April 12, 2007

Coyote Valley Environmental Impact Report released

Development would create traffic, ecological issues

By Ali Abdollahi
Staff Writer

The long-awaited Environmental Im-pact Report (EIR) for proposed development in Coyote Valley was recently released, assessing how the proposed development of the 7,000-acre valley might impact traffic, air quality and environmental issues.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage (below, center) attended the April 9 meeting of the Almaden Valley Community Association to address questions and concerns regarding the proposed development of Coyote Valley.

The EIR estimated that the commercial and residential development would create approximately 200, 000 new car trips daily, primarily impacting Highway 101 between Interstate 280 and the Morgan Hill area. Though the EIR also stated that new road construction plans could help alleviate much of the additional traffic, residents of nearby areas were still concerned about a “domino” traffic affect.

“We have been told that this (Coyote Valley) development could make some of these freeways and highways essentially unusable,” said one resident at a recent Almaden Valley Community Association meeting in which County Supervisor Don Gage addressed questions and concerns regarding Coyote Valley.

Gage told those in attendance at the meeting that there were some issues raised in the EIR that could be accurately labeled “unmitigatable,” and that he was unsure how the proponents of the development would fix them. In regards to community concerns relating to increased traffic congestion, Gage said, “Every community wants to do what’s best for them. I don’t have the answer to that, but it scares me pretty bad.”

Planning for the Coyote Valley plan, which would develop much of San Jose’s remaining agricultural land, has been in process for more than four years. The EIR does not address financial implications of the development, with the financial review to be done separately.

The fiscal impact report is considered crucial to the progress of the development, with contention over whether building housing in the area before the arrival of new businesses would be a drain on the city’s budget.

Current housing “triggers” for Coyote Valley state that housing cannot be built until companies create 5,000 jobs in Coyote Valley. Mayor Chuck Reed has pledged to not change Coyote Valley’s housing triggers until after the city’s general plan is completed, which could take more than two years.

But Councilmember Forrest Williams, who serves as the co-chair of the Coyote Valley Task Force, has said that he does not believe a decision regarding housing in Coyote Valley needs to wait for the general plan.

Councilmember Nancy Pyle, who also co-chairs the Coyote Valley Task Force, is “very concerned” about some of the impacts detailed in the EIR, according to her chief of staff Lee Wilcox.

“Nancy feels that there are definitely some things that have to be addressed before we can move forward with the plan,” said Wilcox. “The vision for Coyote Valley calls for development that does not impact the surrounding areas or residents, not only fiscally, but also environmentally and traffic-wise.”

Wilcox said that of the 180 impacts reported in the EIR, 25 appear “unavoidable.” However, he said that Pyle would work with the planning department on ways to avoid heavy traffic build-up on Almaden Expressway and McKean Road. Possible methods of accomplishing that task include attempting to flow traffic to Highway 101 and increasing the use of public transportation.

While the fiscal issues seemingly outweigh environmental considerations for Coyote’s future, the EIR did find some noteworthy impacts in addition to traffic. The development would likely generate pollutants, which would exceed the thresholds set by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and generate the increased use of electricity, natural gas and gasoline.

The development would also result in the loss of over 1,000 acres of potential burrowing owl habitat, and could destroy prehistoric archaeological sites.

The EIR also states that developers would have to pay for intersection widening and new traffic lights stretching from central San Jose down to Gilroy. Said Gage regarding the overall financial costs of environmental and traffic issues, “Otherwise the city is going to have to pay for it, and a new development should pay for itself.”

A map showing existing San Jose zoning designations.