Development company will hold community forum next week to hear
from county residents before it makes plans for a new mini-city in
northern San Benito County
Hollister – Despite owning 4,500 acres in northern San Benito for more than three years, the development company looking to build a mini-city on the former El Rancho San Benito property off of Highway 25 has no concrete details for the project yet.
However, Arizona-based DMB is ready to get the ball rolling by asking the public what kind of project they would like to see on the land off of highway 25 during a community forum next week.
“We’re really just in the listening stage,” said Ray Becker, a local representative of the development company that has built communities from Arizona to Hawaii.
In an attempt to get community input, Becker will host an open house on Aug. 20 from 10am to 2pm at Veterans Memorial Building. DMB has a different approach to building than most other developers, according to Becker. The company’s philosophy, he said, is to go into a town and find out what the residents want to see, listen to their ideas and build a planned community based on the results.
“We expect to be held accountable to the issues that they raise and the solutions they require,” he said. “It’s a formula we use again and again,” he said. “It’s very much a listening project.”
Though no set plan exists for El Rancho San Benito, which would include commercial space and other amenities, Becker said that DMB has looked at several possibilities. The company looked at prior plans for the land that called for 10,000 homes – something Becker said was never a possibility for DMB – as well as plans calling for one house per five acres. DMB will likely leave more than half of the land undeveloped for open space and agricultural use, Becker said.
“We look at the property and try to determine the best use of the property,” he said.
Construction on a project won’t start until late 2009 or early 2010, according to Becker.
DMB is not the first to envision a planned community on the land between Hollister and Gilroy. In August of 1990, shelved plans for a massive 10,000-home community at El Rancho San Benito resurfaced after running into Environmental Impact Report problems in 1988. Local residents remember the property was owned by Roberto Floriani, who had started going through the steps necessary to build a self-sufficient community. The mini-city would have had its own sewer system, police, schools, roads, golf courses and trains.
Since January, when the latest plan for a new town in San Benito County arose, supervisors have been holding off on developing opinions about El Rancho San Benito.
“Until we have a plan and have some idea, it’s a little premature,” said Supervisor Pat Loe. “Once a plan is formulated we can determine the impact on the community and go from there.”
DMB values community input when designing projects because the company is just as concerned with its legacy and reputation as it is with profits, according to Becker.
Those familiar with DMB’s projects in Arizona say that’s an accurate description of how the company operates.
“Their relationship with the city has been very positive,” Claudia Walters, the vice mayor of Mesa, Ariz. said earlier this year. Mesa is home to DMB’s Superstition Springs community.
“They have been very straight-forward with working with us, because they take the approach that they want to be here for a long time,” she said at the time.
Luke Roney covers politics and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
