Hollister
– Tres Pinos residents came out in force Wednesday night to
weigh in on plans for a 44-unit hotel in Tres Pinos.
Hollister – Tres Pinos residents came out in force Wednesday night to weigh in on plans for a 44-unit hotel in Tres Pinos.
Most of the attendees in the packed meeting took a stand against the project, arguing that it would damage their peaceful, rural community and create danger for their children.
As of press time, the Planning Commission had not made a decision on the project.
Jane Schmidt said she and her husband, Ed, moved to a property adjoining the proposed hotel site in the hopes of finding a safe, quiet place to raise their family. Building a hotel there would bring an end to that dream, she said, and it would also be a serious blow to their property rights.
The project’s proponents have said the hotel could give a big boost to the local economy, including San Benito County’s wineries. It wasn’t just developers and businesspeople sticking up for the hotel, either. Norma Price said she’s been living in Tres Pinos for more than 50 years, and she argued that the hotel won’t have as big an effect as the critics say it would.
“People who stay in hotels check in, go to an event, spend their money and leave,” she said.
According to the planning department’s staff report, the hotel would include 36 standard rooms, eight suites, a banquet room and a meeting room. The project will generate approximately 242 trips per day, mainly on Highway 25.
Tres Pinos resident Sue Alvarado said she’s heard the claims about how the hotel will benefit the community, but she isn’t convinced.
“I’m tired of people telling me what’s supposed to be good for me,” she said.
Attorney Jim Pleyte, who represents the Schmidt and Frusetta families, said that if the project isn’t denied, the Planning Commission should at least require the creation of an environmental impact report. He argued that the case isn’t just a matter of landowners doing what they want with their property, because building the hotel would require the land to be reclassified from residential to commercial zoning.
“I think the hotel’s a good idea; it’s just in the wrong place,” Pleyte said, drawing applause and cheers from the audience.
Before the meeting, senior county planner Chuck Ortwein told the Free Lance that any zoning change would go to the Board of Supervisors for a final vote.
