Hollister
– Franz Schneider, a Hollister resident for nearly 40 years,
knows there’s a big difference between the plan and the
reality.
Hollister – Franz Schneider, a Hollister resident for nearly 40 years, knows there’s a big difference between the plan and the reality.
Schneider helped prepare the revisions to the city’s general plan in 1995, and he said it was frustrating to watch as the city failed to follow through on the plan’s implementation. In fact, Hollister never passed an ordinance to enforce the zoning outlined in that plan.
Schneider pitched in again to prepare the new revision in 2005, and he said the last year and a half has been disappointingly similar, as the city once again fails to meet the general plan’s goals.
“It’s annoying to have these great visions and they don’t happen,” Schneider said.
However, Hollister’s Development Services Director, Bill Avera, has put together an ambitious plan to bring the city back up to speed by the end of 2007. That means that in the next seven months, Avera and his staff are going to have to tackle 52 benchmarks set out in the new general plan, including revising the city’s zoning regulations, developing a sign ordinance and adopting and implementing the airport land-use plan.
“It’s a big job … and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” Planning Commissioner David Huboi said.
Huboi added that although it’s a lot of work, it needs to happen if the general plan is going to amount to more than words on paper.
“We’ve got general plan, which is the overall blueprint, but when it comes down (to the details), that’s where we get into the zoning, and the sign restrictions and all the stuff down the line,” he said.
The big deadline, according to Schneider, is the lifting of the city’s sewer moratorium, which is set to end in 2008. If Hollister wants growth to match up with the general plan, it needs to put the new zoning ordinance, design guidelines and more into place beforehand.
One of the main foci of the new general plan was Hollister’s downtown area. The plan called for more activity downtown, particularly mixed-use developments that combine commercial uses with residences.
Under Avera’s plan, a survey of the vacant buildings downtown – one of the first steps toward redeveloping and revitalizing the area – will be completed in June.
Ignacio Velazquez, who owns several downtown buildings, said he’s hoping the city does a better job of encouraging downtown development, but he added that there are a number of factors that are hurting downtown growth, including the moratorium.
“People don’t realize how expensive it is,” Velazquez added. “People should be realistic. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Avera presented his plan to the City Council on Monday, and several councilmembers said they were concerned at the number of ordinances and regulations they are scheduled to vote on in December. Avera said it’s fine if the council needs more time to make an informed decision; he’s just hoping the city staff can do their job on time.
As for Schneider, he said he’s taking a cautiously optimistic approach.
“I’ll wait to see if it actually happens,” he said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
