Though the first of two Measure G forums attracted a high
turnout, the second will likely captivate even more onlookers
throughout the county with its broadcast on a local cable
channel.
About 50-60 people attended the forum Jan. 14 at the San Juan
Bautista Community Center, according to Paul Hain, a member of the
San Benito Land Trust sponsoring the educational gatherings.
Though the first of two Measure G forums attracted a high turnout, the second will likely captivate even more onlookers throughout the county with its broadcast on a local cable channel.
About 50-60 people attended the forum Jan. 14 at the San Juan Bautista Community Center, according to Paul Hain, a member of the San Benito Land Trust sponsoring the educational gatherings.
People supporting both sides of the issue showed up, as well as those who haven’t decided how to vote on the March 2 ballot. Three residents – Hain, Julie Morris and Franz Schneider – moderated the meeting.
“The crowd and both the proponents and opponents of Measure G were well behaved,” Hain said.
The second forum is scheduled for Wednesday night from 7-8:30 at the Hollister City Council Chambers, 375 Fifth St.
Hollister’s Channel 17, operated by Community Media Access Partnership (CMAP), will televise the buzz session, Hain said. He said he hopes more people will attend the second forum, even with its cable broadcast.
“We don’t want to discourage people from actually coming in person,” Hain said.
Measure G – the basis for legal wrangling since May 2003 – will again be the focus of the second meeting. Also known as the Growth Control Initiative, the measure includes several means of preventing sprawl in unincorporated county limits.
Among them, it restricts agricultural landowners’ ability to subdivide and sell property; mandates a development credit program so landowners could sell their share of development rights to those builders wishing to erect housing near Hollister limits; and it requires a ballot vote for changes to the ordinance.
“I think it’s of utmost importance to help the people who are going to choose to vote – to get as much information as they can from both sides’ points of view,” Hain said.
