[Sosfbay-discuss] Land Conservation Initiative

[Wes Rolley]

After some thought, discussion and research, I would like to offer the 
following comments on the Land Conservation Initiative (OpenSpace2006).

To begin with we have to make a determination as to what we value enough 
to take special cautions to preserve it.  This is true whether your are 
talking about a piece of antique furniture, a special memory or Santa 
Clara County Farm Land. In the latter case, this initiative does more 
than any other single action taken in recent years, and, to the extent 
that it fulfills its purpose to "protect hillsides, agricultural lands, 
watersheds and other valuable rural lands from unnecessary and 
irreparably harmful development," I support it.

There are some other considerations that we should all take into account.

The Land Conservation Initiative web site 
<http://www.openspace2006.org/>, talks about the effect to "Prevent 
urban sprawl into rural lands."  Actually, it does not do that.  It only 
says that urban sprawl will not take place on some particular set of 
land, thereby moving it to other locations, out of site and therefore 
out of mind.  The urban sprawl will not be in hills above Calero 
Reservoir but rather along the wetland sanctuaries of Los Banos. Urban 
sprawl can not be contained without effective plans for affordable 
housing and mass transportation.  Most of these issues are not under the 
Santa Clara County General Plan, but rather under the General Plan for 
the Cities of San Jose, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Los Altos Hills, etc.

What we will see is total urban sprawl as San Jose expands into Coyote 
Valley.  The Coyote Valley Specific Plan started out with great 
enthusiasm about building a New City.  What it will end up as is easy to 
recognize, as each developer (commercial or residential) gets their 
chance to influence it, more and more of the original thinking will 
become compromised.  We all have to realize that the entire purpose of 
this plan, from the viewpoint of the City of San Jose, is to maximize 
their revenue relative to the costs of running a city.

As for Agriculture:

The initiative says that:

County agricultural lands are an irreplaceable resource. They are cut up 
into lots for residential development, which is incompatible with 
farming and ranching.  Land speculation for development needs to be 
discouraged, so that land is affordable for farming.  Preservation of 
agriculture is key to preserving open space and natural resources.

Most of those who remain in agriculture will tell you that we have 
passed the point where Santa Clara Country properties can be operated 
profitably.  The largest Agricultural revenues come from cut flowers and 
mushrooms, both of which are more factory operations that open space.

In fact, the agricultural community in South San Jose, those most 
affected by the Coyote Valley Plan, as well as those who are on the 
outskirts of the City of Morgan Hill, all have problems with all efforts 
to restrain their ability to sell the land that no longer is profitable 
for agriculture.  In S. San Jose, the issue was with the large green 
belt area on the border between San Jose and Morgan Hill.  With the rest 
of Morgan Hill, this has delayed the efforts to establish an Urban 
Growth Boundary.  No one wants to be left just outside of that boundary.

All of this is cautionary that we should not think the problems are 
solved by this initiative.  It is only one step in doing what needs to 
be done.

-- 
"Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente

Wes Rolley
http://www.refpub.com/
Tel: 408.778.3024

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