Monterey County recently approved a development that would put
4,000 houses and 13,000 people on San Benito County’s doorstep.
San Juan Bautista – Monterey County recently approved a development that would put 4,000 houses and 13,000 people on San Benito County’s doorstep.
The Rancho San Juan development, approved on Dec. 14, is just three miles from the county line on Salinas Road and 15 miles down U.S. 101 from San Juan Bautista. Local leaders say the immense project – which already has some Monterey county residents seeking a ballot referendum – could have both positive and negative impacts on San Benito County’s bucolic mission village.
The development would bring a golf course, a town center, thousands of homes and other conveniences for its approximately 13,000 residents. San Benito County Supervisor-elect Anthony Botelho said the project could be a double-edged sword for the county, and specifically San Juan Bautista.
If the project goes forward and the developers utilize the resources in the right way, Botelho said it could be a boon to San Benito County from a business standpoint if the development’s residents venture into sleepy San Juan. But if the growth isn’t managed well, it could ruin the 2,400 acres of open space where the project is located and create huge problems for Highway 101, which already suffers from severe traffic congestion, he said.
“Our area hasn’t done enough to really identify what we do want to protect – the quality of life we have is with the open space and agricultural resources, which is our prime industry,” Botelho said. “But it could be a positive thing for San Juan and San Benito County. People will need to be entertained or go out to eat and enjoy some of the amenities we have here, and hopefully we could profit.”
Rancho San Juan, which has been in the works for 20 years and is the largest development in Monterey County history, was approved by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors with a 3-2 vote. Several days later, the Rancho San Juan Opposition Coalition and others, began gathering signatures to put the development to a vote of the people, according to Julie Engell, chairwoman for the coalition. The group has to secure almost 9,000 signatures by Jan. 13 to put the referendum on the ballot in a special election or the next countywide election in 2006, Engell said.
Although San Benito County officials and residents don’t have a say whether the project goes forward or not, Engell said Monterey County’s neighbors should be concerned about the possibility of a “strip city” moving in next door.
“Anybody who lives along the Highway 101 corridor who depends on (it) for travel or commerce is going to be impacted,” Engell said. “If farmers in San Benito County are trying to get their product by using 101 to Salinas, they’re going to have problems.”
Engell said her group, along with other groups that have joined forces, oppose the plan because it doesn’t address the traffic issues on the Highway 101 corridor, and is being built in an area that doesn’t have adequate water resources. She also said it would be built in the middle of the last remaining agricultural land between Prunedale and Salinas.
She wouldn’t say how many signatures the referendum proponents have gathered to date so the 50 or 60 core volunteers won’t lose any of their zeal, and the group’s opponents – the developers of the project – won’t know where the group stands, she said.
San Juan Bautista City Manager Larry Cain echoed Botelho’s concerns about traffic mitigation on Highway 101, but also conceded the project could be a good thing for San Juan business owners.
“Out of 4,000 (homes), we ought to get some people visiting our restaurants,” Cain said. “How much, I don’t know. We don’t have any real retail-type shopping. They’re not going to drive to San Juan to go to the grocery store.”
San Juan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Halina Kleinsmith said if the project is built the chamber would immediately start wooing the development’s residents.
“I don’t think it would be a bad thing at all,” she said. “We would happily service that community. But there are thousands of people who live in Hollister as well, and they don’t always make San Juan their destination shopping area. That would be a few years down the line.”
The project’s future is still uncertain and Cain didn’t know specifically how the project would impact the Mission City.
“We should look at things that are close to home that have more affect on us and we have more interest in,” Cain said. “I don’t think we have any control over it.”
Engell also said the issue is more centered in Monterey County, and only Monterey County residents are eligible to vote for the referendum. But counties becoming short sighted in their actions can hurt the region as a whole in the long run, she said.
“The way we set up our jurisdictions, we don’t pay attention to what is happening to our next door neighbor – which I think is a big mistake,” she said. “I believe there are impacts that radiate regionally for bad land use.”
Botelho also believes towns on the Central Coast don’t communicate well enough, which will create problems as more people move to the region and growth becomes more widespread.
“Different counties on the Central Coast ought to be working together in dealing with regional aspects of growth and transportation needs of the future,” he said. “I hope our board will participate in communicating with our neighbors, and then we have to work together to mitigate the impacts – whether it be roads, natural resources or housing needs.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com.
