High Speed Rail! Fast Facts At peak, about 100 trains per day through Gilroy About 25% would stop at new Gilroy station, remaining will pass through Gilroy at high speed Required Gilroy station parking structure would house 6,600-8,000 cars. The California High-Speed Rail project is a planned high-speed rail system in the state of 2010 California and headed byyg California High-Sppy()pjeed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The project was approved by California voters on November 4, 2008 with the passage of Proposition 1A authorizing US$9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for the project. The CHSRA is currently tasked with completing final planning, design, and environmental efforts. When built, high-speed trains capable of 220 mph (350 km/h) are anticipated to link San Francisco and Los Angeles in as little as two and a half hours. The planned system would also serve other major California cities, ING such as Sacramento, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, and San Diego. The City of Gilroy is located R on the Merced to San Jose segment of the system . Plans are to have a station located in Gilroy , with approximately 25 percent of the trains stopping at the Gilroy station, and the other 75 percent going through the Gilroy area at high speed. Construction efforts are anticipated to begin by 2011. An implementation plan approved in August 2005 estimates that it would take eight to eleven SP years to "develop and begin operation of an initial segment of the California high-speed train.” Currently, intercity rail service does not directly serve the city of San Francisco (other than Caltrain, which connects San Francisco to various cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, such as San Jose, Gilroy, Palo Alto, and Belmont). Amtrak provides bus connections from various San Francisco locations to its stations in Oakland and Emeryville across the bay. The fastest Amtrak route from Oakland to Los Angeles is the state-sponsored San Joaquin train line to Bakersfield, and then a bus from Bakersfield to Los Angeles or various locations in Southern California. A trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles takes a little more than nine hours -- much slower than travel by private car. The San Joaquin route is not time-efficient as it takes a circuitous route north and east from Oakland through the Sacramento river delta to enter the Central Valley. The Coast Starlight (not state-sponsored) provides a direct rail trip from Oakland/Emeryville to Los Angeles along the Pacific Coast, but is even slower, taking more than 12 hours. 1 City Council Sets Goals for 2010 and 2011 The Gilroy City Council held it’s annual goal setting session on March 12th and 13th, 2010. Items discussed included the community perception of the Council, review of goals and objectives identified in FY 10 and FY 11 budgets, Urban Service Area environmental review process, Residential Development Ordinance review process, Neighborhood Park fee process, sidewalk funding ranking process, employee recognition, Gilroy Gardens, Wastewater Plant expansion, update on joint projects with Morgan Hill, Library project update, High Speed Rail, Shop Gilroy program, Economic Development, Council campaign income/expense disclosure, Planned Unit Development amenities and budget policies. Following are Council goals for 2010 and 2011: Provide for Public Safety through Crime prevention, enforcement of laws and life safety services 2010 Offer Recreation for citizens to celebrate life and community through people, parks and programs Provide Quality and efficient City Services including water and sewer ING services, finance and administration for the benefit of the community R Maintain Sustainable Financial Structure and Promote Economic Development SP Ensure Building Safety and Preservation through enforcement of regu lations and modern b uilding standards Serve as a model of Environmental Stewardship Provide transparency in City’s operations through Open Governance 2 Meet Your Community Development Department 2010 ING The Community Development Department includes the city divisions which deal primarily with the R development community . These include Engineering , Planning , and the Building , Life and Environmental Safety (BLES) divisions. BLES includes Chemical Control and hazardous materials, pre-treatment, plan check and inspection, and the Housing and Community Development office. SP The Engineering Division is responsible for overseeing Engineering Standards, Permitting, design and the on-going improvements within the city right-of-way (i.e. city streets, curb, gutter, sidewalks, park strip/landscaping area, and sanitary sewer and storm drain collection systems) as well as the development of Mas ter Plans; the Deve lopmen t Impac t Fee Nexus Stud y; and th e imp lemen ta tion o f the Cap ita l Improvement Budget (CIB), a schedule of capital improvement projects. The Planning Division reviews all new development for both long range plans and current development. In June 2002 the City Council adopted its 2020 General Plan, the document from which all development decisions are ultimately made. Other responsibilities of the Planning Division include General Plan Implementation, Zoning Ordinance Implementation, Development Review and coordinating with the Plann ing Comm issi on f or publi c process regar ding deve lopment w it hin th e Ci ty of Gil roy. The Community Development Department works in conjunction with the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation to facilitate new and expanding commercial and industrial projects in Gilroy. The following link provides additional information. www.gilroyedc.org 3 Gilroy Library Moves to Temporary Location The Grand Opening Ceremony for the Temporary Gilroy Library was held Saturday, February 27th, 2010. The temporary site is located at 7652 Monterey Street, (between Third and Fourth Streets). The library will operate at this location for the next two years during the construction phase of the new library, which will be built on The newly remodeled 10,000 sq. ft. temporary the current site at Sixth and Rosanna Streets. facility is located close to Historic Downtown. Demolition of the old library building is scheduled to take ppplace between April 20th and June 25th, 2010. For more information, please go to: www.santaclaracountylib.org/gilroy Construction of the new, state-of-the-art building will begin this July, and take about two years to complete. The new building will be constructed 2010 to LEED Gold Plus standards. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides Gilroy Librarian Lani Yoshimura describes the a suite of standards for the environmentally sustainable design, construction and operation of ING move to the temporary location, and the building renovations, services and layout. buildings and neighborhoods. Since its inception R in 1998, LEED has grown to encompass more than 14,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries . SP Beginning with the demolition phase, a web cam will be installed at a high point which overlooks the entire construction site. In addition to allowing computer users to view construction progress, the camera will also be a valuable security tool, and the archived images will provide a record of the entire construction process. The web cam will be accessible via the City website at www.cityofgilroy.org in April. Even on opening day, library patrons were busy using the computers, as well as other resources and services available. 4 Homebuyer Opportunities in the City of Gilroy The City is offering several loan programs for first time homebuyers in the City through state and local funding and through connecting residents with programs that are offered by Santa Clara County and the Housinggy Trust of Santa Clara County. Homebuyer Assistance Program offered by the City of Gilroy provides a down payment assistance loan program to first time homebuyers, or City of Gilroy and Gilroy Unified School District employees who have passed their probation period of employment and will be first time homebuyers in Gilroy. The program has income guidelines and requires homebuyer education certification as part of the application process. An orientation class for homebuyers is being offered on April 21, 2000at610 at 6 PM at atteCtyCoucCa the City Council Chambe bes.rs. The application and program guidelines can be downloaded from the city website: http://www.cityofgilroy.org/cityofgilroy/. As of March 2010 there are funds available for homebuyers who are in contract to purchase a home. Effective the first week of July, 2010, additional funds will be available for homebuyers. Watch the city website for details or contact Suzanne Burns-Tobin in mid to late June at (408) 846-0242 or [email protected] 2010 ING R SP The Veloz family in front of their new home, purchased with the Homebuyer Assistance Program. 5 More Homebuyer Opportunities in the City of Gilroy BEGIN loans for the Alexander Place brand new townhome development in downtown Gilroy are available from the City through South County Housing . The BEGIN loans are available for up to $30,000 to first time homebuyers and have a 3% interest rate and payments deferred for thirty years if the home is not sold or refinanced. Contact South County Housing‘s Loan Packaging Department for information on purchasing a home at (408) 778-0276, or visit their office located at 16500 Monterey Road #120, Morgan Hill , Ca 95037. 2010 Housing Trust of Santa Clara County hlhas several programs ava ilblfiihbiilable to first time homebuyers in the County for which Gilroy residents can apply. Closing Cost Assistance Program provides a loan of up to $6,500 to help pay for closing costs and other expenses associated with purchasing a first home. Mortgage Assistance Program provides a second mortgage of up to $50,000 with a below market interest rate and payments of interest and principal are due monthly.