The San Benito County Council of Governments board of directors
will vote this month on whether to approve new offers for more than
a dozen parcels of land needed for the long-awaited Highway 25
bypass project.
Hollister – The San Benito County Council of Governments board of directors will vote this month on whether to approve new offers for more than a dozen parcels of land needed for the long-awaited Highway 25 bypass project.
The bypass, which will skirt the eastern edge of downtown, was delayed in June when the COG board chose to get new appraisals for 13 parcels needed for the bypass because property owners thought COG was not offering enough for their land.
New appraisals for the property are almost complete, and the COG board of directors will vote on whether to approve new offers for the property during a closed session meeting on Oct. 26, according to Dinkuhn. If the board approves them, COG will pass the offers on to the property owners, who will have a month to consider them and make counteroffers.
COG hopes to have all the property it needs for the Highway 25 bypass project by April and will likely start construction on the long-awaited project this summer, according to a COG Traffic Planner Mary Dinkuhn.
Dinkuhn also said that if the landowners reject the offers, COG will pass an order of possession, which will initiate eminent domain – the process by which public agencies take private property for public use. If a county judge approves the order of possession, COG should be able to take control of the property by April.
“Once we file an order of possession, we can take the property even if it’s tied-up (in legal action),” she said.
Councilman Robert Scattini, who sits on the COG board, said he’s keeping his fingers crossed that the property owners accept the new offers and COG doesn’t have to resort to eminent domain.
“Frankly, I hope they (landowners) accept. I’m one individual who hates to even think about taking land from people,” he said. But, he added, COG will get the property one way or another.
Like Scattini, Supervisor Pat Loe, also on the COG board, said she is hopeful that property owners are receptive to the new offers and COG won’t have to take the land.
“The project is definitely a benefit to the community,” she said. “I’d like to see it get done.”
COG has already acquired about half of the property needed for the bypass project, which is eventually supposed to create a new leg that circumvents Hollister’s downtown and connects with Airline Highway near Safeway.
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 run-off into Santa Ana Creek. The outfall will be finished in about a month, according to Dinkuhn.
Plans for the bypass have been in the works since at least 1988 when voters passed Measure A, pushing up 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, while $4 million each in developer fees and federal funds is also available.
Luke Roney covers local politics and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
