Rancho San Benito: wait and see
The proposed development on an empty plain between Hollister and
Gilroy is of such scope that it’s hard to understand.
Rancho San Benito: wait and see
The proposed development on an empty plain between Hollister and Gilroy is of such scope that it’s hard to understand.
Eventually containing a commercial center, three schools, its own cemetery, public safety station, parks and industrial areas, El Rancho San Benito is also envisioned to be the site of about 10 times the number of homes now in San Juan Bautista. Like a colossal version of the once-popular computer game Sim City, El Rancho San Benito would grow from nothing.
The project is the vision of DMB Associates, a privately held real estate firm. The firm has developed a high profile presence in Hollister over the last four years.
The company and its representatives finally submitted a preliminary application to the county in the last days of 2007. It colorfully illustrates a vision that might answer many of the questions local residents have been asking.
Provision is made for employment, traffic circulation, educational facilities, schools and open space. The company talks about a green, sustainable approach to development.
So is it time to say “yes” to DMB and El Rancho San Benito?
After a conversation with DMB representatives this week, the Pinnacle editorial board agreed: not yet.
As many questions as the application answers, others are left begging. What are the traffic impacts? How will schools and public safety affect outlying areas? Can runoff and wastewater be adequately managed? Most fundamentally, is it good for the rest of us in San Benito County?
Those questions and many more will continue to nag at all of us who have followed this groundbreaking proposal as it unfolded.
Those questions, and the promised answers, are a good thing.
Development in California is guided by the California Environmental Quality Act, a sweeping and sometimes burdensome law dating to the 1970s. Coming in response to ill-conceived development in the years prior, it literally changed the landscape. Part of the law mandates that an independent agency perform a comprehensive review, called an Environmental Impact Report. Wherever the review uncovers significant impacts, it must propose mitigations or reveal that the impact cannot be mitigated.
Only then will the proposal go to the county Planning Commission. Should it get county approval, its scope demands that it will go to a countywide public vote.
That alone explains the community meetings, colorful brochures, focus groups, charitable contributions and public involvement by DMB’s staff. People working for the firm appear convinced that El Rancho San Benito is right for San Benito County.
The rest of us will just have to wait and see.
