The stage is set to scrap the controversial, restrictive and
flawed Hillside Ordinance, but our Board of Supervisors must do
more than that. They must tame the ongoing battles over growth in
our county.
The stage is set to scrap the controversial, restrictive and flawed Hillside Ordinance, but our Board of Supervisors must do more than that. They must tame the ongoing battles over growth in our county.
Earlier this month, the county Planning Commission recommended supervisors dump the Hillside Ordinance passed in the waning days of the prior Board of Supervisors’ tenure. It’s very likely that the current board will follow the commission’s recommendation and toss it on the slag heap. We support the effort to do away with what many saw as a punitive and unfair ordinance. But we feel strongly that it would be shortsighted for supervisors to stop there.
They must find a way to update the General Plan – the county’s blueprint for development and vision for the future.
The county is operating on a General Plan that has not kept up with the sweeping changes San Benito County has undergone over the last few decades. Only two of the General Plan’s eight elements have been updated in the last 10 years, and several haven’t been updated since the early 1980’s. We face new pressures and new challenges and our guiding document must keep up.
Growth is the issue that has dominated our political discourse for years, and it will continue to do so unless we plan for the future. The county should embark on a long-range project to comprehensively plan for development, transportation, population centers and economic growth. And it should be done in a way that invites the public into the process.
To be successful, a comprehensive update of the General Plan will require a lot of effort and considerable community involvement. The county should create a balanced General Plan Committee charged with doing the heavy lifting and ensuring all stakeholders have input into the process.
Casting aside the Hillside Ordinance without laying the groundwork to produce a forward-thinking plan for our county’s development would be a mistake. If this Board of Supervisors wants to continue making significant progress, they will find a way to draw a road map for San Benito County’s future.
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