Willow Glen Resident

News

Initiative collects more than enough signatures for ballot

By Monica Heger

Supporters say it will protect precious open space and hillsides. Opponents say it will make life miserable for Santa Clara County's remaining farmers. Both sides will have a chance to express their views at the polls Nov. 7. The open space initiative is making its way to the ballot after proponents collected nearly twice the required number of signatures. The aim of the initiative is to limit development on hillsides and open space, protect watersheds and preserve ranching and farming in the county.

The initiative has the backing of environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, Greenbelt Alliance, the Santa Clara Audubon Society and the Committee for Green Foothills. They've joined forces to create an alliance called PLAN--People for Land and Nature. Those against the initiative have formed an alliance called the Alliance for Housing and the Environment, consisting of the Santa Clara Association of Realtors, the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau.

Michele Beasley with the Greenbelt Alliance said the goal of the initiative is to "strike a balance between existing cities and towns and the rural part of the county to maintain quality of life.

"You can already see more and more development happening in unincorporated parts of the county. It fragments open space and farmland and increases traffic congestion, which is one of the biggest issues in Santa Clara County. We can't continue to sprawl out. We need to build more compactly," Beasley said.

Under current legislation, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors could vote to relax restrictions on development in the county, Beasley said, adding the initiative puts that decision in the hands of the voters.

The initiative seeks to limit development by increasing minimum parcel size on hillsides and ranch land. On land-zoned hillsides, the initiative would reduce the number of homes that could be built from eight per 160 acres to four. The minimum parcel size for ranch land would increase from 20 to 40 acres but, depending on the slope, could be as high as 160 acres. In order to protect the aesthetics of the county, the initiative prohibits development on ridgelines, hilltops or slopes of 30 percent or more, but would allow housing for farm workers to be built on ranch land and large scale agricultural land.

While the initiative has drawn the backing of former San Jose mayors Susan Hammer, Tom McEnery and Janet Gray Hayes, it is opposed by the very group of people the initiative aims to protect--farmers. The Santa Clara County Farm Bureau has taken an official position against the initiative.

Jenny Derry, executive director of the Farm Bureau, said far from preserving farming as an economically viable industry, it would make it more difficult for farmers to continue farming.

"For farmers and ranchers, generally their biggest investment is their land," Derry said. "And this initiative will devalue their property."

Derry said farmers often raise money by taking out a loan on their farm. Currently, a farmer who owns 160 acres can take out a loan on just 40 acres. But, under the initiative, the farmer could not break up the 160 acres into smaller parcels, making it harder to get a loan from a bank.

"The farming community was not involved with the discussions," Derry added. "Now the initiative is on the ballot in a certain form, and there's no opportunity to change it. The only way to change it is to go back to the ballot."

The Open Space Authority has taken a neutral position on the initiative. Its executive director, Patrick Congdon, said his organization supports the protection of hillsides and open space, but all affected parties must be considered.

Congdon said for many farmers and ranchers, their land was almost like their retirement package and something they could pass on to their family members.

"Ranchers and farmers in Santa Clara County are very supportive of land preservation," Congdon said, "but they also want to protect their family rights."

Congdon would rather see partnerships formed between farmers and environmentalists where they come up with a strategy for land conservation.

In terms of impact on the environment, there were other projects that would be far more significant, he said.

"Issues like Coyote Valley are far more important," Congdon said, referring to a proposed plan to develop the area. "When you look at Coyote Valley and at the potential impacts in terms of air-quality issues, transportation issues and urban sprawl, that has more of an impact than the single-family residences that go in on large tracts of land."

For more information on the initiative and to see a map of affected areas, visit www.openspace2006.org.