Arizona-based developer DMB specializes in building what are
essentially small cities, complete with commercial areas and
amenities, such as post offices, to serve the residences it
builds.
Good start, a better follow-up
Arizona-based developer DMB specializes in building what are essentially small cities, complete with commercial areas and amenities, such as post offices, to serve the residences it builds.
The company has wanted to build such a project on the 4,500-acre El Rancho San Benito property it owns on Highway 25, near the Santa Clara County line. So far, it has not spelled out just what kind of project it has in mind, but it has a track record, and has been open about sharing its experience in other areas with the community.
To that end, and to learn what, if anything, San Benito County residents would like to see built on Highway 25, DMB is inviting people to an open house Saturday, Aug. 20 from 10am to 2pm at Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Hollister.
Given the restrictions spelled out in the county’s growth ordinance, DMB is wise to solicit input. It is going to need the approval of voters to lift the county’s 1 percent growth cap for this project, and so seeking community input is good politics. But holding the open house on a day other than a Saturday in late August – when many people are out of town or on vacation – would have been better politics.
That’s why we encourage people to attend and speak their minds, and at the same time encourage DMB to hold a follow-up meeting at a more convenient time in the fall, when people are back from vacation.
The company has so far said all the right things about involving the community, and we have no reason to believe it isn’t sincere. But holding a public meeting on a weekend in August is also how a less-sincere developer might go through the motions of getting public input, when in reality it couldn’t care less.
Whatever project DMB ultimately proposes, it will be better for having the support of residents, even if voter approval were not at stake. DMB seems to be aware of this. If it goes the extra mile at every opportunity, works tirelessly to sell its ideas as being in the best interests of the county and does everything in an open and above-board manner, voters will take that sense of goodwill into the voting booth.
In that regard, county residents have an equal obligation to be informed on any DMB proposal before it comes to them on a referendum, in order that their votes are cast based on facts, not emotions. To too many people, development is a four-letter word, with the result that good projects become the baby that gets thrown out with the bath water.
