Agenda Item # 11.4 - Brian Schmidt | Received 08/12/2022CAUTION This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening attachments, clicking links, or
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From:
To:City Clerk
Subject:EXTERNAL - Please include attached Draft Resolution for Gilroy for Item 11.4 Sargent Ranch for Monday Aug. 15 meeting
Date:Friday, August 12, 2022 10:13:20 AM
Attachments:July 2022 Gilroy Juristac Resolution DRAFT.docx
Dear Mayor Blankley and City Council Members,
For consideration of a Gilroy-specific resolution by the City Council for Item 11.4, Sargent Ranch, members of the Protect
Juristac Campaign have used the latest of the many resolutions passed by other city councils, the Sunnyvale resolution, and
adapted it to be specific to Gilroy in the attached document. The only substantive changes have been to remove references
to Sunnyvale's General Plan, substituting comparable references to Gilroy's General Plan, and adding a new Whereas
clause referencing considerable traffic problems that would be inflicted on Gilroy residents if this project is approved.
These resolutions have now been vetted by multiple city councils, all strongly demonstrating their opposition. As the city
closest to the proposed quarry, Gilroy should have a very important say in the matter, and we hope the Council will stand
with environmental protection and with the Amah Mutsun, that it will stand against traffic impacts to Gilroy, and support a
strong resolution at the Council meeting. We hope this draft resolution can assist the Council in passing a resolution
without further delay.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Brian Schmidt
--
photo Brian Schmidt
Policy and Advocacy Director
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF GILROY IN SUPPORT OF THE EFFORTS OF THE
AMAH MUTSUN TRIBAL BAND TO PRESERVE SARGENT
RANCH/JURISTAC AS OPEN SPACE
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF GILROY AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, the City of Gilroy is located on the ancestral lands of Mutsun-speaking Ohlone
peoples, whose descendants today belong to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and other tribal
nations; and
WHEREAS, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band survived two centuries of violent persecution and
displacement during the Spanish, Mexican and American periods and today are working
diligently to restore their Indigenous practices, regain stewardship of their lands and heal from
historical trauma; and
WHEREAS, the Debt Acquisition Company of America, doing business as Sargent Ranch
Management Company, has applied to the County of Santa Clara for a conditional use permit for
a proposed sand and gravel mining operation with aggregate processing facilities on 317 acres of
Sargent Ranch, within an area known as Juristac to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band; and
WHEREAS, Juristac is the location of numerous historic ceremonial and sacred sites,
comprising a landscape of paramount cultural and spiritual importance to the Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band; and
WHEREAS, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band maintains that the 317 acres of proposed mining
pits, overburden piles, roads, and processing facilities would irreparably harm Mutsun cultural
resources, landscape features, and the spiritual integrity of Juristac; and
WHEREAS, the Tribal Council of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has taken a unanimous stand
in opposition to the Sargent Quarry Project and is requesting the support of surrounding
communities in efforts to protect their sacred grounds; and
WHEREAS, local organizations have signed on to or submitted formal letters to Santa Clara
County supporting the protection of Juristac/Sargent Ranch including the Gilroy Historical
Society, departments and instructors at Gavilan College, and the Interfaith Clergy Alliance of
South County; and
WHEREAS, the city councils of the City of Morgan Hill, City of Sunnyvale, City of Santa Cruz
and City of Santa Clara have unanimously adopted resolutions supporting the efforts of the
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to preserve the entirety of Juristac as open space; and
WHEREAS, in November of 2021 the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission voted
unanimously to recognize the desecration of the Amah Mutsun sacred site of Juristac as a
significant human rights issue and to recommend that the County of Santa Clara deny approval
of permits for the proposed mine; and
WHEREAS, Sargent Ranch/Juristac is an open space area of exceptional regional significance
and habitat value as recognized by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, the Santa Clara
Valley Open Space Authority, and regional conservation organizations; and
WHEREAS, the Sargent Ranch area is identified in the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation
Plan and other regional habitat connectivity studies as a critically important wildlife corridor
linking the Santa Cruz Mountains, Gabilan Mountains, and Diablo Range; and
WHEREAS, the proposed quarry could result in daily traffic of hundreds of truck trips through
Highway 101 in Gilroy, significantly adding to traffic congestion, accidents, infrastructure
degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and local air pollution; and
WHEREAS, the Gilroy General Plan cites the importance of the regional multi-jurisdictional
conservation strategy of the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan and sets multiple
goals to work in concert with Plan objectives, including to “develop and apply a variety of
preservation tools to protect open space areas in and around the city” (NCR 1.6); and
WHEREAS, the Gilroy General Plan emphasizes the importance of natural resource
conservation and specifically cites the crucial role of open space access and management,
including but not limited to encouraging the management and maintenance of “private open
space areas in a manner that ensures habitat protection” (NCR 1.5); and
WHEREAS, the Gilroy General Plan aims to “encourage public and private efforts for the
preservation of historical and architecturally significant buildings and sites, archeological sites,
and other landmarks” (NCR 5.4) and Juristac constitutes a highly significant cultural and
historical landmark in the region; and
WHEREAS, the Gilroy General Plan asserts a commitment to environmental justice and the
inclusion of those most impacted by environmental problems in environmental decision making
(EJ-9);
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Gilroy as
follows:
1. That the City Council of the City of Gilroy supports the efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal
Band to preserve Sargent Ranch/Juristac as open space in perpetuity and to regain access to their
cultural and spiritual sites at Juristac.
2. That the City Council of the City of Gilroy urges the County of Santa Clara to deny approval
of permits for the proposed Sargent Quarry Project.
3. That the City Council of the City of Gilroy urges the County of Santa Clara to
find funding for a conservancy agency to purchase and preserve Sargent Ranch/Juristac as open
space.
4. Effective date. This resolution shall become effective immediately.