Public invited to comment on project through April 23
The public is invited to comment through next month on the draft
environmental report on the planned Fourth Street courthouse
project.
The so-called mitigated negative declaration document evaluates
the potential environmental impacts of the 3.1-acre site and the
41,500-square-foot courthouse building that is planned to be built
upon it. The project is expected to be completed by the summer of
2012.
Public invited to comment on project through April 23
The public is invited to comment through next month on the draft environmental report on the planned Fourth Street courthouse project.
The so-called mitigated negative declaration document evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the 3.1-acre site and the 41,500-square-foot courthouse building that is planned to be built upon it. The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2012.
A public meeting on the report is also scheduled for Monday, April 13 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors’ chambers, on the southeast corner of Fourth and Monterey streets, to discuss the potential impacts of the site.
“People can come and hear about the project and also comment on it,” said Gil Solorio, the county’s court executive officer. “Just as the [Hollister] Redevelopment Agency did an environmental impact report on the demolition and site clearance of the old Fremont School [where the new courthouse is scheduled to be built] this addresses any environmental, traffic or other impact issues that would arise from the building of the courthouse.”
Jerome Ripperda of the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) said public comment about the project is encouraged.
The new courthouse would replace the existing facility at the corner of Fifth and Monterey streets. The current facility has “virtually no security (other than courtroom bailiffs), is functionally deficient, as is among the worst in the state in terms of physical condition,” according to Ripperda.
The “outdated and undersized building is incapable of meeting the region’s growing demand for court services,” a state report said.
Two sites were considered for the courthouse – including the county’s justice services site on Flynn Road near the Hollister Airport – before the former Fremont School site was deemed preferable due to its location near the center of town, its proximity to other government agencies and the local significance of a courthouse.
A fault rupture hazard study was required at the Fourth Street site to determine whether its proximity to earthquake faults would prohibit construction of the planned courthouse. The results of the study showed that the location is “a feasible courthouse site.”
The new courthouse would not add courtrooms to the superior court’s available facilities, the AOC’s report states, “but the new courthouse will provide increased public, staff, and secured in-custody detainee holding space.”
The facility would consolidate the various courthouse facilities into a single courthouse. Currently, the court shares space with county agencies and leases space for a court mediator. The county also has a small courtroom at Juvenile Hall and uses space in Hollister’s old Hall of Records for the storage of court files.
A new courthouse would include three courtrooms in its two stories, as well as office space, secure parking for judicial officers, a secured building entrance, and in-custody detainee holding facilities.
Current timelines call for construction to begin in early 2011 and be done by 2012, at which time it is expected that the current courthouse would likely be used entirely as county office space.
The state’s environmental analysis of the courthouse project, about which public input is sought over the next month, covers topics such as the project’s impact on the visual character of the site, air quality, and biological and cultural resources.
HOW TO COMMENT
Submit comments regarding the initial study and mitigated negative declaration of the proposed courthouse site to Jerome Ripperda, Administrative Office of the Courts, Northern/Central Regional Office, 2860 Gateway Oaks, Ste. 400, Sacramento, CA, 95833-3509; e-mail him at [email protected]; by phone to 916-263-8865; or fax to 916-263-8140. All mail must be postmarked by 5 p.m. on April 23. The deadline for phoned, e-mailed or faxed comments is also 5 p.m. on April 23.
To request a copy of the environmental study about the courthouse site, contact Ripperda or download a copy of the document on the Web at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/occm/projects_sanbenito.htm. A copy of the document will be available for review at the San Benito County Library, 470 Fifth St., and at the county courthouse.
