Agenda Item # 9.3 - Milo Trauss | Received 07/26/2022CAUTION: This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening
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From:Milo Trauss
To:City Clerk; All Council Members
Subject:EXTERNAL - Public Hearing for 700 W. Sixth St Residential Subdivision
Date:Tuesday, July 26, 2022 1:57:10 PM
Dear Gilroy City Council,
I am writing to encourage you to zone this lot as high density residential, just as the zoning
across the street is high density residential.
This proposal has a density of only 6.1 dwelling units per acre, and although this falls
midrange within the
general plan density requirement of 3 to 8 units per net acre, these densities are far too low to
meet the housing and environmental needs of our time.
It is simply too onerous on the natural environment to continue to build such low density
housing. Higher density residential construction consumes less energy to heat and cool homes,
less water on landscapes and sitting in pipes, and preserves more open space for other uses.
Also it discourages car dependency. Within a half-mile of this neighborhood is a mix of
apartments, single family homes, and neighborhoods serving commercial. In the current
General Plan 2040 this property was re-zoned to single family but Gilroy doesn’t need any
more of this type of zoning which already takes up ~75% of our land use. The close proximity
to transit, access to off-street paved bike/ped trails, schools, civic center, grocery, shopping,
and restaurants makes it an ideal location for medium to high density housing.
Finally, According to Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report “Affordable Housing:
Density is Our Destiny” included a recommendation stating
that “Gilroy (should) increase inclusionary housing requirements for the below market
housing to at least 15% (of new dwelling units) by the end of 2019. If that ordinance were in
effect today this project could have added 3 Below Market Rate (BMR) units to the city’s
portfolio.
California has a statewide housing shortage of nearly 3.5 million homes. Low and middle-
income households face a historic rent burden in California, and the problem worsens by
the day as middle-income households move into naturally affordable housing previously
occupied
by low-income renters forcing these households to move further away from their jobs, and
in some cases, onto the streets. Undersupply of “Missing Middle” housing, or medium
density housing near jobs and transit, is one of the key factors contributing to the displacement
and rent
burden of Californians across the state. This sort of housing is banned in over 70 percent of
the state, and Gilroy as well.
Thank you,
Milo Trauss
Milo Trauss (he/him)