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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 07 2025 Item #8.1 - District Public Hearing Testimony - Communities of Interest Testimony from Districtr 1 | P a g e City of Gilroy Districtr Community of Interest Testimony Submissions Community of Interest testimony submitted via Districtr prior to Public Hearing on April 7, 2025 ID 292463 “jah” Date of submission: 3/31/2024 Notes: No description included. 2 | P a g e ID 290886 “Communities of Interest - Citywide” Date of submission: 3/21/2025 Color of Community of Interest/Name Description Blue/ “Oldtown West” The western portion of Oldtown Gilroy, bounded by Church Street, 10th Street, Wren Avenue, and 1st Street, clearly qualifies as a Community of Interest under the criteria outlined in California’s Fair Maps Act. This neighborhood is defined by shared social and economic characteristics, strong civic and cultural institutions, and distinctive infrastructure that directly impacts how its residents live, move, and interact with their community. Gold/ “Oldtown East” The eastern portion of Oldtown Gilroy, including the Historic Downtown, should clearly be recognized as a Community of Interest under California’s Fair Maps Act. This neighborhood is the most urban and mixed-use area in the city. It is bounded roughly by Highway 101 to the east, 10th Street to the south, Church Street to the west, and 1st Street and Leavesley Road to the north. Within this compact area is a vibrant mix of housing, businesses, cultural institutions, community 3 | P a g e organizations, and public services that form a highly interdependent and distinct neighborhood. Oldtown East has by far the densest population of Hispanic residents in Gilroy. Compared to the city average of 56.6%, Oldtown East is 84.6% Hispanic. Despite this, it has a significantly lower-than-average Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP), which makes the community particularly vulnerable to vote dilution under the California Voting Rights Act. Maintaining this neighborhood as a single district is critical to preserving the collective voice of a population that has long been active in civic life but underrepresented politically. The centerpiece of the area is Historic Downtown Gilroy, which includes dozens of small businesses that serve both local residents and visitors. These businesses range from restaurants and retail shops to professional services. Many of them cater specifically to the local Hispanic and Spanish-speaking community—especially south of 6th Street and Railroad Street—where residents rely on locally owned establishments such as tax and immigration services, auto repair shops, a medical clinic, bodega-style groceries, Mexican restaurants, joyerías, botanicas, salons, barbershops, party supply stores, florists, laundromats, clothing shops, and so much more. Additional businesses include breweries, antique stores, a comic book store, a used book store, art studios, a live events theater, sign shops, a silk-screening shop, a custom frame store, and dozens of restaurants. Many of these businesses are minority- and immigrant-owned, offering affordable goods and services and creating pathways to economic self-sufficiency. The housing stock in this neighborhood includes older single-family homes, multi-generational residences, mixed-use buildings with apartments above shops, and a variety of small-scale multifamily housing. Much of this housing qualifies as naturally occurring affordable housing—unsubsidized but still accessible due to age, size, and zoning. This diversity supports a wide range of households and income levels and provides a critical alternative to the more uniform and car-dependent housing found in newer parts of Gilroy. There is also a dense concentration of nonprofits and community organizations in the neighborhood. These include the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, CARAS, Nueva Vida, the Garlic Festival Association, CMAP TV, Gilroy Arts Alliance, 6th Street Studios and Art Center, Pintello Comedy Theater, Gilroy Grange, Rebekah’s Children’s Services, Social Vocational Services, IOOF Hall, and numerous churches. These organizations serve the local population in public health, education, family services, the arts, media, and cultural preservation. Many offer services in Spanish, meeting a vital need in a neighborhood where language access is a shared concern. Oldtown East also hosts a variety of neighborhood-focused cultural and community events. These include the annual Tamal Festival, annual 4 | P a g e Ofrenda Festival, weekly Downtown Live summer concert series, car shows, cruise nights, a Christmas Festival, Memorial Day Parade, and Portuguese cultural parades. Larger events that attract a citywide audience—such as National Night Out, the Beer Crawl, and the Heart of Gilroy Art and Wine Stroll—also take place in the downtown core, further reinforcing this neighborhood’s role as a cultural and civic hub. Churches in this neighborhood are deeply embedded in the daily life of residents. Many parishioners walk to services, and most churches serve primarily Spanish-speaking congregants. These institutions often have little or no off-street parking, which underscores their role as walkable, neighborhood-based anchors and reflects the strong sense of local cohesion. Oldtown East shares several characteristics with neighboring Oldtown West, including access to public transit, proximity to schools and parks, and a walkable street grid. However, Oldtown East exhibits even greater density, more mixed-use zoning, and a higher concentration of both housing and commercial spaces. This makes it the neighborhood in Gilroy with the greatest opportunity for residents to live and work within walking distance. The Railroad Street corridor and the mixed-use commercial spaces sprinkled throughout the area, in particular, provide affordable commercial spaces that foster small and startup businesses. These enterprises help maintain the neighborhood’s affordability and economic vitality. There is also a rich history of small businesses being run out of residences or in shared outdoor spaces (ie pulgas, yard sales, or flea markets). The neighborhood is also home to important public services, including the Gilroy Transit Center, which connects residents to Caltrain, Amtrak, VTA, and MST; the city’s only public art center; and Rebekah’s Children’s Services, a major nonprofit that supports at-risk youth and families and provides foster care services. The area is surrounded by all the City’s key commercial corridors along 1st Street, 10th Street, Leavesley Road, and the Historic Downtown core, ensuring that essential goods and services remain accessible on foot or by transit—an especially critical feature for youth, seniors, and others who do not or cannot drive. If this neighborhood were divided across multiple districts, the cohesive voice of its residents—particularly Hispanic, Spanish-speaking, low- income, and immigrant communities—would be diluted. Its unique needs around housing, small business development, cultural identity, walkability, and access to services would be far less likely to be addressed effectively. Keeping Oldtown East intact is essential to ensuring these shared interests are represented at City Hall. 5 | P a g e In summary, Oldtown East offers a way of life that is distinct from the rest of Gilroy. It is defined by walkability, mixed land use, local businesses, cultural vibrancy, economic diversity, and strong community ties. Residents rely on a dense network of neighborhood-based services and institutions that bind them together as a coherent and interdependent community. This neighborhood clearly meets and exemplifies the definition of a Community of Interest under the Fair Maps Act—a population with shared social and economic interests that benefits from being represented together for purposes of effective and fair political representation. For these reasons, Oldtown East must be kept whole within a single city council district. Seafoam/ “Lonoke” The Lonoke neighborhood is a clearly defined, densely populated residential area, roughly bounded by Monterey Road, 1st Street, Wren Avenue, and Cohansey Avenue. The neighborhood is compact, contiguous, and defined by shared infrastructure, housing patterns, and community assets (or lack thereof). This area is one of the most densely populated parts of Gilroy, with a concentration of housing types that includes late 20th-century single- family homes, small multi-family dwellings, and a few large apartment complexes—most notably the one on Cohansey Avenue. The neighborhood’s residential character is shaped by a consistent housing pattern, where nearly every home has a front-facing garage, although many of these have been visibly converted into accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or “granny units.” This points to both a growing demand for multi-generational housing and a trend toward informal housing adaptation to meet family or affordability needs. The central organizing feature of the neighborhood is Las Animas Park, one of Gilroy’s largest and most heavily used public parks. The park serves as a gathering place for local residents of all ages. It provides essential green space in a densely built environment and is frequently used. The presence of this park gives the neighborhood a unifying landmark and a shared resource that is vital to its residents. While the area is primarily residential, it is framed by commercial corridors along 1st Street, Monterey Road, and Wren Avenue. Walkability within the neighborhood varies—residents living south of Las Animas Park enjoy higher walk scores due to proximity to shops and services on 1st Street, while areas north of the park are more car- dependent, with fewer nearby commercial uses. Overall, the neighborhood is more auto-oriented than Gilroy’s Oldtown neighborhoods, as evidenced by the prevalence of street and driveway parking and the general layout of homes and streets. Lonoke is also notable for what it lacks: it does not contain any public elementary or middle school within its boundaries. Two schools that 6 | P a g e once served the area were closed—one due to low enrollment, and another due to its proximity to the California National Guard Armory, which also functions as a shelter for unhoused individuals. One of the former school sites has since been converted into Gilroy’s third public preschool, alongside the two located in Oldtown East and West. The other has been redeveloped into single-family housing, further increasing residential density. There is one private K-8 school on the southern edge of the nieghborhood - St Mary Church. The neighborhood contains three churches, which is less than what we see in Oldtown, but still more than some of the more suburban areas to the west. The neighborhood is majority Hispanic—approximately 65%—and shares common challenges related to density, traffic, infrastructure, and access to public services. Although it may lack traditional civic institutions, these shared conditions—along with the centrality of Las Animas Park and the presence of high-density residential development—give the area a distinct identity and a shared set of needs. These needs include improved civic infrastructure, access to schools, and safe pedestrian connections—needs that would benefit from focused advocacy and representation. In summary, the Lonoke neighborhood represents a concentrated, clearly bounded residential community with high density, common housing patterns, a shared community space in Las Animas Park, and a unified set of concerns tied to infrastructure and livability. Under the Fair Maps Act, a Community of Interest is defined as a population with shared social or economic interests that benefit from being represented together. Lonoke meets that definition, and it should be kept whole within a single city council district to ensure its residents have effective and equitable representation. Bright Green/ “Sunrise” This neighborhood is one of the newer communities in Gilroy, defined primarily by single-family residential development with a few community-serving amenities. It is roughly bounded by Kern Avenue, Mantelli Drive, Rancho Hills Drive, and Day Road. The area is cohesive, family-oriented, and shaped by consistent land use and shared infrastructure. The neighborhood is composed almost entirely of single-family homes built within the past 40 years, creating a sense of continuity and a shared lifestyle choices among residents. It includes two neighborhood parks, a public elementary school, a private elementary school (Pacific Point Christian), a public high school, and a church—all of which serve as important social and community anchors. The neighborhood does not have any commercial corridors like other parts of Gilroy, it functions as a self-contained residential enclave— 7 | P a g e something many families actively seek out in choosing a home. It embodies the qualities of a “quiet neighborhood,” with local amenities centered on schools, parks, and family life. Demographically and economically, the neighborhood tends to be more uniform than older parts of the city, with a strong focus on families, homeownership, and school-based activities. Its infrastructure, traffic patterns, and planning needs are also distinct—particularly as a commuter-oriented community, with many residents traveling north to work in Silicon Valley and surrounding areas. In summary, this neighborhood represents a cohesive, family-focused residential community that shares a common housing stock, infrastructure, and community identity. Under the Fair Maps Act, a Community of Interest is defined as a population with shared social and economic interests that should be kept together for purposes of effective representation. This neighborhood meets that definition, and it should be kept intact within a single city council district to ensure that it is represented by someone who understands the needs and priorities of a quiet, residential neighborhood. Magenta/ “Westwood” This community is similar in character to Lonoke - not quite a fully residential "quiet community" like those futher to the west, but not quite an urban/mixed-use neighborhood either. Although it does have a public elementary school within it's boundaries. Purple/ “West Foothills” This is one of the least densely populated areas of Gilroy, defined by large residential lots, open space, and recreational institutions. It is largely made up of hillside neighborhoods. The area is characterized by a significant amount of open space, low-density development, and a rural-to-suburban feel that distinguishes it from the rest of the city. Many of the homes in this area are large, single-family residences on expansive lots, often located along winding hillside roads. The neighborhood includes recreational and social institutions such as Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Gilroy Golf Course, the Elks Lodge, and Gilroy Gardens. The community shares common concerns and planning needs related to hillside preservation, fire safety, open space protection, and infrastructure for large-lot residential areas. Residents also tend to rely more heavily on personal vehicles for access to city services, and many commute long distances to work. These patterns create a distinct set of priorities that differ from denser, more urban parts of Gilroy. Although more spread out, this area shares a cohesive identity centered on rural character, open space, and a quieter, more natural living environment. It also includes key public assets—like Gilroy Gardens— that contribute to both the neighborhood's character and the city’s broader cultural and recreational offerings. 8 | P a g e In summary, this neighborhood represents a geographically distinct, low-density community with shared land use, infrastructure needs, and planning priorities. Teal/ “The East Cut” Area-wise the majority of this district covers the vast eastern portion of the city that is dominated by commercial space and so has a very sparce population. There is only one moderately sized, but isolated population center north of Leavesley with approximately 600 residents. The rest are spread throughout a largely commercial and rural area. Although the area has distinct character, the extreme low density almost definitely ensures it will need to be incorporated into other districts to meet population differential maximums set by the state. Lilac/ “The South Cut” A broad range of housing types from the large Alexander St apartments, to tall the newer single family homes to the west of monterey. This area includes the park side of christmas hill park, gilroy high school, and is directly adjacent to the gilroy sports park. Identified Important Places: • Wheeler Auditorium • Public Library • City Hall • Police Station • Senior Center • Playground and park • Wheeler Manor Senior Housing • Salvation Army • Christian Scientist Church • Victory Outreach Church • Templo Bethel • Gateway School • State Preschool at Glen View • Glen View Elementary • El Roble Elementary • El Roble Park • Brownell Middle School • Miller Park • Mission Park Aprtments • Gilroy Medical Park • LDS Church • Cottage Court • Apartment Mansion • Converted Apartment Mansion • Rebekah’s Children Services • South Valley Middle School • Gilroy Prep • Cesar Chavez Gym • Mobile home Park • San Ysidro Park • Plaza Vasquez • Historic Grange Building • United Methodist Church • Gilroy Museum • Gilroy Art Center • Caltrain Station • Eliot Elementary • Tiny Park • IFDES • Forest St Park • Luz Del Mundo Church • Don Prietto Park • Veteran’s memorial building • The Barber Academy • Greenhouse co- working • CMAP TV • Gilroy Post Office • Swanson Pre-school • Cathedral of Raith Church 9 | P a g e • Slabsides Old Gilroy • Pacheco Pass motel • Large, unique cottage court • Cottage Court • Tiny Home • Railroad Street Commercial Corridor • Iglesia Del Dios • La Flor De Jalisco • Muscle House Gym • Industrial Park • Lirio de Valle Church • Bethany Community Church • IOOF Meeting Hall • Willey House Community Center • New Point 64 • Large brand new apartment building with central park • Alicia’s Market • Converted Apartment Mansion • The levee • Gilroy Sports Park ID 290610 “Population Centers” Date of submission: 3/19/2025 Description of communities of interest is the same as ID 290886 (“Communities of Interest - Citywide”)