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Morgan Hill has grown from a 1970’s city dominated by agricultural interests with just 7,000 people to 45,000 today, challenging the small-town charm that attracted many residents. Voters will decide two measures this fall that would help shape the city’s future.
Measure A would prohibit new buildings designed as storage and distribution centers throughout the city. The measure’s intent is to encourage job-generating industries that provide higher economic benefit to the city and promote the retention and expansion of existing businesses.
Measure B would amend Morgan Hill’s General Plan to require voter approval of future Monterey Road lane reductions. The measure would, for example, prevent the City Council from making Morgan Hill’s downtown area more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists without an expensive ballot measure.
Voters should support Measure A and reject Measure B on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Measure A
E-commerce companies such as Amazon have been gobbling up industrial land in rural areas such as Morgan Hill that are near major metropolitan areas. The issue came to a head in 2020 when Morgan Hill residents became alarmed about the proposed Trammell Cove project at the intersection of Cochrane Road and Depaul Drive. The City Council repeatedly voiced its opposition to major distribution centers that would sharply increase truck traffic in the city and eat up land zoned as industrial that could be put to better use. In 2020, the council adopted an ordinance prohibiting new buildings that have 75,000 or more square feet of floor area, ceiling heights of more than 34 feet, and more more than one truck-loading dock per 25,000 square feet.
Voters should approve adopting the measure prohibiting distribution centers within the city limits.
Measure B
Four-lane Monterey Road runs through the heart of Morgan Hill’s vibrant downtown.
In 2015, the City Council reduced it to two lanes for six months through the downtown area. The “road diet” produced mixed results, including additional traffic in surrounding neighborhoods. But making the downtown area safer and more attractive for pedestrians and bicyclists is a worthy goal. It’s also part of the city’s Downtown Specific Plan.
The City Council should take steps to improve traffic flow throughout the downtown area (between Dunne and Main streets) before any effort to narrow Monterey Road to two lanes. But it makes no sense to put the issue to a vote of the public — at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars — every time the council wants to consider a Monterey Road lane reduction.
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