Despite numerous local attempts to control residential growth,
the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development is
requiring the county to allow the construction of nearly 3,900 new
homes.
Using a law that gives the state the power to tell communities
how many homes it should build, the HCD has designated San Benito
County
– including Hollister, San Juan Bautista and the unincorporated
parts of the county – as an area that should build a total of 3,890
housing units to fulfill the county’s
”
fair share
”
goal of housing for the region, according to a draft of the
Regional Housing Needs Plan currently under consideration by the
Council of San Benito County Governments.
Despite numerous local attempts to control residential growth, the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development is requiring the county to allow the construction of nearly 3,900 new homes.
Using a law that gives the state the power to tell communities how many homes it should build, the HCD has designated San Benito County – including Hollister, San Juan Bautista and the unincorporated parts of the county – as an area that should build a total of 3,890 housing units to fulfill the county’s “fair share” goal of housing for the region, according to a draft of the Regional Housing Needs Plan currently under consideration by the Council of San Benito County Governments.
COG Executive Director Rob Mendiola said what the state is doing makes sense “from an objective viewpoint” in that it is trying to ensure that all California counties and cities contribute toward the state’s desperate need for housing.
“The irony is that in this county we’ve built a lot more housing than industry, and yet we’re being asked to build more,” Mendiola said.
Although the state has not set a deadline for the new housing units – which include a mixture of apartment complexes and single-family homes – local officials are to expected to include the stated objectives in the planning elements of their general plans before the end of the year.
Currently, the state has no direct means for enforcing its stated housing objectives. “But they’ve made it harder for governments to get certain grants,” Mendiola said.
By law, the COG board must adopt a set of goals that will apply to all areas of the county for future housing growth.
The HCD has suggested that the Hollister build 3,154 more housing units, San Juan Bautista build 116 and the unincorporated part of the county build 620 units.
The plan calls for the housing units to be divided into 19 percent for very-low-income residents, 19 percent for low-income, 23 percent for moderate-income and 39 percent for above-moderate-income residents.
COG and other local officials believe that the state’s numbers are too high and will outstrip local government’s ability to provide services such as police and fire protection.
“It’s certainly a concern of many,” Mendiola said. “The state’s only focus seems to be to add more numbers. They do not look at constraints of any kind.”
COG estimates that, at best, the county could handle an additional 2,234 housing units, or 1,656 fewer than the state is requesting.
The state is also considering a new law that puts some teeth behind the HCD’s authority to order counties and cities to build more homes through Senate Bill 910.
A proposed law would give HCD the authority to fine counties or cities up to $1,000 for every house that is not built according to the state’s guidelines. Along with the fine, the HCD would also be allowed to withhold funds from non-complying communities, which means some city programs that rely on state funding could dry up if a community is penalized.
Until recently, Hollister has not had to worry about building its fair share of housing, officials said. For much of the past 20 years, the city and its outlying areas have made the county one of the fastest-growing in the state.
This demand has resulted in a large increase in the cost of housing, which has all but eliminated the feasibility for local residents and workers of buying a home, and has also placed severe demands on the local infrastructure, according to a study conducted by the City of Hollister.
Some of the infrastructure demands include improvements to state highways 156 and 25, which provide access for local commuters and are approaching or are at capacity. Estimated costs to widen the two highways from two to four lanes approach $200 million.
Until the community can get help with the cost of funding these major projects, local officials said the county cannot support the kind of large housing increases the state is talking about.
Growth Trends
Trends by county and region for the years 2000-2020
CountyPopulationHousingJobs
Monterey+35%+33%+30%
San Benito+61%+62%+37%
Santa Cruz+18%+16%+27%
Santa Clara+15%+17%+21%
AMBAG region+31%+28%+29%
Planned commute patterns (2000-2020)
AreaCommute Increase
San Benito to Santa Clara+127%
Monterey to Santa Clara+133%
Salinas to Santa Clara+177%
N. Monterey to Santa Clara+100%
Santa Cruz to Santa Clara+18%
Salinas to Monterey Peninsula+44%
Source: AMBAG
