow was that council members seemed to be in the dark over the Las Animas deal, and had many questions for school officials GUSD Superintendent Edwin Diaz and Brinkman, assistant superintendent of facilities. Mostly, city leaders wanted to know how the school district does business with developers and how those deals might benefit the citizens of Gilroy.
Superintendent Diaz acknowledged the lack of communications between entities.
“We feel we’ve been a little remiss in not being vocal enough about locations of schools,” he said. “But this is critical to us. Having to negotiate and pay top dollar for land is a burden that most school districts don’t have to do.”
Diaz added that when the city approves major developments, more thought should be given to schools, and he cited as examples the recent approvals of Rancho del Sol and Glen Loma. Together, the projects will add 1,700-homes to Gilroy.
“Not one iota of mitigation for schools,” Diaz said. “We can’t continue to operate like that.”
Currently, the Gilroy Unified School District operates eight elementary schools, two preschools, three middle schools, one high school, one continuation high school and one community day school, with plans for a new high school (the Christopher High School). Some 9,800 students are served, and the count is growing as Gilroy grows.
Pinheiro reiterated to school district board members that it was important for district staff to tell the council and the planning commission how schools will be affected by any project – big or small.
“You certainly can go to the planning commission meetings,” Baksa said. “Every Thursday these folks look at every project coming into town.”
Brinkman defended the district’s position.
“We haven’t sat on our hands entirely,” he said. He added that before Glen Loma was approved, the district submitted a lengthy letter supporting four new school sites the developer had considered. But when the Specific Plan for the project was approved, there was only “fleeting mention” made for schools, with asterisks designating “potential school sites.”
“It makes it all the more critical that you come here and be at those meetings,” said Councilman Roland Velasco.
