Hollister City Council rescinds 2024 General Plan

The Hollister City Council earlier this month unanimously voted to rescind the city’s 2040 General Plan, which was the subject of a referendum petition that was signed by more than 3,500 local voters. 

A group of Hollister voters and activists submitted 3,562 signatures on Jan. 21 for a referendum petition that sought to reverse a December 2024 council decision to expand the city’s sphere of influence for potential development. 

The petition “protests the adoption of a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Hollister adopting the 2040 General Plan,” according to a summary of the proposed referendum. Specifically, the referendum’s proponents said they were protesting the General Plan resolution because it expands the city’s sphere of influence into about 3,000 acres of county farmland. The referendum sponsors fear that such a designation opens the door to the future development of agricultural land and open space to residential and commercial development. 

After the city clerk’s office and county elections officials verified the signatures and certified the petition, the referendum was sent to the Hollister City Council to make one of two choices: approve a resolution repealing the 2040 General Plan, or send the question to the voters on a future ballot. 

The council decided on March 3 to repeal the General Plan that was approved in December. Council members said the petition made it clear what the majority of voters wanted, and thought it unnecessary to spend money on an election.

A city staff report said the estimated cost of a special election consolidated with a primary or general election is between $40,000-$50,000. 

“Let’s move forward with honoring the will of the petition signers, which means repealing” the General Plan, Mayor Roxanne Stephens said. “We are here because we are representing you.”

Stephens added, “The will of the people will always supersede everything else.”

Council member Rolan Resendiz called the March 3 decision a “historic moment” as Hollister faces increasing pressure from the forces of growth and developers who want to build more housing as Silicon Valley extends into San Benito County. 

“We are up against developers (with) billions of dollars but I do believe in the power of the people,” Resendiz said. 

Before the council decided, about a dozen members of the public spoke at the March 3 meeting in favor of repealing the General Plan. 

With the latest version of the General Plan repealed, Hollister’s prior version of the document and any subsequent amendments will remain in effect until a new General Plan is drafted. Most cities and counties in California are required by state law to keep an updated General Plan, which serves as a long-term document outlining how the city will address future growth and infrastructure demands. 

Resendiz on March 3 asked city staff to return to the council with a new General Plan draft “as soon as possible.”