While there are legitimate concerns with the site of a proposed
flea market along San Felipe Road, city and county officials
opposed to the location should take it upon themselves to ensure
the applicant finds another, more suitable place to do
business.
While there are legitimate concerns with the site of a proposed flea market along San Felipe Road, city and county officials opposed to the location should take it upon themselves to ensure the applicant finds another, more suitable place to do business.
County resident Robert Rodriguez is appealing the San Benito County Planning Commission’s decision in October to reject a necessary zoning change and, in the process, the project as a whole. There is an array of opposition to the proposal for a flea market off San Felipe Road largely due to concerns about its close proximity to a Hollister Municipal Airport runway. Those naysayers include business leaders concerned about the impact to the area’s aesthetics and its potential role in the county losing out on federal funds since it lies within a safety zone, and at a time when economic development officials are opening doors for further development there. Hollister officials on the council and airport commission, meanwhile, have contended it would create a dangerous environment while pointing to that area as being at a relatively high risk for accidents.
It is unfortunate that Rodriguez likely faces another rejection for his idea, after supervisors and planning commissioners earlier this year shot down his proposal for a market along Shore Road, mostly because of traffic concerns there. The criticisms of the airport site, though, are serious enough to warrant a nay vote.
But if that becomes the case, county supervisors and city officials – who have urged for a rejection – should work with the Economic Development Corp. of San Benito County and make an aggressive effort to assist Rodriguez in finding another location, or one of the local governments should otherwise provide the space for him. It does, after all, have prospects to spur economic activity at a time when San Benito County needs plenty of it. And Rodriguez deserves a fair shake, as a businessman who is merely trying to maximize the use of his property.
The recent, fatal airplane crash after a takeoff from the Hollister airport serves as a sobering example of the risks involved with maintaining an aviation center, and allowing dense populations of people to congregate nearby.
Their own, necessary rejection should only motivate city and county officials to make this project work for Rodriguez – just not where airplanes are passing overhead.
