A developer has met with landowners along Buena Vista Road
More than 4,500 homes may take the place of undeveloped fields
along Buena Vista Road and Wright Road on the west side of
Hollister if developers continue to move forward with plans.
A developer has met with landowners along Buena Vista Road
More than 4,500 homes may take the place of undeveloped fields along Buena Vista Road and Wright Road on the west side of Hollister if developers continue to move forward with plans.
Staff from Brookfield Land, a developer with offices in Santa Ana and Roseville, are planning a 4,600-unit project in the area, said Gordon Machado, a member of the New Urbanism Committee.
Cameron Doyel, a project manager at Brookfield Land, has discussed the project with land owners in the area, according to Machado and other locals.
Staff from Brookfield have not officially indicated their interest to either the city or county planning department.
Art Henriques, planning director for San Benito County, said that no one from Brookfield Land has contacted his department.
“On a big project, we’re encouraging those sort of projects to go through a sort of courtsey pre-app,” Henriques said.
Bill Avera, Hollister’s development services director, was not aware of the project either.
“I haven’t heard anything about that,” Avera said. “Nobody’s ever talked to us about any major projects on Buena Vista that I’m aware of.”
Clint Quilter, Hollister’s city manager, said that he was aware of the project. He first heard about it a year or two ago, he said.
Quilter will take the project seriously when someone from Brookfield sets up a meeting with him, he said.
“I’m not going to do any work on it because I hear a rumor in the coffee shop,” Quilter said. “That’s probably outside of our sphere of influence, what they’re looking at anyway.”
Staff from Brookfield Land are “looking at Hollister to evaluate its problems, its needs and potential solutions,” said a staff member from Brookfield Land who did not want to be identified.
Gordon Machado and Tony Ruiz, another member of the New Urbanism Committee, met with Doyel four or five months ago, Machado said.
The property is split among a variety of owners, Machado said.
“To me it was real early on,” Machado said, of the meeting with Doyel. “Somebody just sniffing around.”
Staff from Brookfield will not go public with their plans until 60 percent of the landowners agree to the project, Ruiz said.
Doyel has had several meetings with property owners, Ruiz said.
The project could include a high school and a library, Machado said.
“They were talking, ‘oh we’re going to put a high school in there, a library,’ all the bells and whistles, painting a flowery picture,” Machado said.
Buena Vista Road is a dead end street abutting rolling hills. The homes overlook a wide expanse of valley and the mountains that surround Hollister. Less than a mile from downtown, the street has a quiet, country feel.
Violet Smith has lived on Buena Vista for 30 years. Although she used to own property there, Granite Rock is now the landowner, she said.
Buena Vista is hidden, Smith said.
At the mouth of Buena Vista Road there is a sign that reads, “not a through road.”
“They see that sign and they turn around,” Smith said, of drivers. “And that’s fine with me.”
Smith enjoys living on Buena Vista because it is close enough to town to be “handy,” but the surroundings are very peaceful, she said.
“We’ve got foxes and coyotes,” Smith said. “I saw a bobcat not too long ago.”
A few months ago, she saw a roadrunner.
Smith did not know about the project, she said.
“I much prefer they didn’t build another housing development out here,” she said.
The infrastructure would need improvement, Smith said.
“The roads just weren’t built for it,” she said.
Doyel met with Ruiz and Machado due to their involvement in the community, Machado said.
Staff from Brookfield are, “getting a feel for the community,” Machado said.
Buena Vista Road marks the city limits.
“The city’s on one side, the county’s on the other,” said Frank Borelli. “I’m in the county.”
Frank Borelli and his sister own a 40-acre parcel off Buena Vista Road, he said. They rent out the land.
When he was a kid, the land was planted with orchards, Borelli said. The land is still used for agricultural purposes.
Doyel called Borelli six months ago, Borelli said.
“He’s come to my office in the past,” he said. “I know that he had contacted some property owners, including myself.”
Staff from Brookfield are, “interested in a potential development for the future,” Borelli said.
Borelli does not know how far along the plans are, he said.
“I don’t really know the intricacies of the plan,” Borelli said. “I know he’s interested in the Buena Vista/Wright Road area.”
Borelli does not think that the area is ready for development, he said. He would consider selling if a developer offered him a lot of money for the land, he said.
“I own property there, but I don’t expect we’re going to be developing that for a lot of years,” Borelli said.
About six months ago, Doyel also contacted Fernando Gonzalez.
Gonzalez owns True Value Hardware and a 10-acre parcel on Buena Vista. He rents the land out.
Doyel contacted him a couple of times, Gonzalez said. Doyel wanted him to attend a meeting of property owners, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez did not attend the meeting, he said. He was not interested because the details were “sketchy,” Gonzalez said.
Machado wants to see the plans before he makes a decision about a project of that scale.
“Show me your plans and show me the dollars,” he said. “You can paint the biggest and best picture you want.”
He did say the number of homes shouldn’t scare people because it would be built out over a long period – 10 to 20 years.
Staff from Brookfield met with landowners to determine “the feasibility of purchasing a block of that land,” Machado said.
Buena Vista comes to a dead end at Sandra Gleaner’s property. A dirt road continues through the hills.
“We wouldn’t want a big development out here,” Gleaner said. “We like it out here in the country.”
Gleaner does not think their concerns will make a difference, she said.
“Everyone on this street could disagree and it would go in,” Gleaner said.
The project should be considered carefully, said Eugenia Sanchez, a member of Hollister’s city council and a representative to the residents near the possible project.
“We have to really look at what we want for the city as a whole,” Sanchez said. “We have to make sure that whatever we do benefits the city as a whole.”
Sanchez ran on a platform of smart growth, she said. One thing that Sanchez heard from residents of her district is that city council should be careful about approving new housing projects, she said.
“In terms of that size of homes, I’m not sure that that’s something that we are ready for,” referring to 4,600 new homes.
Before she could support such a project, the project’s impact would have to be analyzed, Sanchez said.
“If it’s something that the community is interested in,” Sanchez said, “maybe it is something that we should look at.”
