Morgan Hill Responsible Growth Coalition
Could Morgan Hill become
a DISTRIBUTION HUB
for all of Silicon Valley?
YES! And it will quickly
destroy the character of our
little gem of a city
Are we putting too much faith in Morgan Hill's Planning Division to do what is best for our community? Apparently these are the types of projects that get ushered in when we, as citizens, are not involved in the economic development process of our city:
Trammell Crow Project - Pending. This is the first large-scale project we learned about in 2019, after land was purchased off Cochrane Rd, at the gateway of our city, to build a massive 1.1 million sq. ft. distribution center next to homes, DePaul Health Center, Westmont Senior Living Community and just steps away from Live Oak High School. Deceptively named Morgan Hill Technology Park, this project was advertised to the public as "advanced manufacturing" but the developer has not offered new site plans to validate these claims.
Shoe Palace Expansion - Under Construction. Plans were submitted in 2018 for a .5 million sq. ft. expansion of their corporate and distribution facility, also near Cochrane Rd. This property is in a business park but also close to residential off of Main Ave and just down the street from Voices School. No one knew about these plans until they were startled by the enormous concrete walls rising from the foundation, obscuring their view of El Toro from Hwy 101. Then reality hit like a ton of bricks --- or a ton of concrete walls. Now residents are angry to learn this significant new development was completely mishandled by city planners from the standpoint of policies that protect our community.
Butterfield Technology Park - Pending. Proposal for this project is in the early stages. Part of the site design shows plans for R&D buildings, which we appreciate, but over 50% of the industrial space is designated for a high-cube distribution facility. This project is in very close proximity to many new housing developments that have popped up in recent years along Butterfield Blvd.
IS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NEXT? City planners are promoting distribution as a “key” industry. They designated 797 acres to the Association of Bay Area Government’s Priority Production Area (PPA), paving the way for MORE distribution centers in the future. E-commerce is exploding and they are eager to ride on the coat tails of developers anxious to fill our open land with whopping warehouses! But our narrow valley here is just 3 miles wide between the foothills and we are mainly a residential community. If they move forward, Morgan Hill is going to be a nightmare with hundreds of extra trucks filling our streets around the clock for distribution activities. Learn more about what is happening to the Morgan Hill we all know and love.
Is this a responsible
long-term growth solution
for Morgan Hill?
NO! It has been proven that distribution centers have a serious impact on
communities like ours
What is RESPONSIBLE GROWTH? We believe new commercial/industrial development should bring quality jobs, support local businesses, protect the environment, and sustain our quality of life here. We've learned a great deal about large-scale distribution centers and these projects are not a good fit for Morgan Hill. The likely impact to our area is severe and far reaching, and will change the fabric of our community forever. After looking closely at plans and potential impacts, we firmly believe these projects defy all principles of responsible growth here:
Very few quality jobs. Developers use jobs as a huge selling point for building distribution centers in every part of the country. Look for any news article that talks about prime land – whether it’s a golf course, shopping mall, or agricultural field – getting repurposed for a distribution center. It’s all about "hundreds of jobs to revitalize the area". The harsh reality is, e-commerce companies aim to fully automate their distribution centers in the very near future. Top university robotics experts are now on loan to many e-commerce corporations. Sorting, picking, and even janitorial work will be done by robots. Most remaining warehouse jobs have lower pay scales of $12-17/hour. There are, however, some opportunities for short term jobs in the building industry to complete these projects.
More of a detriment than a benefit to local businesses. With distribution centers transitioning to full automation, there won't be many human workers to take lunch at nearby eateries, or shop in stores, or run errands at local businesses. As for our hotels, robots won't have any use for those either, and truck drivers usually carry their sleeping quarters in their cabs. One might argue that delivery truck drivers would stop for lunch but, with pressures of one-hour delivery in our congested Bay Area market, that isn't very likely. Increased traffic and congestion in parts of our city could affect long term viability of some businesses too, as residents weigh out the hassle to get to those businesses.
Harmful impact to the environment where we raise our families. Distribution centers will wreak havoc on our roadways due to intense truck activity around the clock. The increase in traffic will severely impact our households and schools too. Neighborhoods will be congested with trucks queued up for loading docks while polluting our air with diesel emissions. Onsite equipment, including forklifts and robots inside open dock doors, produce continuous sounds that travel a considerable distance, especially at night. Another concern is how traffic will intensify at the Cochrane Road interchange, known as the “choke point” of South County. Traffic on Hwy 101, barely tolerable now, will become absolute gridlock through this region of the Bay Area.
Overall, a degradation to our quality of life! City planners are focused on perceived fiscal benefits and not taking time to fully understand the repercussions of their decision-making on the long term preservation of our community. They don't seem to be aware of the impact on city infrastructure either. Learn more about the ways distribution centers will impact our community.
Do we ignore what is happening and let this forever change Morgan Hill?
NO! Our community
must band together to
protect our future!
MH Responsible Growth Coalition (MHRGC) volunteers are working hard for our community. Some of our ongoing efforts include:
Engaging with city leaders, including city council, planning commission, and economic development staff, through email and during planning meetings, when these projects are under review. City planners have a huge workload and we are happy to share our vast research knowledge of these issues if they don't have time to research on their own.
Contacting government agencies, news groups, and environmental groups to help with advocacy on the detrimental effects of these projects and to ensure our city planners follow established protocol when making project decisions.
Giving priority to community outreach, keeping residents informed of our findings through website subscriber services, social media platforms, neighborhood flyers, and a variety of other informal meetings.
Continually learning about the logistics industry, city zoning and processes, and relevant cases in other cities, to expand our knowledge of these issues and how they could impact our community.
Actively working on ballot initiatives with legal experts to give our community members a choice in what becomes of this city.
And we could use a little help! Together we can make a change! Learn more about our plan of action and simple ways you can help. If you're also wondering who WE are, and what motivates us to serve our community, also check out the page we created about us.
Our community is talking...
"When is this crazy out of control building going to stop? When we have no land left in Morgan Hill to to build on?"
"I'm worried about my son's health with all those truck fumes, he already has asthma now."
"My friends and I like to run along Cochrane to Anderson Park. We are going to lose the beauty of that area forever."
"TRAFFIC WILL BE A NIGHTMARE!!!"
"Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot"
"With all those extra trucks at the Cochrane exit, it will take forever to get to Target"
Our community is talking...
"When is this crazy out of control building going to stop? When we have no land left in Morgan Hill to to build on?"
"I'm worried about my son's health with all those truck fumes, he already has asthma now."
"TRAFFIC WILL BE A NIGHTMARE!!!"
"Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot"
"With all those extra trucks at the Cochrane exit, it will take forever to get to Target"
"My friends and I like to run along Cochrane to Anderson Park. We are going to lose the beauty of that area forever."