Hollister residents are trying to build a water park in San
Benito County
Dave Lantis, president of Lighthouse Adventures, has been
dreaming about opening a water park for 16 years.
”
I love water parks and I go to all kinds of them just because
they’re fun,
”
Lantis said.
Hollister residents are trying to build a water park in San Benito County
Dave Lantis, president of Lighthouse Adventures, has been dreaming about opening a water park for 16 years.
“I love water parks and I go to all kinds of them just because they’re fun,” Lantis said.
If approved by county officials, Lantis, a captain for Hollister’s fire department, hopes to build a full-size water park – think Raging Waters – next to the paintball field on San Benito Street near Union Road. The project is still in the early phases of the planning process and is at least three years out.
Lantis has two partners in Lighthouse Adventures who did not want to be identified. They both live in Hollister.
Initial plans include a wave pool, arcade, 36-hole miniature golf course, go-cart course, food court, birthday room and meeting rooms.
For younger children, there will be a kiddie pool and activity pool, Lantis said. For older children and adults, there will be a bigger area with more elaborate slides.
Adults aged 21 and up will be able to enjoy some time away from the kids in the hot tub area.
Until recently, the 22-acre plot was planted with organic crops, Lantis said.
“Not that we want to be farmers,” Lantis said. “We’d rather run a water park. San Benito County can support a park this size.”
Lighthouse Adventures evolved out of an accident, Lantis said, when he and a childhood friend decided to start a paintball facility so their kids would have a place to play.
“It took off,” Lantis said. “We actually made a little bit of money at it.”
They sold the paintball facility recently to raise capital for Lighthouse Adventures.
Lantis does not know when the park might open. The permit process is taking longer than he anticipated and it has taken a long time for Lantis and his partners to put together the necessary materials
“I really have a good feeling from the city and county that they want to help us,” Lantis said. “I’m hoping that by next year at this time we’re getting ready to open.”
Before county staff can continue, Lighthouse officials need to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), a document required by state law, said Chuck Ortwein, senior planner for San Benito County.
After the EIR is complete, it will be another year and a half before the project goes before the board of supervisors for approval, Ortwein said.
“It sounds like a winner to me,” Ortwein said. “We need recreational opportunity beyond what is offered right now.”
One concern is the project’s impact on traffic at the corner of San Benito Street and Nash Road, Ortwein said.
“A water park, they generate quite a bit of traffic,” Ortwein said. “It’s already congested at the school hours.”
Lighthouse officials’ property lies within the 100-year flood plain of the San Benito River, said Mary Paxton, Hollister’s planning manager.
“The hydrology of the flood plain may have changed because of the Nash Road bridge,” Paxton said. “It may or may not be as much of an issue.”
The EIR would explain the projects likely impact on traffic, the flood zone and other issues.
So far the neighbors have been supportive of the project, Lantis said.
“We haven’t heard any objections yet,” Lantis said. “Not that there aren’t any out there.”
The First Presbyterian Church and its preschool are located directly in front of the proposed location.
They have no objections, said Jonathan Hughes, a pastor for the church.
“They’ve always been great neighbors,” Hughes said. “If we’ve had any concerns, they’ve always addressed them.”
