La Ofrenda Festival

Nestled in the heart of Downtown Gilroy, the La Ofrenda Festival | Gilroy’s 2nd Annual Día de Muertos Festival & Wellness Fair on November 2 1-7pm will be an extraordinary event and is more than just a day of festivities; it’s an immersive experience that embraces the essence of Día de Muertos – a time when families come together to honor their departed loved ones and celebrate the eternal bond between the living and the deceased. With vibrant ofrendas (altars) adorned with marigold flowers, moving performances, a community bike ride, and a variety of talented artists, our festival promises an unforgettable experience that will leave a lasting impression on the South County community and beyond. La Ofrenda Festival is made possible with a Gilroy Elevate the Arts Grant, a program of SVCreates, with support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, City of Gilroy, County of Santa Clara and fiscally sponsored by Local Color, 501c3. https://www.laofrendafestival.com 

Gilroy’s La Ofrenda Festival is bringing together a cross section of sponsorships and partnerships from government, education, health, private sector, arts, transportation, culture, non-profits, labor workforce and more. Arts are alive in Gilroy. In 2021, I was contacted by SV Creates (Santa Clara County Arts Council) to build a relationship that wasn’t here prior in Gilroy. From those first initial meetings blossomed into an Arts Círculo held at 6th St Art Studios and around the corner at the Neon Exchange. Today we have a monthly Arts Roundtable, Third Friday Art Walk, Chalk Fest, La Ofrenda Festival, and doors continue to open. 

We provide year-round bicycle, pedestrian, and transit education and encouragement opportunities through programs and policies that promote our community leaving their car at home and choosing to walk/bike/roll/ and take transit. This helps teach our residents safe walking and biking skills, reduces traffic and air pollution, and helps you get more physical activity. La Ofrenda Festival will have many experiences for you including a Community Bike Ride, Bike Valet, Bike Rodeo, Helmet Fittings, Bike Education, Wellness Vendors, next to our Transit & Mobility Plaza. This year’s presenting sponsor Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) will be bringing their Dream Home mobile demonstration, where community members can learn about and interact with electric equipment and appliances.

Advancing mobility options reflects what we are teaching the youth in our community through Safe Routes to School and why we are nationally recognized as a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists, as well as recognized by the World Health Organization as an Age-Friendly Community.

                                         

The City of Gilroy celebrates the role that the arts and creativity play in helping us navigate a pandemic, amplify the need for racial equity, and highlight the power of the arts to change our lives for the better. The Gilroy Arts & Culture Commission and SV Creates work in partnership to support the arts and creativity in Gilroy as an essential part of our thriving community. SV Creates partners locally with the Gilroy Arts & Culture Commission and Gilroy Arts Roundtable to include the City of Gilroy with a network of leaders who care about the resilience of our arts ecosystem and its impact to our community. They are conveners, promoters, incubators, and funders of the arts with a mission to elevate Silicon Valley’s creative culture. The City of Gilroy recognizes that the arts and creativity support student success and life-long learning, provide key job skills, and bring joy to our community while strengthening our connections; and values partnering with SV Creates and State-level organizations to promote unified support for the arts.

Public Transit Is Cleaner and Faster

Growing up in San Jose, public transportation was not as widespread and commonly used as other cities. While many use and rely on the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), this system is not as efficient or as popular as it should be. The main choice of transportation for people in the Bay Area is driving, which has caused a severe traffic issue here. Back when I was in high school, I was not able to drive which placed a serious block on my ability to travel around San Jose. Eventually I did learn to drive, and while it is an important skill to know how to drive, there are many factors that play a role in hindering people’s ability to drive or even own a car. Owning a car is a costly endeavor, which many people cannot afford to allocate in this time of inflation and high costs of living, especially in the Bay Area.  

Once moving up to San Francisco and learning around the Muni system, I witnessed that public transportation can be just as fast as a car and a reliable source of transportation. As a young person in the United States, the increasingly worrying situation with our climate is on the forefront of my mind. Over the past five years, this issue has been increasingly more known and talked about. The increase of more intense and dramatic weather patterns has also caused many of my peers and I to look for more ways to reduce the reliance we have on fossil fuels and live in a more sustainable way. While it is important to acknowledge that the cause of the problem is not on us as individuals, the first and most simple thing for me to do was to take BART or Caltrain more often. However, I found myself struggling to rely on transit here and found myself mainly driving when I was in the South Bay, until San Jose implemented its transit-first policy.  

As the South Bay grows in population, the streets are more congested than they were a decade ago and there are simply more people that now rely on public transport, and the need for efficient public transportation is growing. With the increase of speed with trains and buses, there will be a decrease in the number of trains and buses needed. The speed and frequency in which buses and trains operate are integral factors to whether or not people choose to use these services. This allocation of funds from a high volume of trains and buses also allows for later hours of operation and newer train routes that span farther throughout Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Martin.

Since San Jose implemented transit first policy, there has been an uptick in ridership, VTA reported a 22% increase in 2023. That equates to 21.8 million riders, which is significantly above the national average of 18%. I believe that each person living in the Bay Area is entitled to transportation that can effectively get them to where they need to go, and providing accessible, reliable public transportation is critical to building safer and more united communities, as well as contributing to the growth of our community. 

We both know that cities can help improve transit in their community by adopting policies that control the factors that determine the quality and quantity of transit service: street space allocation, signal timing, and signal priority. Giving priority to public transit—in the form of transit lanes or preferential signal timing— speeds up transit and makes it more desirable for potential riders and helps cities meet their climate change goals. Maintaining the status quo endorses the current outcomes. Making no changes to transportation or land use policies will likely result in slower transit as congestion increases on city streets.

Zach Hilton is a Gilroy City Council Member. Soraya Alavi is a junior at University of San Francisco majoring in psychology and minoring in both legal studies and philosophy, a member of women in prelaw and Khandan (USF’s South Asian student association), and interning with Council Member Zach Hilton.

Housing For All in Gilroy (Part 5)

Since my last housing post in July 2023, Gilroy has made strides to plan and promote housing opportunities for our workforce that are typically more affordable. This is needed more now than ever before. The State recently released new income guidelines, a household of one whose income is $102,300 is considered low income. The same is true for a household of four who earns $146,100. This is many of us. We’ve reached a boiling point where we need to be taking advantage of the many tools before us. We are in a housing crisis and the dream of owning a home is not a realistic opportunity for everyone. We need to continue to promote all housing options and solutions that benefit everyone. 

Gilroy must continue to promote the development of more housing for all income levels while looking at creative policies and funding through our local control to make them more livable, access to transit, bikeable, and walkable. I support Gilroy's accessory dwelling unit (ADU) program in single-family and multi-family residential lots, while having the additional option for junior accessory dwelling units. As more residents want to age in place, having the option to move into a smaller unit on your property while being able to rent out the larger home, allows income and stability for you to stay in your neighborhood. The building of ADU’s in multi-family developments like in single-family lots provides additional needed housing by infill. Our housing crisis is not going away soon, while our unhoused population continues to rise. Around the Downtown area there are many examples of 2-5-unit complexes and these types of units are needed for the “missing middle" income earners. I am proud of the housing plan that Gilroy City Council, Planning Commission, Staff, and the Public approved in 2023. It will create programs to build rental/owner opportunities like duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexs. 

Now is where the true work and evaluation will take place. Empowered through our local control, we will implement these programs and follow through with what we have promised to our residents. Approved in 2021 through our local control, we have an objective design standards policy that provides applicants and developers with a clear understanding of the City’s expectations for mixed-use and multi-family residential project design. We have 40 opportunity sites identified in our Housing Element where we will build multi-family units, Downtown Expansion District and First Street Mixed-Use Corridor flexibility program, 429 corner lots for the middle income housing program, housing for farmworkers program, inclusionary housing ordinance, and each program listed here. Through incentives, funding, local control, and programs we offer with our partners, this will allow us to further a Gilroy that’s livable for all. Improving our infrastructure is always on my mind, and that’s why year-to-date my office has worked with our state and federal legislators to secure $5.2 million for project funding that directly benefits our residents, from a bike/ped trail extension on the westside, San Ysidro Park on the eastside, and an enhanced crosswalk for senior housing on the southside.

We have identified programs where the city will go farther with incentives to develop residential units in our Downtown Expansion District and First Street Mixed-Use Corridor. In exchange for this flexibility, the city may require that a certain percentage of units are dedicated to extremely low-income households, farmworkers, persons with disabilities, or other identified groups. We have the current capacity to build over the next eight years and align with our State and region's long-range plan for housing, transportation, economy and the environment, known as the Plan Bay Area 2050. It calls for creating compact walkable communities by promoting high-density housing and mixed-use development near transit stations and in existing urban areas. 

We can't grow or consider ourselves equitable and diversified in housing type when 75% of our land is zoned for single family homes. This may have worked in the past, but now that these homes are out of reach for most families, we need to continue our course correct. We can continue to create a diversified housing stock to meet the needs of our residents. Our Housing Element 2023-2032 contains programs to build missing middle housing (this translates to rental opportunities, duplexes, triplexes, and four-plexes, a technical way for saying smaller homes that are more naturally affordable). 

Gilroy's Planning Commission and City Council approved 40 Opportunity Sites that we are planning to build housing on. (See above and on Page 320 of the 6th and Final Draft) 

The Opportunity Site selection process examined zoned capacity, existing uses, and recent development trends to determine which parcels to include to meet the remaining RHNA after considering pipeline projects and ADUs. Both vacant and non-vacant sites are included in the Opportunity Sites Inventory. The opportunity site selection process took site characteristics, surrounding uses, and development constraints into consideration when evaluating each site’s development potential. 

The City of Gilroy's Housing and Community Services Division focuses on housing efforts, public service grants, unhoused efforts, below market rate home ownership programs, and is a resource to connect Gilroy residents to homebuyer assistance programs, accessory dwelling unit (ADU) programs, emergency housing, unhoused services, rental assistance, tenant/landlord services, and mortgage relief assistance. The Division implements the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and the City's Housing Trust Fund (HTF). These funds assist Gilroy's vulnerable communities and create safe and healthy neighborhoods for all.  

The Housing and Community Services Division collaborates with Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) and other partners to develop affordable housing such as the one at 8th/Alexander St, including partnering on community outreach, communication, and development processes from beginning to completion. The Division works with OSH on Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funding process, allocation, and implementation of grant funding for nonprofit service providers to assist Gilroy's vulnerable communities, unhoused individuals, and families who are experiencing, or at risk, homelessness. Through conducting monthly meetings with Gilroy's Unhoused Service Providers Network, the Division works to increase collaboration and partnership among service providers and the City of Gilroy to connect the unhoused with services. To expand community outreach and education on housing resources, the Division partners with Community Based Organizations (CBO) to host workshops to inform residents of assistance programs and funding opportunities, on a monthly basis on average.  

The City places a high priority on providing quality housing opportunities for all residents. The creation of this focused Division within the Community Development Department, and establishing the Housing and Community Services Manager position, will enable the City to make more concentrated efforts on affordable housing production, preservation, and protection of residents. The Housing and Community Services Manager will provide a higher level of expertise and lead a Division focusing on housing functions. With the Division consisting of the Manager and Technician position, the Division will implement projects and programs to address housing needs for a diverse community and provide assistance to families and individuals that are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. 

Several plans and policies including a Transportation Demand Management (TDM), Vehicle Mile Traveled (VMT), and Climate Action Plan are currently being drafted. These will help enhance all of our developments to shift modes of transportation and connect them to transit in line with our General Plan 2040. Gilroy’s multi-modal transportation infrastructure consists of buses, trains, bikes, scooters, and walking. While there might be portions of our city that are isolated from transit, there are many ways to continue to draw residents towards transit. Gilroy has a fully connected bike network and transit options. Many residents are employed outside of Gilroy, but we have a large population that work, play, attend school, and are retired in Gilroy. They benefit from local transit and rideshare. Gilroy has the vision that the glass is half full, and we have the ability to innovate and adapt to programs that will further reduce our VMT. We are providing year-round education and encouragement through County Measure B funds. We have programs and policies that promote our community leaving their car at home and choosing to walk/bike/roll/ and take transit. This helps teach our residents safe walking and biking skills, reduces traffic and air pollution, and helps you get more physical activity.  

In 2024, the Area Median Income (AMI) for a four-person household in Santa Clara County, as defined by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is $184,300. Based on this, the following are the income limits for the 5 affordable housing categories (family of four):

                                         • Extremely Low Income (ELI) 0–30% AMI $0– $55,300 

                                         • Very Low Income (VLI) 31–50% AMI $53,301–$92,150

                                         • Low Income (LI) 51–80% AMI $92,151– $146,100

                                         • Moderate Income 81–120% AMI $146,101- $221,150

                                         • Above Moderate- Above 120% AMI $221,150 +

Above is an updated chart that shows our progress in meeting our RHNA numbers. This is year 1 of our 8 year housing plan. While 38 ADU's is a good start, our production of much needed housing for all, is already behind schedule. Data comes from our March 18, 2024 City Council Agenda. 

The annual SB 423 (formerly SB 35) list based on past housing performance was published June 2024 and contains cities and counties subject to SB 423 streamlining provisions when proposed developments include ≥ 50% affordability. Gilroy is one of the jurisdictions that has insufficient progress toward their lower income RHNA (Very Low and Low income) and are therefore subject to the streamlined ministerial approval process (SB 423 Streamlining Chapter 778, Statutes of 2023) for proposed developments with at least 50% affordability.  

The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) reinforced the fact that they no longer consider the Housing Element Update to be a paper exercise, but instead a contract between jurisdictions and the state on housing commitments for eight-and-a-half years. To this end, HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit will be monitoring implementation and will hold jurisdictions to the commitments laid out in the Housing Element’s plan. HCD detailed how they will not accept the rationale that the lack of subsidies for affordable housing development is an insurmountable impediment to fulfilling housing commitments. Instead, they advised jurisdictions to find ways to spur development through land use reforms and additional financing mechanisms. These might include adopting a strong local density bonus program, an inclusionary housing ordinance with a robust in-lieu fee structure, or other impact fees as a mechanism to support affordable housing development. HCD also recommended looking into ways of lowering costs by deferring or waiving fees and taxes, which we have done.

The City of Gilroy and Gilroy City Council have made huge steps towards housing for all residents since I took office in December 2020. Data from our Housing Element shows 21% of households are considered extremely low-income, making less than 30% of AMI. Thirty-eight percent of our population is 24 years old or younger and they live, play, go to school, and work in Gilroy. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis is hurting thousands of our residents, robbing future generations of the chance to call Gilroy home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining our environmental and climate objectives.