Property owners in the west gateway look to improve
community
Property owners in the west gateway district of Hollister are
taking the first steps towards implementing the vision for
redevelopment of the area as it was defined by Hollister’s general
plan in 2005.
Property owners in the west gateway look to improve community
Property owners in the west gateway district of Hollister are taking the first steps towards implementing the vision for redevelopment of the area as it was defined by Hollister’s general plan in 2005.
The district would feature a pedestrian friendly core with crosswalks, wide sidewalks, a monument to mark the district’s entryway, a plaza and a community center, according to a vision for the area that was presented at a community meeting on Feb. 6.
Now visitors enter the west gateway district along Hwy. 156, a place with fast-moving traffic, few crosswalks and inadequate lighting, said local residents at the meeting.
Jeff Thorning is one of the property owners. He is a San Benito County resident. He co-owns with his two sisters an 8-acre parcel that fronts on San Juan Hollister Road.
A group of property owners started meeting a couple of months ago, Thorning said.
They hired staff from Land Image Landscape Architects and Planners, a Chico based company that specializes in recreation planning, according to their Web site.
They also hired staff from Access Land Development Services, Inc, a Palo Alto based land-use development company that specializes in public-private partnerships.
The consultants were hired to implement the vision for the district that was expressed in Hollister’s General Plan, Thorning said.
“It would be foolish of us to do anything else,” he said. “It would be like throwing money down the drain, because the general plan dictates to us what we can do.”
Thorning would like to see “something nice” for Hollister that benefits residents of the west gateway and Hollister residents in general. There is a total of 50-acres of undeveloped land in the project area, he said.
“There is enough vacant land that we have the opportunity to build something interesting without displacing a lot of people or condemning properties,” Thorning said. “So now is the time to plan.”
One key component is a monument to mark the district as an entryway to Hollister, said Greg Melton, principal for Land Image.
“We need to do something to really create some identity,” Melton said. “Something that means something to Hollister.”
A plaza and community center are an opportunity to create a public space that residents and tourists can use, said Noel Carvalho, urban planner and designer for Land Image.
“It really becomes the heart of the neighborhood,” he said.
At a recent meeting, consultants solicited input on the vision for the west gateway. Residents, city staff, city officials and county officials attended the meeting.
Lee Wieder, a consultant from Access, and staff from Land Image, are working on a draft version of a plan for the district, Wieder said. The final version could take nine months or longer, he said.
Sabra Everett moved to Hollister in 1983. She has been living in the west gateway area since 1989, she said.
“I have thought a lot about how this part of town will eventually be developed, because there is a lot of open space,” Everett said.
“I thought it had some very good ideas,” she said after the meeting. “I like the multi-use.”
The consultants are looking at mixed-use, an urban style development, that includes residential housing over retail and residential next to retail, Wieder said.
Bill Avera, Hollister’s development services director, attended the meeting.
“I love it,” Avera said “I think it’s nice to see a group of property owners coming together that have a vested interest in moving forward.”
The project area has a radius of 3,000 square feet, Carvalho said.
“[It] is about a 15 minute walk,” he said.
Retail would serve existing and future residents, he said.
There are 1,395 residential units in the project area, according to a document prepared by staff from Land Image.
There are nearly 33 undeveloped acres in the west gateway that are zoned for residential housing, Wieder said. According to the general plan, there would be 28 units per acre, he said.
Based on those figures, the project area could have more than 900 new units, including townhouses and condominiums, Wieder said.
“We’re getting our act together, so to speak,” he said. “And we’re trying to be as transparent about it as possible.”
Downtown and the west gateway must complement each other, Wieder said.
Within the next three months, Wieder will contact the people that are developing the downtown plan, he said.
“Folks along the west side of Hollister have been unintentionally overlooked,” said Jaime De La Cruz, the county supervisor who represents the west side of Hollister. “This is a great opportunity. I think it’s time for us to really start moving on, create a good economic plan.”
Part of the project will also include improvements on Fourth Street, which turns into San Juan Road. Some of the possibilities include additional traffic lights, a median to separate traffic and a connection with South Street to alleviate traffic, according to planners.
Within the next few years, some elements of the vision could become reality, Avera said. The city can work on the public infrastructure part of the plan, he said.
“Create an area on Fourth Street that is sort of in line with the ideas and vision,” Avera said. “The redevelopment agency has shown some commitment to this.”
