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City Beat Planning for Gilroy’s Future 2040 General Plan and Urban Growth Boundary   C onversation at a recent joint City Council and Planning Commission meeting turned to Gilroy’s future growth as they discussed the impacts of the new Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) on the current draft of the 2040 General Plan. According to an independent analysis of the anticipated effects of the UGB, the reduction in planned urban land uses outside the new UGB results in a decrease of future residential land area capable of providing 4,344 dwelling units. The reduction in area for commercial LEGEND City Limits Proposed Urban Growth Boundary 2040 Land Use Non-Residential City Gateway District Employment Center 0 0.75 and industrial growth would result in the loss of approximately 5,900 future jobs, as compared with the original draft of the 2040 General Plan. Based upon these numbers, the UGB is expected to have an impact on our future economic growth, fiscal sustainability and transportation costs. And the question before Council was, how to best update the draft 2040 General Plan to prepare for these impacts and properly reflect the values of our residents? Council was presented with three options for updating the draft 2040 General Plan.* Option 1: Update the current draft with the language necessary to comply with the UGB and move forward with EIR, hearing and adoption. Option 2: Commence a technical and policy analysis of the effects of the UGB, develop a revised Preferred Land Use Alternative, reconvene the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) on a limited basis for input, convene two or three public meetings to gather input, and move forward with EIR, hearing and adoption. Option 3: Commence a comprehensive re-evaluation of alternate future land use plans and their respective pros and cons, reconvene the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) for thorough analysis and development of three alternative plans, conduct Planning Commission and City Council study sessions to discuss the alternatives, convene multiple community meetings for input, and move forward with EIR, hearing and adoption. After discussion, the City Council decided to move forward Service Layer Credits: © 2010 NAVTEQ © AND © 2016 Microsoft Corporation with Option 3, thus allowing for study, conversation and planning on how to best lay out the growth blueprint for the Service Layer Credits: © 2010 NAVTEQ © community within the guidelines provided by the UGB. City AND © 2016 Microsoft Corporation staff will be returning to City Council in the near future with a detailed work program, schedule and budget for City Council approval. The City looks forward to hearing your input on planning for Gilroy’s future. To get involved with the discussion about the 2040 General Plan or to stay updated on the process, please visit www.gilroy2040.com. FIGURE 6 And to see the Council discussion on this topic, please visit Professional Office Open Space High Density Residential General Services Commercial Park and Recreation Facility Neighborhood District South cityofgilroy.org, click on Council Videos and select the joint Visitor-Serving Commercial Public/Quasi-Public Facility Neighborhood District North Residential Specific Plan Areas General Industrial meeting on 1/17/17. Hillside Residential Downtown Specific Plan Industrial Park Mixed Use Corridor Low Density Residential Glen Loma Ranch Specific Plan Area Rural County Medium Density Residential Hecker Pass Special Use District City of Gilroy Urban Growth Boundary Initiative 9212 Report 1.5 MILES SOURCE: Bing Maps (2014); City of Gilroy (2016) City of Gilroy Draft 2040 General Plan Land Use Map with Urban Growth Boundary *Please note that for brevity, these options have been simplified. For detailed information on each of these plans please view the Council Video described above. I:\CGL1601\GIS\LandUse_2040_UGB.mxd (6/22/2016) LEGEND City Limits Proposed Urban FIGURE 6 Professional Office HILL • SAN MARTIN Open Space MARCH/APRIL 2017 High Density Residential GILROY • MORGAN gmhtoday.com General Services Commercial Park and Recreation Facility Neighborhood District South 21