Ron Gonzales, Mayor

Pat Dando, Councilmember, District 10

Protecting San Jose’s open space continues to be a very high priority for the City of San Jose, and we continue our commitment to preserving open space through strong and effective land use planning and strategic investments to secure it for the future.

Our goal is simple:  San Jose will ensure that our future generations will be able to enjoy the wonderful open hillsides and wide open views that our community has preserved. Open space is vulnerable, and once lost it is lost forever. 

The South Almaden Urban Reserve is not slated for development.  Under the requirements in the San Jose General Plan for this area, several stringent tests or “triggers” must be met before there can be any consideration of development in this open area of San Jose.  We fully support these triggers and the responsible approach to land use planning they represent. 

The City Council has asked for a review of the South Almaden Urban Reserve triggers in response to the Housing Production Team (a citizen task force) recommendation to update their status.  Based in current information, we do not believe the triggers themselves should be altered.

We also understand the growing pressure for development in open space because of the housing crisis that exists in this region.  We believe the answer to the need for more housing and affordable housing must be through a strategy of smart growth:  we will continue to emphasize in-fill development that avoids sprawl; increased density in appropriate locations; mixed-use development; and transit-oriented development that will reduce reliance on the automobile.

San Jose also has taken these steps in the last two years to protect open space in our community and South Bay region:

*        We sponsored and campaigned for Measure K on the November 2000 ballot to lock in policies that secure the San Jose Urban Growth Boundary that protects hillsides and focuses development within built or planned urban areas. More than 80 percent of San Jose voters agreed with us when they passed Measure K, and San Jose is now the largest city in the nation with a strong greenline.

*        In partnership with Santa Clara County Open Space Authority and Santa Clara Valley Land Trust, San Jose helped purchased the 2500-acre Rancho Canada del Oro in the hills near South San Jose in spring 1999 with $1 million from the City.

*        In June 2000 the City Council approved Mayor Gonzales’s proposal that $3 million be allocated for the acquisition of open space easements within the South Coyote Greenbelt and along Santa Teresa Ridge in partnership with the Open Space Authority, and the Mayor has recommended another $1 million for this purpose in the coming year.

*        The City of San Jose continues to vigorously defend the greenbelt buffer between San Jose and Morgan Hill against inappropriate proposals for urban development in an area long designated for open space.

San Jose also successfully pursued smart growth strategies for development as it continues to push hard for the development of affordable housing and transit-oriented development.  We have taken recent steps for smart growth that include:

*      This year we revised the San Jose General Plan in order to encourage up the development of 7000 homes that could be built near public transit hubs, and we are continuing the effort to identify additional opportunities along appropriate transit lines throughout San Jose.

*       We were enthusiastic supporters of Measure A that will lead to substantial investments in better light rail, bus, and Caltrain services in Santa Clara County, and to the extension of BART to Silicon Valley.  Approved by 70 percent of the voters, Measure A will provide extensive opportunities for transit-oriented development that will help protect open space from sprawl development.