DMB Associates has released its Executive Summary to share its
vision for El Rancho San Benito with us and to outline the next
steps in its evolution. This document addresses the concerns and
aspirations of members of the community uncovered during the past
15 months of its outreach efforts.
DMB Associates has released its Executive Summary to share its vision for El Rancho San Benito with us and to outline the next steps in its evolution. This document addresses the concerns and aspirations of members of the community uncovered during the past 15 months of its outreach efforts.
Originally, they had 4,500 acres at the northern boundary of San Benito County. Recently they were given a verbal acceptance of an offer to purchase the adjacent 7,000-acre O’Connell Ranch, a historic rancho from the original land grant to Jose Antonio Castro in 1842. DMB has decided not to increase the total number of homes, and to respect the historic and scenic resource of the land.
The proposal calls for 6800 homes, 1360 of which will be below market-rate homes, built out over a period of 10 to 12 years. The majority of the land remains permanently preserved for farming, ranching and natural resource protection. The project itself is uniquely planned to respect the regional historic architecture and to provide a sense of place for its residents. As a former architect, I truly appreciate this aspect of the project. You won’t find houses just like them anywhere else. I also am glad that the houses themselves are not built by DMB, but built by individual local builders who follow developed design guidelines but create a variety of homes.
The project addresses major infrastructure issues. It will build at its own expense a four-lane parkway providing a new connection from Highways 25 to 101. It will contribute $170 million for the San Benito Council of Governments for major improvements in the highways of San Benito. An additional benefit will be a Transportation and Telecommuting Center to reduce commuter impact. Finally, an integrated shuttle and roadway system will link with Hollister and San Juan Bautista to stimulate the local economy.
The project proposes to construct state-of-the-art water conservation, treatment and disposal technologies and fully funding these activities. They will also cooperate with and assist the City of Hollister in its ongoing water and wastewater treatment goals and plans.
El Rancho San Benito will generate an estimated 1,800 construction jobs over 10 to 12 years. It is further expected to create 8,800 new permanent jobs in the county. The project includes commercial and light industry space to attract business. It also includes a Visitors Center along Highway 25 to support tourism and local businesses.
One truly unique aspect of this proposal is the establishment of a Legacy Fund. This will make a lasting contribution to future generations needing affordable housing and support family farming and ranching. For 50 years, each resale of a home will incur a transfer fee of ½ of 1 percent that will go to the fund. The first 25 years should generate $80 million. Half of this will be used to fund affordable housing projects, and half will support agricultural and ranchland preservation.
El Rancho San Benito will fully pay for its public service needs. A comprehensive fiscal impact analysis has identified the following countywide needs to be created and funded by the project: Construction of a new public service facility will provide staffed fire station and sheriff’s substation; creation of a branch public library; establishment of a medical campus with urgent care, doctor and dental offices, and other health services in association with Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
Support for education is promised. Three school districts have jurisdiction over portions of the project, and DM B is working with them all to determine how best to build quality grade K through 12 facilities on site.
Our community’s quality of life will be improved by creation of a 40-acre countywide park and many neighborhood parks. New community hiking, biking and equestrian pathways will wind through this scenic area. The project will build and maintain community meeting facilities.
And, whoa, doggies! DMB will donate $2.5 million to the San Benito Community Foundation to meet the future needs in our county.
That’s it in a nutshell. For more in-depth reading, go to www.elranchosanbenito.com. Better yet, go to the first community forum Tuesday, April 18, at the Veterans Memorial Building from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Your thoughts, feedback, issues, concerns, questions are all welcomed. You have as much right as anyone else to voice your opinion. Make it your business to become educated on this proposal.
DMB has been successful in other parts of the country developing projects such as this one. Each is unique to the needs and character of its community. It’s a breath of fresh air to find a company like this with a commitment to improving more than its bottom line. Its systemic look at our challenges, its creativity in creating solutions, its desire to partner with the existing support systems all indicate that this project could be something and someplace really special.
I’m racking my brain here to figure out how to work in my tag line, but I’m not having any luck so I guess I’ll just blurt it out: Be kind to your Realtor.
