Surrounded by urban and suburban sprawl, the Coyote Valley of San Jose and Morgan Hill is a precious greenbelt deeply treasured by the local community and the very last vestige of Santa Clara's historically-famed Valley of the Heart's Delight.

Its open space serves numerous functions: groundwater regeneration and flood control; critical wildlife corridor between the Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain Ranges; Local Farming/Agriculture; and, not least of all, priceless community resource enabling residents, children and families to experience and enjoy the great beauty of our Californian countryside without venturing far away or into the hills.

While there is little to no transit to this area and 101 traffic is already egregious throughout the day, San Jose and state government together with interested developers are determined and already well on their way to industrializing the northern half of it, destroying its undisturbed and agricultural landscapes, converting it to industrial campuses and warehouses, while leaving just a truly tiny reserve fraction in the hills untouched as a specious show of preservation. Ground has already broken along Bailey Road for the Gavilan College Campus as of December 2015, the controversial location of which county voters did not approve when voting to fund it, and I believe would not have, had they just been given the democratic opportunity to have their say on the very future of this valley, as well. This is devastating, inexcusably poor city planning and the forerunner of more development to come in the valley, which is a great tragedy for the county and posterity.

Please join me in petitioning our elected officials, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, US House Representative, 19th District, Zoe Lofgren, State Senator, District 17, Bill Monning, San Jose District 2 Councilman Ask Kalra, as well as San Jose Project Manager David Keyon, to listen to their constituents, remove the industrial zoning designation from northern Coyote Valley once and for all, and protect this last-chance open space, before it's too late. Thank you for your time.

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_Valley

https://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7463 (Designated as NCV)

*Many thanks to Mary Poffenroth and the Coyote Valley Landscape Institute at DeAnza College, with which this petition is not affiliated, for allowing me to share their excellent informational video:

https://vimeo.com/7955826