After deciding against building a new Gavilan Community College
satellite campus near the Hollister Airport, school officials say
they have discovered several new sites that would make a better
home for San Benito County’s new college and should be able to
share their selection with the public early in the new year.
After deciding against building a new Gavilan Community College satellite campus near the Hollister Airport, school officials say they have discovered several new sites that would make a better home for San Benito County’s new college and should be able to share their selection with the public early in the new year.
“Because there was so much public interest in first site that was announced and because of the meetings we held, a number of new sites were made available to us,” Gavilan President Steve Kinsella said. “And a few of them look very promising.”
The college recently released a map detailing 16 sites the college is considering as the home of its Hollister campus. The parcels are scattered throughout the county and range in size from around 30 acres to more than 350 acres. In order to be approved by the state, a future community college site must be at least 80 acres, and 100 acres is often preferred.
“When we get the land, we want to put a building up and get going as soon as possible,” said Trustee Tom Breen, a Hollister representative. “That’s very important to the state, and we want to show the community that we’re getting started.”
The school has a $12.1 million Measure E earmark set aside for land acquisition and possible early construction in San Benito County.
College officials said they have three or four favored sites, but declined to identify them for fear of hurting their ability to negotiate a purchase price.
“There are a number of factors we look at,” said Gavilan Trustee Kent Child, one of the Hollister representatives. “Proximity is a big one – which parcels are closer to town. Then size and ‘buildability,’ and environmental concerns. Seismic issues are a big deal, and aesthetics play a part as well.”
The original site chosen for the campus, an 85-acre parcel of land adjacent to Hollister Airport off San Felipe Road and Highway 156, remains on the list, but mostly as a formality, officials said.
“We have basically walked away from that site,” Kinsella said. “Once we started to do some research, it was clear that the proximity (to the airport) would really be a problem. We would have to space the building out too far in order to keep the density down. It really didn’t work out for us. … But at the time it looked like the best property available. Now we have better options.”
Kinsella hopes the college will be able to present the top selection to the San Benito County Land Acquisition subcommittee of the college board as early as February, and once negotiations are mostly worked out with a seller, the board can report back to the public – possibly in the spring.
“Price isn’t the deciding factor in this. It’s a factor, but it isn’t the only one,” Kinsella said. “But the process is going along well. There’s no rush.”
Some locals who spoke out against Gavilan’s move to purchase land near the airport are glad to see progress being made.
“They told us the process would be transparent, and putting out a map like this is a great way to show that they were serious,” said Joe Morris, a member of the self-titled Independent Smart Growth Research Group, which was actively opposed to the first site.
While residents may each have their own idea of where Gavilan should make its new home, the community seems uniform in its desire to get a campus built as quickly as possible.
“If there were a Gav campus here that would be absolutely spectacular,” said Jamie Ashford, a Hollister resident who attends Gavilan in Gilroy. “I really hope they’re able to use some of the nice open space in the community for a campus, because that’s one of the cool things about Gav, is how beautiful the campus is. The Briggs Building (where Gavilan offers some local classes) is – let’s face it – a parking structure.”
Last January, the board voted to purchase the 85-acre parcel adjacent to the airport, but backed out of the deal. Many locals had voiced opposition to the airport site, raising issues ranging from zoning and safety problems to the wealth of cultural resources local residents would be missing out on if a college isn’t built closer to downtown Hollister.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
