On Thursday, September 24, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (OSA) will consider a resolution opposing the Heritage Oaks cemetery in the hills above Coyote Valley. This sprawling project would cut off the top of the ridgeline, block wildlife movement, and impact scenic views from Coyote Valley’s nature preserves. Please use the form below to email the OSA Board or speak at the meeting to urge them to oppose the Heritage Oaks cemetery!
What’s Happening
The Heritage Oaks Memorial Park is a proposal for a massive cemetery that would sprawl over 100+ acres of Coyote Valley’s hillsides, an area larger than 77 football fields. The project would include a crematory, eight mausoleums, a two-mile network of paved roads, and a 124-space parking lot. The developer intends to carve up the ridgeline, excavating the hilltops and using the soil to fill in the gullies, and then install 75 acres of non-native turf grass – which would then require 98 million gallons of irrigation water each year. A three-mile-long recycled water pipeline would need to be constructed through Coyote Valley to provide this irrigation water.
When fully constructed, the cemetery is expected to accommodate 150,000 ground burial plots and 150,000 spaces for cremation burials. The number of cremations is expected to reach 3,000 per year by the tenth year of operation. Crematories, because of the air quality impacts, are normally only allowed in heavy industrial districts, not on open space hillside areas.
The OSA Board of Directors will vote on a resolution opposing the Heritage Oaks cemetery at their September 24 meeting. They need to hear from the community that we don’t want a cemetery in the hills above Coyote Valley!
Why It Matters
The proposed Heritage Oaks cemetery site is located directly in the path of Coyote Valley’s wildlife linkage. Coyote Valley provides one of only two pathways for animals to migrate from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Diablo Range and back, and this project would obstruct that pathway with multiple mausoleums, a crematory, and a network of paved roads. Over 100 acres of hillsides would be bulldozed in order to cut off the top of the ridgeline, and the natural grassland and oak savannah – which provides habitat for at-risk species like mountain lions, Golden Eagles, California tiger salamanders, and native bumblebees – would be replaced with non-native turf grass.
Because the cemetery would sit on top of the ridgeline, it would be clearly visible from nearby OSA nature preserves such as the Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve and the Máyyan ‘Ooyákma preserve on Coyote Ridge. Scenic views from the trails in these preserves would feature this massive cemetery on top of the hills instead of the native landscape there now.
What You Can Do
On Thursday, September 24 at 6:30 p.m., the OSA Board of Directors will vote on a resolution opposing the Heritage Oaks cemetery. The resolution won’t stop the project on its own — but it matters. The OSA is a public agency dedicated to protecting open space in Coyote Valley. Their resolution will send a strong message that this project would harm Coyote Valley’s ecosystem.
The city of San Jose is in the midst of the environmental review for the Heritage Oaks cemetery. A vote on the project is expected to take place within a few months. A resolution from the OSA will add great weight to the argument that Coyote Valley is the wrong place for this massive cemetery and crematorium project.
Please use the form below to email the OSA Board of Directors, or if you can, please attend the Board meeting, virtually or in-person, to tell the Board why you oppose the cemetery in this location.
What: Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Board of Directors meeting
When: Thursday, September 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: 33 Las Colinas Lane, San Jose, CA
Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/87095729667
More information on the meeting and how to attend and provide public comment is available in the meeting agenda.
