County officials will hold a public hearing on the hillside
ordinance next month and continue researching options for the
Transfer of Development Credits (TDC) program after being given
direction from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.
Hollister – County officials will hold a public hearing on the hillside ordinance next month and continue researching options for the Transfer of Development Credits (TDC) program after being given direction from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.
Fred Goodrich, Assistant Director of Planning and coordinator of the proposed hillside ordinance, and Planning Commission Director Rob Mendiola, who spoke on behalf of the TDC committee, asked the board for its “blessing” in the direction they were taking with the two unrelated proposals.
The first proposal presented was the hillside ordinance, which would limit the size and location of houses that can be built on hillsides in the county. The ordinance would not actually specify a certain distance or number of degrees down a hillside homes would have to be built, according to Goodrich, and regulations would apply only to major subdivisions and areas with a 15-30 percent slope.
The purpose of the ordinance is to maintain the rural character of San Benito County and the natural appearance of hillsides, preserve wildlife habitats, protect landscapes, and ensure viewsheds from existing houses don’t disappear, according to the status report Goodrich put before the board Tuesday.
Three citizens openly opposed the proposal to the board. One, Charles McCullough, said the hillside ordinance would force people to build their homes on flat, agriculturally rich land rather than on hillsides, which are less conducive to farming.
Board Chairman Bob Cruz said these concerns were unfounded, and urged other supervisors to support the proposed ordinance.
“Nowhere in this ordinance does it say ‘No, no, no. You have to build on flat land.’ It just says you can’t build on the total peak of a hill, you have to go down the side a bit,” Cruz said.
Supervisor Reb Monaco was the sole opposition to setting a public hearing date for the ordinance. He recommended instead the board take no action, and said he would like to see the planning commission study the proposed ordinance further before putting it up for a public hearing.
“The planning staff and Fred Goodrich had come to the board for direction, and I indicated that even though the ordinance has been studied, it hasn’t been studied enough. My option would have been to put it up for more studies” before putting it before the public, Monaco said after Tuesday’s meeting.
The majority of the board disagreed with Monaco, and approved the motion to put the ordinance up for public hearing 4-1. The hearing will be held Dec. 7.
Supervisors also unanimously supported the possibility of creating bonus incentives for the proposed TDC program the planning commission is studying.
The TDC program would keep development off of farm land while still allowing farmers to profit from the sale of their land. Owners of “agricultural productive” land would receive a certain number of credits based on how much land they owned. They could then sell these credits to developers, who could use them to build only in areas not specified as agricultural productive.
The bonus incentive the TDC committee is currently studying would increase the county’s building cap of 244 homes a year by approximately 30 units, or one-half a percent. The committee hopes this would further encourage developers to build on designated land.
Planning Commission director Rob Mendiola presented the idea of the TDC bonus program, and asked the board for direction.
“What we have come to the board for is somewhat of a check. What we’re looking for is some encouragement that we’re on the right track,” Mendiola said. “There’s no policy, general plan, or ordinance in front of you today. If we are way off the mark, we just want to know.”
The board unanimously gave Mendiola and the TDC committee its encouragement.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at
jq*****@fr***********.com
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