Award Homes representatives are reportedly negotiating with the
City of Hollister for a $2 million agreement to keep the 677-unit
West of Fairview subdivision alive.
The city is reportedly asking Award Homes for funds up front as
part of a bargain to extend the subdivision’s development
agreement, according to unnamed city officials.
Award Homes representatives are reportedly negotiating with the City of Hollister for a $2 million agreement to keep the 677-unit West of Fairview subdivision alive.
The city is reportedly asking Award Homes for funds up front as part of a bargain to extend the subdivision’s development agreement, according to unnamed city officials.
No one on the Hollister City Council would comment on the closed-door negotiations because they said it would be a violation of established policies and state law.
Michael Van Every, land development and acquisition manager for Award Homes, would not confirm if any monetary incentives have been discussed, but he did say there have been talks between the city and the development company.
“We have been talking with the city on a number of issues,” he said.
Van Every said there has been no settlement in its lawsuit against the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission and its executive officer, Rob Mendiola.
Award Homes attorney William Ross, could not be reached for comment on the status of the lawsuit or the negotiations with the city.
In spring 2002, Award Homes filed a lawsuit against LAFCO and Mendiola for unfairly blocking its attempt to build the housing development.
The West of Fairview subdivision, which was scheduled to be built in stages during an eight-year period, is a $250 million, 127-acre residential development of 677 houses located at Airline Highway and Fairview Road. The project includes 100 apartments units and 60 cluster lots.
The subdivision was originally slated to offer transitional housing for women with children that would last for up to 18 months at a time as a first big step in moving out of homelessness.
The project was also slated to have 20 low to very low income apartments and 41 low- to medium-income single family homes.
The subdivision also called for the creation of a linear parkway system, a pedestrian and bikeway system and the completion of a five-acre park at Valley View Estates.
Award Homes would pay $6 million in traffic impact fees, $7 million in on-site improvements, including Union and Fairview Roads, and $5 million in annexation fees – about $9,000 a unit – to San Benito County.
In May 2002, LAFCO rejected the proposed annexation of the project into the City of Hollister based on what it saw as a variety of issues, ranging from sewage treatment problems to a lack of potable water.
Mendiola, who was named in a lawsuit brought by Award Homes against LAFCO, said representatives of the project were trying to divert the commission’s attention from the project’s deficiencies by accusing commissioners and staff members of inappropriate behavior and making biased decisions.
However, the attorney for Award Homes had said the company was not trying to confuse or muddle the issue but pointed out the commission had displayed a bias in the evaluation and subsequent rejection of the project.
LAFCO is a regulatory agency with countywide jurisdiction. Created through state law to discourage urban sprawl and encourage the orderly development of local government agencies, it is responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental boundaries through annexations and the forming of special districts.
