Landowners will receive new offers for their property, which is
needed for the Highway 25 bypass project
Hollister – After a six month delay to get new appraisals for property needed for the Highway 25 bypass project, local traffic officials say that construction on the long-awaited project will begin by summer 2006.
The bypass project, which will divert Highway 25 traffic away from downtown, was delayed in June when the San Benito County Council of Governments Board of Directors chose to get new appraisals for several pieces of land needed for the project rather than face a legal showdown with property owners who said that COG’s initial offers we’re too low.
Earlier this month, the COG board approved new offers for 13 parcels – about half the land needed for the bypass. COG’s Executive Director Tom Quigley said Friday that he signed off on the final offers, which the property owners will receive in the mail next week. Quigley said the new offers reflect market value for the property. Quigley said construction on the bypass will begin in May or June and will take about 18 months to complete. Members of the COG board say the project will move forward whether or not COG can strike deals with the property owners who have been holding out.
Though they think the new offers are fair, COG board members say there is still the possibility that property owners won’t be satisfied.
“I’m sure there will be some that are pleased, and there will be others, I’m sure, that say it’s not right,” COG Director Anthony Botelho said. “But we did the best we could.”
Jim DeLaPena, who owns property on Chappell Road needed for the bypass, said he supports the project but wants COG to offer him a fair price for his land. He said COG originally offered him $6 per square foot after he paid $8 per square foot nearly a decade ago.
“I’ve been in favor of the bypass for a long time, a long time,” he said.
DeLaPena is currently working on a plan to develop a “restaurant row” on part of his Chappell Road property that will boarder the bypass route – which will create a new leg of Highway 25 that circumvents downtown Hollister and connects with Airline Highway near Safeway. DeLaPena said that he has had preliminary discussions during which restaurants like Chili’s, Mimi’s Cafe and the Olive Garden have shown interest in locating in Hollister.
Once they receive the offers, property owners will have a month to consider them and make counteroffers. COG’s offers for the 13 parcels vary depending on their zoning and location. The amount of the new offers are not public.
If agreement between the county and property owners can’t be reached, COG will initiate eminent domain – the process by which public agencies take private property for public use, said Botelho and his fellow COG board member Pat Loe.
“Without a question,” Botelho said. “It’s time to move forward with this project.”
Originally slated for construction in summer 2005, COG chose to get new appraisals rather than face an expensive legal fight with the property owners. Earlier in the year DeLaPena and other property owners said they were prepared to take COG on in the court room over the original offers for their land.
While financial talks are ongoing, many in the downtown community agree with Botelho about moving forward with the bypass. Once it is complete, Caltrans will cede control of San Benito Street – currently part of Highway 25 – to the City of Hollister. With control of the street, the city could install crosswalks that will make it easier for people to get around in downtown.
The Hollister Downtown Association is eager to see the project finished, according to Executive Director Brenda Weatherly.
“We would like to see the downtown area more pedestrian friendly,” she said. “Taking the highway off San Benito Street would facilitate that.”
A long time in coming, plans for the bypass have been in the works since at least 1988. That year voters passed Measure A, raising the sales tax a half-cent to pay for highway improvements. The measure has since provided half of the project’s $24 million cost. Another $7 million has come from traffic impact fees, and $8 million in developer fees and federal funds is also available.
COG has already acquired about 50 percent of the property needed for the bypass, according to traffic planner Mary Dinkuhn. In September, the first physical work on the project began with the Santa Ana Creek outfall, which is essentially a pipe that will run under the bypass and drain water into Santa Ana Creek. The outfall was finished this month.
