Gilroy has put a pause on any new detention or custodial facility inside city limits. The City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 5 to adopt an urgency moratorium that took effect immediately and runs through Nov. 19, the Gilroy Dispatch reported. It can be extended for another 10 months and 15 days, and again for 12 more months, for a total of about two years.

What the moratorium does

The pause stops the city from accepting or processing applications for new detention and custodial facilities on public or private property. During that time, city staff will draft zoning, location and operating standards covering water and wastewater demand, traffic, security and emergency response, according to the city's Oct. 9 newsletter.

As first written, the rule would have exempted facilities run by other law enforcement agencies. Councilmember Terence Fugazzi moved to strike that carve-out, and the council agreed, San Jose Spotlight reported.

What it doesn't do

The vote was driven by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility proposed on Holsclaw Road, but the moratorium won't apply there. That site is in unincorporated Santa Clara County, just outside Gilroy, and federal agencies can preempt local zoning rules anyway, the Dispatch noted. City officials said residents had raised questions about whether a similar facility could be proposed inside city limits.

The council also declined a proposed policy barring ICE from using city-owned property for staging, detention or other operations; council members called it largely symbolic. Police Chief Brandon Sanchez said the Gilroy Police Department will seek cooperation with federal agents either way.

The fight over Holsclaw Road

Mayor Greg Bozzo said the moratorium builds on a resolution the council passed unanimously in June declaring the ICE facility incompatible with the region's agriculture, tourism and economic plans. The State of California and Santa Clara County sued in June to stop the project, and a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in September pausing construction while the case continues. San Jose approved a similar moratorium last month.