By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors today announced a new redistricting plan that divides the county into seven smaller districts and separates Gilroy from Morgan Hill.
The announcement was made at a news conference at the board headquarters following six hours of deliberation and public testimony last week.
The 16-week public process was led by a board-appointed redistricting advisory committee consisting of seven members from communities across the district.
The committee heard hours of testimony and examined stream stewardship, flood protection and thousands of pages of documentation, water district chairman Richard Santos said.
“They gave careful consideration to the many diverse populations we serve as well as the wide range of commercial, residential and agricultural interests in the valley,” Santos said in a statement. “This plan is sensible and does an excellent job of balancing the interests of all water users in the district.”
The committee generated a plan that includes seven equal-sized districts, each representing about 244,000 residents. The approved map places the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill into separate districts similar to the congressional and state legislative districts.
Much of today’s news conference focused on the controversy sparked by this division. At-large board director Tony Estremera acknowledged that Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro, who initially supported the split, is now considering filing a lawsuit against the water district.
“Anytime you draw one line, you create a situation where not everyone’s happy and people complain and challenge it,” Estremera said. “We did the best we could to react to issues the community raised.”
Board members said the adjustment was made in response to letters and testimony by the board from members of the community, as well as the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, Santa Clara County Farm Bureau and former south county at-large board member Sig Sanchez requesting that the south county communities have two representatives on the water district board or that Gilroy and Morgan Hill be moved to separate districts.
The plan also combines the agricultural community in Evergreen with Morgan Hill, combines the west valley cities, connects Milpitas, Berryessa and Alviso, retains the downtown San Jose and Willow Glen area, and creates two south county districts.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District provides flood protection throughout Santa Clara County, manages drinking water resources, and supervises the county’s five watersheds, including 10 reservoirs and more than 800 miles of streams and groundwater basins.