Until recently, development in Hollister moved at a snail’s pace. After 15 million gallons of wastewater spilled into the San Benito River in 2002 the state imposed a six-year building moratorium on the San Benito County city. When the moratorium was lifted after the city upgraded its wastewater treatment processes, the economy tanked and development was stymied yet again, hitting the local economy hard as neighboring municipalities in Santa Clara County continued to grow.
A drive around the city now will show that development has started up again. A good way to gauge how much the city has grown since the shackles of a struggling economy and the building moratorium were lifted, is to check in with the San Benito County Local Agency Formation Commission, also known as LAFCO, the state-mandated agency responsible for approving annexations in the city. The local agency is comprised of government officials from the county, Hollister and San Juan Bautista. Commissioners include County Board Chairman Jaime De La Cruz, County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and San Juan Bautista Councilman Jim West.
Since the moratorium was lifted, there have been 46 city annexations, totalling 282.191 acres.
Examples of city annexations include the Gibson land parcel between McCray Street and Highway 25, which city documents state is for future use as a private school campus.
The most recent annexation occurred this year, a 1.55 acre plot consisting of two adjacent parcels, according to Abraham Prado from Hollister’s development services department.
Oftentimes a city or municipality will annex unincorporated territory to expand city services in the area, such as water, electricity, trash and sewage. It also increases the tax base for the city.
Of the total acreage that has been annexed, the majority – 146.5 acres – have been annexed for public facilities, including nearly 52 acres for the Brigantino Spray Fields.
“The primary land use on the property is a spray field for reclaimed wastewater,” Prado explained. “The property has also been developed for passive recreational land uses with a large area of irrigated turf, a perimeter fence, walking paths, picnic benches, portable toilets and a parking lot.”
Hollister also annexed a total of 64.16 acres for low density residential zoning. One of those annexations, known as the Gonzalez property, is currently being developed with 53 single-family homes. The property is around 11.5 acres and is located south of Buena Vista Road, east of Carnoble Drive, west of Ventura Court and north of Central Ave.
City annexations in general commercial zoning total nearly 45 acres. Premiere Cinemas was annexed into general commercial, as was the Gibson parcel where Walgreen and Les Schwab now stand.
The city provided a breakdown of their annexations approved by LAFCO ordered by acreage and zoning:
- 44.28 acres in General Commercial Zoning District
- 64.16 acres in Low Density Residential Zoning District
- 2.84 acres in Airport Zoning District
- 146.5 acres in Public Facilities Zoning District
- 2.581 acres in Light Industrial Zoning District
- 3.33 acres in North Gateway Commercial Zoning District
- 8.48 acres in Neighborhood Mixed Use Zoning District
- 10.02 acres in Medium Density Residential Zoning District
