Hollister
– San Benito County’s Board of Supervisors joined the Hollister
City Council yesterday in passing a resolution opposed to Measure
S, the ballot initiative sponsored by developer Pulte Homes.
Hollister – San Benito County’s Board of Supervisors joined the Hollister City Council yesterday in passing a resolution opposed to Measure S, the ballot initiative sponsored by developer Pulte Homes.
Supervisors Don Marcus, Reb Monaco, Anthony Botelho and Board Chair Pat Loe voted for the anti-Measure S resolution, while Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz voted against it.
If passed, Measure S would amend the city’s general plan to redesignate 1,300 acres of agricultural land near the municipal airport as a “mixed use residential community.” Once the city’s moratorium on development is lifted, this land would be exempt from the 244-unit annual limit on residential allocations imposed by Measure U; instead Pulte subsidiary Del Webb would be issued up to 650 permits a year for its proposed Sun City Hollister senior living community.
The supervisors heard impassioned speeches both for and against the measure for more than two hours before voting. Tim Foley, the county’s superintendent of schools, said he was impressed by his visits to Del Webb developments in Placer County; he urged the supervisors to support Measure S for the economic benefits Del Webb could bring.
“It’s folly to think that particular area, that land, is going to stay fallow,” Foley said. “Something is going to happen there.”
Hollister City Councilman Brad Pike, the sole councilmember to support Measure S, said the Sun City community could provide the county with the money it needs to expand Highway 25 and reduce the sewer rates.
“The more people you bring in, the lower the rates go,” Pike said.
Pike also responded to concerns that if Del Webb’s development falls through, the amendment to the general plan will remain. The measure’s critics say there’s a risk that another developer might build on that property, and they would only be required to include 35 senior homes. According to Pike, any future developments must be approved by the City Council.
“I will not vote for anything that’s not Sun City Hollister,” Pike said. “If it’s not what Del Webb is proposing, I have no interest in building anything there.”
Pike added that the current funding numbers being thrown around are still tentative, because Del Webb and the government haven’t had any formal negotiations yet.
Pike’s point was re-emphasized by Pulte Land Acquisitions Manager Wendy Elliott, who recited a list of federal, state and local agencies that would have to approve the Sun City project even if Measure S passes. The local agencies include the San Benito County Council of Governments, the Local Agency Formation Commission and the Hollister City Council.
Botelho said he is concerned that the Board of Supervisors wouldn’t get a say in the project. Elliott said she encourages the city and county to work together.
When asked whether the county would be stuck with the exemption to the development cap even if Del Webb’s project falls through, Elliott reiterated that any development would still have to go through the normal approvals process.
“No project, no permits,” she said.
Elliott described potential benefits Sun City Hollister could have for Hollister and San Benito County. She said new development would create an average of 1,000 jobs a year, and that 275 new jobs would remain after construction is complete. Elliott also said her current budget has room for $10 million for affordable housing.
“That’s just a number to start with,” she said, adding that affordable housing is “near and dear” to her heart.
Botelho, who has long expressed concerns about the city’s wastewater treatment project, said he is still worried about the development’s effect on the county’s sewer system.
“At the end of the day, that water has to go somewhere,” he said.
Elliott responded, “If we can’t solve those problems, we don’t have a project.”
Del Webb’s Bay Area Brand Manager Mike Serpa urged the supervisors not to vote on the resolution.
“If you have these questions, you don’t have enough information to oppose it,” Serpa said. “You don’t have enough information to support it.”
George Dias, a member of COG and the San Juan Bautista City Council, said he was upset that Measure S will only be voted on in the city but could affect the entire county, and warned that Del Webb could, like developers in the past, take advantage of the county.
“If it sounds too good, it is,” Dias said. “This is history repeating itself.”
After echoing Serpa’s comments that the board should not vote on the resolution, Sheriff Curtis Hill spoke in favor of Measure S.
Recalling other developments the county has turned down, Hill said, “Sooner or later, the community is going to have to say yes to some of this stuff.” He pointed to the tattoo parlor and biker bar downtown and added, “We have to start getting quality in this community.”
The last member of the public to address the board was Gordon Machado, who is heading the anti-Measure S campaign. Machado described a number of objections to the measure and the project, but he said his biggest concern is what he sees as an inequitable distribution of building permits.
“To come out of the moratorium six years later, and you tell me you’re only going to give 244 permits to the local yokel and 650 to some outsider that just came in, something’s not right,” Machado said.
Before voting, the supervisors described their thoughts on the measure.
Marcus, who wrote the anti-Measure S resolution, said the supervisors could have ignored the issue, but that they would have been dodging their responsibility.
“We could have told our constituents that it’s a city issue,” he said. “Well, it isn’t.”
Marcus said that while the city and the county are facing major problems, “I don’t believe this problems are going to be solved by bringing in 8,000 people in one fell swoop.”
Monaco emphasized his belief in the planning process when explaining his opposition to Measure S.
“What good is a planning process that we do not respect, do not abide by and do not enforce?” he said.
The lone Measure S supporter among the supervisors was De La Cruz, who said he had campaigned on the promise of providing jobs to his constituents.
“I see this as an opportunity to provide a ray of hope in my district,” he said. “How can I tell a family that’s looking for a job that I turned away an opportunity?”
Members of the audience applauded after De La Cruz’s statement.
Botelho repeated his concerns about the fact that the county wasn’t getting more input in the process and about wastewater disposal. He said he was also bothered by the project’s scope.
“We don’t have a good track record of managing smaller projects, much less a development of this size,” he said.
Like Monaco, Loe said her vote was based on her concerns about the general plan. She noted that the county has begun revisions to its own general plan, and said, “If we allow projects to move forward this way, (the general plan) would be obsolete.”
After the meeting, Yes-on-S Campaign Manager Annette Giacomazzi said, “The majority of elected officials are allowing process to stop progress.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330.
