Hollister
– The San Benito County Planning Commissioners have unanimously
approved the commercial district review for a Lowe’s home
improvement center along the proposed Highway 25 bypass.
Hollister – The San Benito County Planning Commissioners have unanimously approved the commercial district review for a Lowe’s home improvement center along the proposed Highway 25 bypass.
The commercial district review, which examines the project’s compatibility with the county’s general plan and the surrounding community, is the final Planning Commission approval that the center needs to move forward.
At Wednesday’s planning commission meeting, county planning staff and Lowe’s representatives were subjected to two hours of grilling. Commissioner Gordon Machado said that since Lowe’s will be one of the first “big-box” stores in Hollister, it was important to “get it right.”
According to Jack Mandel, a senior site development officer with Lowe’s, the store could add up to 200 full- and part-time jobs to the area.
“We feel like we would be of great benefit to the city,” Mandel said.
Machado and Commissioner Dan DeVries had several reservations about the project’s design. Machado complained that the building is “a straight, long line”; he said the building’s rooftop needs to be more varied.
Machado acknowledged that the interior of large chain store needs to be standardized, but he said, “It’s the exterior that shouldn’t be cookie-cutter.”
DeVries, who represents the San Juan Bautista area, said he was concerned that the building’s proposed front facade closely mimics Mission San Juan Bautista.
“It’s an exact replica of the San Juan mission,” DeVries said. “I just don’t know why anyone would do that. … I think it’s dishonoring our county’s most valued asset.”
In order to address the commissioner’s reservations, Lowe’s will have to bring a revised facade back to the county planning department for final approval.
Machado was also worried that the plans included too much parking; he pointed to Hollister’s Target as a local store whose parking lot is far too large. Mandel said that existing Lowe’s stores have included too much parking, but he argued that the current plans – which call for 540 parking spaces in front of the store – include much less parking than Lowe’s would have requested the past.
Al Guerra, who currently owns the Lowe’s site, previously told the Free Lance that construction on the store should be completed by the end of 2008. Guerra’s family is developing a larger commercial center around the site, but those stores won’t open until after Hollister’s sewer moratorium is lifted and the land is annexed into the city.
Before the meeting, County Planner Chuck Ornstein said Lowe’s has worked hard to accommodate the city’s needs and the county’s. He said that includes improving the store’s south wall so it doesn’t scream “come tag me” and adding trees and pedestrian walkways to the parking lot.
“(Lowe’s) will bend over backward and give as much as they can, but they won’t break their back,” Ornstein said.
Despite their reservations, Machado and DeVries said they’re enthusiastic about the project – in part because they won’t have to drive to the Lowe’s in Gilroy.
“I can’t wait to shop there,” DeVries said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
