SOUTH COUNTY JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE


Many of you may have noticed on several social media sites that residents of San Martin, Morgan Hill and Gilroy often express concerns about how development is taking place in their prospective towns and feel their voices are not being heard.  SMNA understands the concerns and believes that if we all join forces together that perhaps our elected officials will start to take note, but it will take work on the part of all of us.  We understand that not all residents agree about growth in their communities. However, it is important that we are informed about how the growth is planned, how limited we all are on infrastructures, the impacts to our environment, and lack of public input. Organizations from the different towns try to combat these issues, however, without volunteers and financial support, they are outmatched against developers and government officials.

SMNA would like to propose the re- establishment of the South County Joint Advisory Committee(SCJPAC).  This committee has actually been in existence for many years yet has not met since 2017. It has never been officially de-commissioned. Here is the purpose and definition of this SCJAC committee: A committee to serve in an advisory role for development and land use concerns in the southern area of Santa Clara County. This committee is a joint venture between the County, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and the area of San Martin. 


Your SMNA Board of Directors believes that working together to show strength in numbers, perhaps we could make a difference with re-establishing this committee. However, we propose that it should be a Commission instead of Advisory . We need to know if our members and the surrounding communities think this is a worthwhile pursuit.  You may have seen the post from SMNA Secretary, Sharon Luna on Next Door. The post received lots of positive support.

What needs to happen now is for citizens of San Martin, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy to write letters of support to your City Councils and the Board of Supervisors. Below is sample text to copy /paste for your letter as well as emails for each jurisdiction. Feel free to reach out to SMNA Board with your questions or comments at info@sanmartinneighbor.org


Sample Letter:
Dear _____________________

     As a resident of ____________________I am writing to express my concern regarding the inactivity of the South County Joint Advisory Committee. It is concerning to learn that this committee has not met since October of 2017. Considering the amount of current and proposed development in the South County area which is impacting services, infrastructure, traffic, and the environment, I believe it is necessary to re-activate this important body. However, I would propose that this body be designated as an official Commission with decision-making authority. This body could do so much to monitor and regulate the growth in South County in a manner which assures community engagement as well as coordinate communication and planning among the various jurisdictions of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and San Martin.
Respectfully,

Gilroy City Council contact form
Morgan Hill City Council email
County Board of Supervisors
Supervisor Mike Wasserman- District 1