April 15, 2008

Coyote housing group to discontinue funding Coyote Valley Specific Plan

The Coyote Housing Group, a group of landowners and builders funding San Jose’s Coyote Valley Specific Plan process, announced today that it intends to end its funding agreement with the city.

Over the past several months, market forces, costly planning delays and the uncertainty of the plan’s implementation due to existing development agreements and entitlements have formed a significant obstacle to the city’s ambitious, large-scale urban planning effort in Coyote Valley. Due to a combination of these factors the Housing Group has come to the conclusion that the plan, as it stands, is no longer economically viable.

“I respect CHG's decision and express my appreciation to each of the investors for their participation and financing of the effort to this point,” Mayor Chuck Reed said in a statement on Tuesday after the CHG announced it would stop its funding. “The draft plan that has been prepared is a valuable resource that will aid in our future efforts to accommodate a dynamic community of workers and residents in Coyote Valley,” Reed stated.

“We continue to be extremely proud of the Coyote Valley Task Force and all the good work that has gone into the planning effort,” said Chris Truebridge, president of Shapell Homes, which is a member of the Housing Group.
“The dedication and participation of community leaders and residents throughout San Jose has been truly extraordinary.”

The planning process for Coyote Valley was initiated by the city more than five years ago and was originally estimated to cost $10 million. To date, the Coyote Housing Group has paid more than $17 million to San Jose to support the planning effort and repeated delays have put the plan significantly behind schedule.

From the outset, the unprecedented magnitude of the plan resulted in an extremely complex planning process. Compli-cations surrounding existing entitlements in Northern Coyote Valley have caused further challenges to any implementation of the existing plan.

“Given these circumstances, there is simply too much uncertainty surrounding the plan and the market to continue as is,” Truebridge said. “We strongly believe that Coyote Valley remains a critical part of San Jose’s future and with a more realistic plan, the city can still achieve its economic development goals and meet its growth needs in an environmentally sustainable way.”

Reed added that he considers the draft plan the result of extraordinary input by the Task Force members and the hundreds of community leaders actively engaged in the planning effort. He thanked task force co-chairs Nancy Pyle and Forrest Williams and each of the stakeholders for their hard work.

“North Coyote Valley remains a prime opportunity site for job growth,” the mayor said in his statement. There is “6.6 million square feet of industrial, office and R&D space is entitled in North Coyote Valley and 2.0 million square feet of that is ready for development. North Coyote Valley is a location that can house the operations and employees of Silicon Valley companies that are looking to stay here and grow here.”

—By Carol Rosen