People who own property along the route of the proposed Highway
25 bypass say that the San Benito Council of Governments gave them
offers for their land that were far below fair market value.
Hollister – People who own property along the route of the proposed Highway 25 bypass say that the San Benito Council of Governments gave them offers for their land that were far below fair market value.
The bypass, which will skirt the eastern edge of downtown, was delayed last month when the COG board chose to get new appraisals for 13 parcels needed for the bypass. Officials hope to avoid a costly and time-consuming legal battle and to satisfy property owners who thought COG was not offering a high enough price for their land.
Nader Javid, who owns SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune Up, said he wants the bypass to become a reality. But, he added, the $15 per square foot he was offered for his land, which is located on the corner of Sunnyslope Road and Airline Highway, is too low. He said the property, which is zoned for commercial use, was appraised at $15 per square foot a decade ago and the value of the land has gone up.
“They appraised my property for what I bought it for 10 years ago, and I disagree totally,” he said.
Javid said he is waiting for the results of the new round of appraisals and hopes he will be offered what he agrees is a fair price for his property. He’s hoping he won’t have to spend the money on an attorney, he said.
COG Executive Director Tom Quigley did not return several phone calls throughout the week, but in June he told the Free Lance that he thought COG’s original appraisals were accurate.
“We don’t have any reason to have a belief that the appraisals were done wrong, but the landowners challenged it and said we low-balled it. We’re going to do a second appraisal and, based on that, review the offers. If we need to make adjustments, we will.”
Getting new appraisals for the properties will put the bypass project on hold for as long as 15 months, Quigley said.
Mary Dinkuhn, a traffic planner for COG, said in June that COG has acquired 50 percent of the properties needed along the bypass route.
Like Javid, Jim De La Pena doesn’t think COG offered him a fair price for the land he owns on Chappell Road. He said he was offered $6 per square foot for land that was worth $8 per square foot eight years ago.
“When they came with that price, I said ‘not acceptable,'” he said. “They have to give fair market value.”
Some of the land in northern Hollister will be difficult to appraise, according to Mike Cullinan of Cullinan Appraisal & Realty. Although historically it may have been used for agriculture, it has commercial development potential that affects its value.
“It’s a tough one because it’s transition-type ground,” he said.
According to Cullinan, commercial property ranges in value from about $7 per square foot to as high as $50 or $60 per square foot, depending on the size of the parcel. Also, he said, commercial property has gone up in value during the past decade.
De La Pena did not mince words about what he would do if he found COG’s new appraisal unsatisfactory.
“I’ll get an attorney and go head to head, they can’t just come in and take it.”
While some of those who own property along the bypass route said they think the bypass was a good thing for Hollister and they just want what they see as a fair price for their land, at least two landowners want COG to scrap plans for the bypass.
Dennis Kehoe, an Aptos-based attorney, is representing Righetti and Roberts families who own separate parcels of land on the bypass route. The amount offered for his clients’ land was “way under just compensation,” he said.
But regardless of the money, Kehoe said his clients want to keep their land – no matter what.
“The Righettis and Roberts want to keep their property and be left alone,” he said.
According to Kehoe, his clients think the bypass is a bad project that will not benefit the public because it will divert traffic from downtown Hollister. Also, Kehoe said his clients believe the project is poorly designed.
If COG comes back with higher appraisals, Kehoe said he doesn’t know if his clients will stop fighting the project and take the money.
“The general sense I have from both clients is they do not want to sell their property for a project with no public benefit,” he said.
Luke Roney covers politics and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
