To help a building fall back under county code, the San Benito
Board of Supervisors this week voted to approve a zoning change on
a small portion of land inside the Ridgemark gated community.
To help a building fall back under county code, the San Benito Board of Supervisors this week voted to approve a zoning change on a small portion of land inside the Ridgemark gated community.
The board approved the change from a residential zone to commercial zone for a 2.43-acre portion of a 20.01-acre parcel of land that includes tennis courts and a small building that was once the golf course’s registration building – it was changed to a realty office earlier this year.
Supervisors on Tuesday approved the change 4-1. Supervisor Pat Loe was the lone dissenting vote, despite a large outcry from members of Ridgemark who were afraid of possible commercial expansion. The residents’ main concern was JMK Golf’s possible intention to build a “strip mall” that they contend would ruin the community’s gated living.
Residents were worried that the commercial shopping area would attract people from the county to shop at the area – raising concerns about noise and safety.
Ridgemark community member Anthony Sota called the zoning change a “foot in the door” for unwanted commercial development. It invites the public to a gated community and it could create traffic issues, he argued.
“We bought into a gated community and we are trying to keep it that way,” he said.
Ridgemark Co-owner Alex Kehriotis admitted to the board that the company was discussing possible commercial expansion in the area but said they were just talks.
“We have no immediate plans. The shopping center is just hypothetical,” Kehriotis said. “We were just finding out what was possible if we moved forward.”
But Kehriotis didn’t believe discussing those plans at the meeting was the right time or place – instead he wanted to focus on what already was on the piece of land, he said. The parcel, which houses four tennis courts, the small realty building and more than 90 parking spots, was not in compliance with the county’s residential county zone.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho admitted that he was surprised by the backlash from the community members but he wanted to see the possible plans JMK Golf was considering.
“It could be a complete asset by bringing in jobs to the area,” he said. “But what we are talking about here is bringing a building into compliance. The rest of the process should be able to play itself out.”
Supervisor Reb Monaco agreed, saying that changing the zoning has nothing to do with future plans and that questions about future projects should come up during the appropriate time.
The only supervisor who disagreed with the board was Loe, who thought there needed to be a description of what future plans would entail.
