The San Benito County Board of Supervisors is giving the
proposed San Juan Vista Estates subdivision one last chance for
approval.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors is giving the proposed San Juan Vista Estates subdivision one last chance for approval.
Following an extended public hearing on Tuesday, supervisors gave the developers of the proposed 18-unit housing project an Aug. 5 deadline to hammer out final details for a plan that would bring the subdivision in compliance with the county’s General Plan.
San Juan Vista Estates would be located at the westerly corner of the intersection of Highway 129 and Searle Road at the lower end of the San Juan Valley.
The 195-acre parcel is intended for a Planned Unit Development and would spread along the hillsides just west of San Juan Bautista.
Originally, the development was designed to consist of 31 residential estate lots that would include a service station with a car wash, a hotel with 150 rooms and three restaurants that would employ about 125 people.
However, during the past four years since the subdivision was first proposed, it has undergone several design changes which have included eliminating the planned hotel and commercial center, and scaling down the number of homes from 31 to 22 to the current 18.
“The Board directed staff to prepare a project that meets the 12 criteria they asked the applicants to meet,” Deputy Planing Director Fred Goodrich said. “The map they submitted for review did not meet the criteria.”
Some of the criteria included providing an adequate amount of low-income housing, not building on ridgelines that would obstruct or spoil scenic views and limiting lighting on the properties to keep within the county’s Dark Sky ordinance.
However, this week’s hearing was not the first time the Board has given the project’s applicants a chance to revise the planned subdivision.
Several supervisors expressed frustration with the subdivision’s backers for not making a “serious” effort at addressing the county’s concerns.
“Why is it in all this time, you have not sat down with staff to try and work out the details of this project before bringing it to this board?” Supervisor Bob Cruz said.
Underlining how serious the Board is about resolving the issue soon, Supervisor Pat Loe suggested the Aug. 5 deadline to bring the proposed subdivision back to the Board.
“At the same time, I’d like staff to prepare a resolution denying the project,” Loe said.
The implication being that if the project’s backers do not work out a reasonable solution to the Board’s concerns, supervisors are ready to reject the project rather than consider the project further.
On June 10, the Board considered an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the San Juan Vista Estates vesting map.
The Board continued the hearing and directed staff to address a number of issues related to the development of the project. The Board also requested the applicant to meet with staff and to be ready to return with a project, which meets the criteria set forth by the Board.
Planning staff held its first of two meetings Wednesday afternoon to discuss a possible resolution of the projects deficient areas. Planning staff and representatives for the subdivision are scheduled to meet again on Friday.
