It appears Hollister officials are making efforts – and following a reasonable path – to address a daunting necessity for more affordable housing here. They have not, however, done enough to balance the need for affordable housing on the poverty-stricken west side with a task that is just as important: Taking proactive measures to boost the economy and business prospects in that area of Hollister.
The debate over affordable housing in Hollister, and particularly where such projects are built, was the focus at a recent city council meeting where officials gave final approval to a 15-unit project on Line Street, a set of buildings with varying heights and with three stories at the tallest points.
City council members, particularly Mayor Ray Friend, lost control of the meeting that was intended to allow solely for residents to express their views, and for the public officials to listen. Lost in the chaos, though, is a crisis much more concrete than the clouded, contrasting perspectives about speech and race on display at the hearing.
If Hollister wants to make any real economic progress, city officials must take on the task, head on, of refurbishing the west side, of curtailing poverty and gang activity in an area that needs the most help and acts as an unsightly entrance, one of the most-traveled gateways, to town. There is only one way to rebuild a tired, stale economy. That is by starting from the bottom – in this case, the west side – and moving your way up.
City leadership had taken a small step by planning for the West Gateway landscaping project, which was budgeted at $3 million before the state supreme court ruling that eliminates redevelopment agencies, including Hollister’s RDA that was set to fund the endeavor.
Without an RDA, the city can move forward on just one phase of the west-side project, the design of it, because the soon-to-be-defunct redevelopment agency already had signed a contract with San Benito Engineering prior to the dissolution ruling.
In hindsight, that project was put on the table at about the same time as the $5 million reconstruction to the downtown fire department headquarters. City officials chose to move ahead on the fire station first, which is a reminder where political priorities remain in Hollister.
Those priorities must change. Hollister leaders have started to address a need for affordable housing on the west side, which includes more low-income units than other areas of the city because the land is cheaper and services are closer, two necessary elements to the equation.
Council members and other officials have narrowed their scope far too much, though, and must take on the broader challenge of paving the way for economic prosperity in Hollister’s most troubled neighborhoods.
