Not only do new plans call for a maximum of 456 homes and a
top-notch
”
health and wellness
”
resort, they’ll also test local waters for a new agriculture
preservation program.
Hollister – The San Juan Oaks golf club is scrapping existing plans for residential and hotel development in favor of “a grander vision,” General Manager Scott Fuller announced Thursday.
Not only do new plans call for a maximum of 456 homes and a top-notch “health and wellness” resort, they’ll also test local waters for a new agriculture preservation program, Fuller said. By committing to set aside almost 200 acres of land for farming, San Juan Oaks will be able to “transfer” the credits needed to build additional homes near the golf course.
It’s considered a pilot program initiated during debate over the Measure G slow-growth proposal.
Slow-growth advocate Janet Brians said she’s hoping San Juan Oaks’ example will encourage other developers to participate in the transfer of development credits program.
“The pilot project will show (TDC) can work in this county,” said Brians, who sits on the county’s TDC committee.
The county has already approved plans for residential development near the golf course, but Fuller intends to submit revised plans in the coming weeks. Those plans call for 456 residential units in all, from single-family houses on half- or quarter-acre lots to smaller, clustered homes – as well as 87 units of affordable housing.
Fuller said San Juan Oaks will first ask the county to approve the TDC swap, with final project approval expected in 18 months or two years.
San Juan Oaks is also in final negotiations with a well-known company for construction of a health resort, Fuller said, including a hotel with 100 standard rooms and between 100 and 150 “fractional” units, which people can purchase for certain portions of the year. It’s too early to announce the company’s name, Fuller added, but he described them as “one of the top resort destinations in the world.”
“They fell in love with San Juan Valley,” Fuller said.
The new proposal, however, no longer includes plans for a new 18-hole golf course and another nine-hole course.
Brians, who served in 2004 as a spokeswoman for the controversial Measure G, said she’s excited that San Juan Valley farmland won’t be developed. Fuller said two plots of land are being set aside – a 153-acre parcel in the west San Juan Valley and a 31-acre parcel near the golf course.
“You can ask any farmers, that’s the primest soil in San Benito County,” Fuller said.
San Juan Oaks now owns both parcels and leases them to farmers, he said.
Fuller also noted that San Juan Oaks’ plans wouldn’t be possible without recent revisions to the Potential Residential Growth Increase ordinance. Among other things, the ordinance now grants developers “bonus credits” for preserving agricultural land. Without those bonus credits, it wouldn’t be financially feasible to purchase development credits from prime farmland.
“Without the density bonus we would never have preserved the land that we want approved,” Fuller said.
County Supervisor Reb Monaco said he wants to see detailed plans before making a final decision. But he likes what he’s heard so far, regarding both the TDC pilot program and the development itself.
“I think (the project’s) a very good thing for the county,” Monaco said. “It could be a destination location.”
More information about the TDC program will be available at the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust booth at the county fair, Brians said.
