Agency asked to fill $17,000 funding gap for planned sign on
bypass
Hollister’s Redevelopment Agency may help fund the new Welcome
to Hollister sign planned near the Hwy. 25 bypass and San Felipe
Road.
Nearly $29,000 in donations has been raised toward the $45,801
cost of the proposed eight-by-12-foot sign, which is a project of
the Leadership San Benito County group.
The RDA recently received a request to have the agency fund the
nearly $17,000 in remaining costs for the L-shaped sign that would
welcome motorists traveling south on San Felipe into the city as
well as those driving on the bypass.
Agency asked to fill $17,000 funding gap for planned sign on bypass
Hollister’s Redevelopment Agency may help fund the new Welcome to Hollister sign planned near the Hwy. 25 bypass and San Felipe Road.
Nearly $29,000 in donations has been raised toward the $45,801 cost of the proposed eight-by-12-foot sign, which is a project of the Leadership San Benito County group.
The RDA recently received a request to have the agency fund the nearly $17,000 in remaining costs for the L-shaped sign that would welcome motorists traveling south on San Felipe into the city as well as those driving on the bypass.
Development Services Director Bill Avera said the request will compel the city to update its zoning code to allow for a so-called hospitality sign.
Zoning codes already permit gateway signs, but those have to be fully funded by a government agency.
“The new definition will allow nonprofits to erect the sign,” Avera said.
Leadership San Benito County is a nonprofit program that trains people to be aware of and interact with their community. Each year’s Leadership class selects one or more projects that are sustainable and beneficial to the community.
An artists’ rendering of the proposed sign includes the words “Welcome to Hollister,” “Est. 1872,” and references to Pinnacles National Monument, the city’s historic downtown and the county’s wine trail. There is also an image of the Veteran’s Memorial Building, the Masonic Lodge clocktower and hills.
If the zoning change is made and the funding request approved, the RDA is expected to provide a supplemental appropriation to the Hollister Downtown Association, which would then use that money to defray the cost of the sign.
“The sign is being used as an economic development tool, which is an allowed use of [RDA] funds,” Avera said.
A special meeting of the Hollister Planning Commission will discuss the proposed sign zoning changes and forward a recommendation to the City Council for approval.
Once the changes are formalized and the funding request approved, the RDA can provide the additional money needed to complete the sign, which will be located where the abandoned South Valley Trailers building sits on the southwest corner of the intersection of the bypass and San Felipe Road.
