After nearly a year of canvassing local opinions about a
proposed mini-city in northern San Benito County, developer DMB has
revealed a preliminary plan for the development that it hopes will
off-set concerns about traffic, public services, growth and the
economy.
Hollister – After nearly a year of canvassing local opinions about a proposed mini-city in northern San Benito County, developer DMB has revealed a preliminary plan for the development that it hopes will off-set concerns about traffic, public services, growth and the economy.
The Arizona-based company released a report that, while not stating how many houses it proposes to build, gives an early glimpse on how it plans to assuage concerns about it’s proposed development off Highway 25 near the county line. It proposes:
n Alternative access to Highway 101 through the project site to ensure the development’s residents don’t add to the traffic burden on Hwy. 25
n Developer-financed services such as a library and police and fire protection
n Open space easements with parks, trails and sports facilities
n Diverse housing, including rentals, that will be affordable for a wide-range of people in San Benito County
DMB, which has built communities in California, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii, owns about 4,500 just south of the Santa Clara County line near the Pajaro River. Though the development company has yet to release a specific plan for the project, it has spent the last year talking to groups and individuals about what kind of community they’d like to see built on the property.
“We try to make a project that meets the needs of the community. Not what we think the needs of the community are,” said Ray Becker, DMB’s local representative.
A copy of the report, which includes “guiding principles” – a framework for the project – rather than specific plans, will soon be sent out to all county homes, after which residents are encouraged to respond to DMB and let the company know if it understood their concerns and issues properly, according to Becker. Changes can still be made, he said.
In the report, DMB proposes a planned, self-contained community that maintains the county’s rural character, protects surrounding agricultural lands and eschews the kind of sprawl seen in Santa Clara County. After the poorly-planned, rapid development of the 1990s, which over burdened city and county infrastructure, well-planned development is a priority for locals, according to the report.
Traffic and safety on Hwy. 25, which runs in front of the El Rancho San Benito Property, topped the list of concerns expressed to DMB. To insure that El Rancho San Benito will not add to undesirable conditions, DMB proposes the creation of a new access to Hwy. 101 through the project site.
The report also states that traffic impact fees generated by the development of El Rancho San Benito could be used as matching funds to attract state money for a project that would add a new lane for each direction of Hwy. 25.
Also high on the list of concerns about El Rancho San Benito is how the project might help the county’s economy. The report states that the development would provide construction related jobs. It also states that the development’s commitment to improving transportation in the county and providing housing for a wide range of incomes will make the county more attractive to commercial and industrial businesses.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz said that he doesn’t believe that building more housing alone will help the county’s faltering economy.
“In my humble opinion, I don’t see building homes and homes and homes as a solution to our economy,” he said. “I will not support a project that just builds homes. If it provides job creation and houses, I’ll support it.”
The DMB report seems to touch on De La Cruz’s concern, stating that El Rancho San Benito should work with the county to attract commercial and industrial business.
“If they’re going to spearhead it and bring business into the community – fine,” De La Cruz said.
In response to concerns that El Rancho San Benito will be an enclave for the wealthy, the DMB report includes a guiding principle stating that the development should have diverse housing options for many income levels, including rental properties and senior housing.
Supervisor Don Marcus said that he has been particularly interested in what kind of impact El Rancho San Benito would have on county services – a topic that is included in the report.
“I’m still waiting to see the economic impact – negative or positive – to the community by adding so many houses to our population. I’m really concerned about the impact that number of residences can have on the county,” he said.
The DMB report states El Rancho San Benito should provide all of it’s own public services, including schools, and share some of it’s infrastructure improvements with the rest of the SBC.
“That’s going to be a key element,” Marcus said. “Not only making the statement, it has to be proven that El Rancho San Benito and any other subdivision will provide these levels and beyond for the long-term.”
DMB polls found that most residents support the county’s 1 percent growth cap, saying it prevents further traffic congestion and problems associated with sprawl. Many also said, however, that they would support modifying the limitation for a project that would benefit the community.
Becker said El Rancho San Benito is such a project.
“I believe people are developing very high expectations for DMB and El Rancho San Benito,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing.”
While voters would have to approve a zoning change for the DMB property – which can currently have one house per five acres, according to Becker – county supervisors would be the ones to ultimately grant any exception to the one percent growth cap.
Regardless of the countywide benefits that DMB says will come with El Rancho San Benito many in the county – 25 percent to use DMB’s polling result – are anti-growth.
Rebecca McGovern, an environmental activist from San Juan Bautista, said that developers will say what they need to in order to win support for a project.
“They figure people in San Benito County are too dumb to catch on,” she said. “Everyone thinks growth is profitable – it costs, it costs the people here.”
DMB is not the first to envision a planned community on the land between Hollister and Gilroy. In August of 1990, shelved plans for a massive 10,000 -home community at El Rancho San Benito resurfaced. Local residents remember the property was owned by Roberto Floriani at that time, who had started going through the steps necessary to build a self-sufficient community. The mini-city, which never came to fruition, would have had its own sewer system, police, schools, roads, golf courses and trains.
While the report signals the conclusion of DMB’s initial public outreach efforts, the county still has to wait before it sees just what the developer has in store for it’s property in northern San Benito.
Becker said that DMB will likely have a preliminary plan for the development – including the number of houses – by spring. A final plan won’t be ready until the end of next year, he said.
