Fight to Save Coyote Valley Continues



by Denice Dade

Since 1981, the Committee and other conservation groups have fought to protect Coyote Valley, some of the last rich agricultural lands in San Jose. This fight continues today. Many have joined the effort to protect the valley and the region from San Jose's planned sprawl, which threatens to exacerbate the region's traffic and housing woes.

Despite slowdown, development moves ahead
The economic downturn is slowing — but not stopping — Cisco's development of Coyote Valley, and another development proposal is in the application stage.

In spite of an unresolved referendum and pending lawsuits, Cisco plans to break ground on the first phase of its new headquarters as early as this winter. As a result of Cisco's falling stock and recent layoff of 8,000 employees, the full build-out of their Coyote campus is now expected to take ten years instead of the planned five.

Sobrato Development Corporation recently submitted an application to develop 566,000 square feet of single-use office space in Coyote Valley adjacent to Cisco's site. Sobrato's proposal could further open Coyote Valley and the surrounding area to development, by generating enough jobs to trigger a second highway 101 interchange.

PLAN moves to force a referendum
People for Livable and Affordable Neighborhoods (PLAN) is engaged in a legal battle to force the City of San Jose to let the voters decide whether Cisco's Coyote Valley project, the largest development this region has seen in decades, should go forward. PLAN has launched an active anti-sprawl education campaign and is speaking to local leaders and community groups about alternatives.

Organizations challenge Environmental Impact Report
The proposed development also faces legal challenges to its Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Sierra Club, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, the City of Salinas, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (representing 18 cities in three counties), and the County of Santa Cruz have filed lawsuits challenging the EIR. In the lawsuits, scheduled to be heard in October, the organizations claim that the EIR fails to fully address regional environmental impacts — including housing, traffic, and open space.

Threats to endangered species
Claiming that mitigation for significant impacts to endangered species is inadequate, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) threatened to stop Cisco's project along with several infrastructure improvements necessary for opening Coyote Valley. The USFWS asked for the purchase and restoration of 669 acres of prime habitat. Santa Clara County, the Valley Transportation Authority and Coyote Valley Research Park LLC have agreed to the USFWS requests, and the road improvements are poised to move forward.

Why single-use development is a bad idea
Single-use development is easy and turns a quick profit, but it leaves a host of problems for local governments to solve in its wake. Cisco's conversion of some of the last remaining agricultural land into 6.6 million square feet of office space provides a perfect example of sprawling single-use development.

Low-density, auto-dependent office buildings, surrounded by acres of parking spaces and situated 15 miles south of downtown San Jose, far from public transportation and housing, will generate significant traffic congestion, exacerbate the housing crisis and result in major environmental impacts.

Time to "rethink" Coyote Valley development
Before approving additional development, the region needs time, as a recent Mercury News opinion stated, to "rethink" development of Coyote Valley.

Coyote Valley follows a familiar pattern of growth through single-use development. In San Jose, large-scale single-use developments sprawling ever farther from the core downtown have destroyed precious agricultural lands, polluted the air and water, and degraded the region's quality of life.

The lawsuits filed by its neighbors are a wake-up call for San Jose — promiscuous, poorly-planned development has angered its neighbors.

Bay Area cities are starting to realize that mixed land use, blending retail, commercial, and housing near public transit is an effective way to reduce traffic congestion and provide sufficient housing.

An alternative vision: mixed use along public transit corridors
We have an opportunity to revitalize this region, by applying intelligent planning principles that include locating intensified development in urban centers and developing mixed-use along the new BART line from Fremont to San Jose.

Mixed-use planning principles create vibrant urban centers, protect working farms and orchards and preserve open space and seasonal wetlands. Mixed-use allows urban areas to grow without sacrificing the surrounding natural beauty and remaining rich agricultural lands.

A call to action
We must rethink the development of Coyote Valley, before the city grants additional, short-sighted, single-use development entitlements. The time to do this is now, while the economic slow-down and the opposition of nonprofit organizations and local and county governments have stalled development.

Once development rights are secured, it will be too late to preserve Coyote Valley. San Jose's transformation into Los Angeles North will be complete.

To get involved with the efforts of CGF and PLAN to reshape the region, contact Denice Dade at Denice@GreenFoothills.org.

PLAN is supported by a coalition of individuals and organizations including Committee for Green Foothills, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, Community Homeless Advocacy Ministry, and the Green Party.