Since 1995, Joint Venture Silicon Valley has published the Silicon Valley Index, a nationally recognized publication that tells the story of Silicon Valley. The Index indicators measure the strength of our economy and the health of our community, highlighting challenges and providing a data-rich foundation for decision making.
The State of the Valley is an old-fashioned “town hall” meeting. This year’s State of the Valley was held at Stanford University and included a briefing of the Index by Russell Hancock, a panel discussion with Michele Lew from The Health Trust and Jim Wunderman from Bay Area Council, and a keynote presentation from the Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson. Performances by the Stanford Taiko, Stanford Talisman and a poetry reading by Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Tshaka Campbell, highlighted the spirit of togetherness.
We hope you are off to a positive start to 2022. In this eNewsletter, you will find information about key efforts that impact our business community, including:
-Quarterly Sales Tax Update,
-Housing Element Plan,
-Industrial Preservation & Optimization Policy Town Hall,
-Downtown Lane Reduction and Place-Branding Update, and
-Business Resources.
Read the January 2022 eNewsletter HERE and reach out to the team if you have any questions or want to connect with us. We look forward to working with you in 2022 and thank you for continuing to "Choose Morgan Hill."
The January 19, 2022, City Council decision approves the Monterey Road Downtown Lane Reduction implementation. After months of community meetings and gathering feedback, City staff brought forward recommendations for the Downtown Lane Reduction Design, a Traffic Mitigation Plan, and a Project Implementation Schedule. A synopsis of the meeting actions and next steps can be found below. To read the complete staff report and project overview, please visit the project's website page.
What happened?
On May 19, 2021, the City Council voted on and approved moving forward with the Monterey Road Downtown Lane Reduction. Therefore, the decisions made during the January 19, 2022, City Council meeting were related to project implementation, design, and timeline. After much discussion, deliberation, and community input, the City Council voted 3 – 2, accepting all seven recommendations outlined in the staff report:
· Approved the proposed Traffic Mitigation Plan Implementation Schedule to support the Monterey Road Lane Reduction Program;
· Approved the re-design of traffic lanes for Monterey Road from Dunne Avenue to Main Avenue to be implemented as approved in the Implementation Schedule;
· Directed staff to install pedestrian safety bollards at pedestrian crossings on Monterey Road and First, Second, and Fourth Streets;
· Directed staff to bring forward a review of the Parklet Program and develop a Parklet Fee Financing Assistance Program;
· Directed staff to explore the creation of a community parklet that incorporates an interactive art installation;
· Directed staff to bring forward a consulting contract to implement a Property-Based Improvement District (PBID); and
· Adopted a resolution to amend the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 Budget and appropriate $210,530 from the General Fund.
What's next?
Beginning in February, staff will begin collecting current traffic counts on Butterfield Blvd and Downtown Monterey Rd. Traffic mitigation plans, which include the installation of 13 new signal controllers to synchronize the flow of traffic on Butterfield Blvd and three electronic signs to communicate the new traffic pattern, will be implemented in early Spring 2022. Updated traffic counts will be collected again three months after implementing the Traffic Mitigation Plan. City Council will review the data and choose one of the following actions:
· Implement the Downtown Lane Reduction without further delay, or
· Delay the Downtown Lane Reduction until the Hale Avenue Extension is completed (estimated late 2023)
What about the initiative petition?
In June 2021, an initiative petition titled "Citizens’ Initiative amending the General Plan to require voter approval of any future Monterey Road Lane Reduction" was submitted to the City. Following the signature-gathering process, the completed Initiative signature packet was submitted to the City Clerk on December 21, 2021. On Thursday, January 20, 2022, the Registrar of Voters Office notified the City Clerk that the results of the random sampling signature verification process fell between 95 – 110% requiring a full count of the signatures submitted until the minimum number of signatures needed is verified. The Registrar of Voters has an additional 30 business days to verify the initiative packet and signatures. If the initiative packet and signatures are verified, then the Initiative will be brought before City Council for certification and one of the following actions:
Order a report pursuant to Section 9212 at the regular meeting at which the certification of the initiative is presented. When the report is presented to the legislative body, the legislative body shall either adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to subdivision (b).
· Adopt the Initiative as written, reversing the prior decision to support the Downtown Lane Reduction
· Place the Initiative on the November 2022 ballot (estimated City cost $50K-$80K)
Note: If placed on the ballot and approved by voters, the Initiative would prohibit any future Downtown Lane Reduction actions without a voter majority. If approved, the Initiative would not be applied retroactively to any lane reduction actions that had already taken place prior to voter approval.
Have questions? Contact City of Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Matt Mahood at Matt.Mahood@morganhill.ca.gov
The City is in the process of updating the Housing Element of the General Plan for the 2023-2031 period as required by State law. The Housing Element establishes policies and programs to address Morgan Hill’s existing and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community. The first step in this process is to ask community members what they see as Morgan Hill’s most important housing needs. Please complete this 10 question survey HERE to provide us with your input. All responses are confidential.
We encourage you to be a part of the housing conversation by attending the Housing Element Plan Virtual Townhall Meeting on Thursday February 10th @ 530PM. The meeting will include discussions on the existing and upcoming Housing Element, housing needs of the city, the cities Sites Inventory, housing policies, and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirements. Review all 2021 Housing Conversation Workshops HERE.
“Roses are red, violets are blue, we buy local, how about you?”
Last December, the City updated and re-launched the Buy Local Campaign with the intent of working to support citywide businesses not only during the holidays, but year round. The City, along with Visit Morgan Hill and other community partner organizations, is launching three February Buy Local themes: Love Your Local Business, The Big Game and Sweet Treat Trail. If you are a business owner, please send over your deals, specials, catering offers, foodie and cocktail pics, to be featured for FREE on the Buy Local Website and social media pages. Please also visit the 95037 Business Directory to ensure your business is listed. We encourage you to participate in one or all three campaigns to gain business visibility, up your social media game and grow your customer base! Together we can encourage our community to “LOVE Local” the entire month of February!
1. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we have designed a campaign around “Love Your Local Business!” Please send a picture, description and/or flyer for any Valentine specials you are offering including prix fixe dinners, menu specials, love-themed cocktails/mocktails, wine pairings, free dessert specials, complimentary glasses of champagne, etc.
2. Because we can’t forget about football, the second piece of our February Campaign will be around “The Big Game!” If your restaurant will be showing “The Big Game” on your “Big Screen” please let us know so we can direct fans your way. Please send over pictures, descriptions and/or flyers for your game day viewing setup, trivia, catering or in-house specials you will be offering during “The Big Game!”
3. Last but NOT least, we would also like to create a “Sweet Treat Trail” where we highlight the “sweet” offerings in Morgan Hill. We are happy to feature your Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chicken and Waffles plate, or Chocolate Martini! To be added to the “trail” all you need to do is send a picture and description of your sweet treat!
Send your Buy Local content and questions to City of Morgan Hill Economic Development Coordinator Brittney Sherman at brittney.sherman@morganhill.ca.gov
Businesses of ALL size, industry and location, wanting to locate in California or stay/grow their existing footprint within the state, are eligible to apply for the CCTC and CCG Programs. In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, a total of $394,707,469 are available for allocation over three separate application periods, one of which is NOW OPEN! January 3rd-January 24th, 2022, approximately $140 million in tax credits and $120 million in grant funding are available. Applications are submitted wholly online and take approximately 90 days to process. Businesses that apply are evaluated on twelve different factors, including number of full-time jobs created, amount of investment and strategic importance to the state/region. GoBiz is the oversight agency, reviewing applications and awarding dollars for both programs. Businesses may only apply for ONE program at a time, however a business CAN be a recipient of both programs during separate application periods as long as they neither apply for nor receive a grant for the same jobs for which they have already been awarded a tax credit. To apply for a California Competes grant, after previously receiving a tax credit, the business must commit to additional full-time jobs and investments. Both the CCTC and CCGP programs have been outlined in detail below. For additional information and to submit your application for consideration, visit the website here: California Competes Tax Credit.
California CompetesTax Credit (CCTC)
The main purpose of the California Competes Tax Credit is to attract and retain high-value employers in California in industries with high economic multipliers and that provide their employees good wages and benefits. GO-Biz is required by statute to consider the extent to which the credit will influence the business’s ability, willingness, or both, to create new, full-time jobs in this state that might not otherwise be created in the state by the taxpayer or any other taxpayer.
This credit applies only to income tax owed to the Franchise Tax Board, is non-refundable and has a 6-tax year carryover. The minimum credit request is $20,000 and NO MORE THAN 20% ($78.9 million) may go to any one applicant per fiscal year.
The application is a two-phase qualification process. Phase I is a quantitative analysis in which the credit amount requested is compared to the hiring and investment commitments of each applicant via a “ratio” based on the applicant’s credit request divided by the sum of its aggregate investment and aggregate employee compensation. Phase II is a variety of quantitative and qualitative factors, including local unemployment and poverty, competing incentives, economic impact, strategic importance, industry outlook, and the extent to which the credit will play a significant role in the company’s decision or ability to create new, quality, full-time jobs in California.
California Competes Grant Program (CCGP)
The primary goal of the CCGP is to make resources available for businesses that do not qualify for the non-refundable income tax credit and continue to incentivize them to choose California and create quality, full-time jobs in the state. The CCGP was specifically created for three types of businesses: (1) businesses that continuously reinvest profits, generating either significant research and development tax credits and/or net operating losses resulting in little to no tax liability; (2) smaller businesses with relatively low tax liabilities; and (3) startups with little to no tax liability.
This program allocates 120 million in one-time (fiscal year 21/22) funding, has a minimum grant request of $5 million, with NO MORE THAN 30% ($36 million) awarded to any one applicant per fiscal year.
Businesses of any size may apply but they MUST meet at least one of the following criteria: create at least 500 new full-time jobs in California, make at least $10 million of capital investments in facility construction and/or renovation or create said jobs or investments in an area of High Unemployment and/or Poverty.
The application is a two-phase process and to progress to Phase II, a business must score in the top 200% of Phase I. Applications may progress regardless of score, if the project will occur outside CA if not funded and/or at least 75% of new jobs work at least 75% of the time in a high poverty/high employment area.
Have questions? Contact City of Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Matt Mahood at Matt.Mahood@morganhill.ca.gov
