What a difference a mile makes
Long ago in San Benito history, Tres Pinos was the place to be.
The biggest city in the county
– and the end of the rail line – the community boasted hotels
and bars galore. But as times changed and Hollister grew, Tres
Pinos transformed into a sleepy rural town. The hay warehouses that
once lined the rail line, supplying the livery stables of San
Francisco, are mostly gone. Some burned,
and just a few years ago, one fell down of its own volition.
What a difference a mile makes
Long ago in San Benito history, Tres Pinos was the place to be. The biggest city in the county – and the end of the rail line – the community boasted hotels and bars galore. But as times changed and Hollister grew, Tres Pinos transformed into a sleepy rural town. The hay warehouses that once lined the rail line, supplying the livery stables of San Francisco, are mostly gone. Some burned, and just a few years ago, one fell down of its own volition.
Now some people want to bring back some of the old glory to Tres Pinos in the form of the Spur Hotel. John and Jae Eade have proposed a 40-plus-room boutique hotel complete with a swimming pool and a wine tasting room tucked into the residential streets of Tres Pinos.
With all the talk of boosting tourism throughout the county, it’s hard to say no to a project that would bring more people to San Benito. The Eades are touting the hotel as a great place for tourists and wine travelers to stay for the night or weekend.
Eade’s land is residential and is zoned for three homes. Neighbors – some who have lived in their homes for decades or generations – cite concerns about bringing rowdy crowds and drunken driving to the community.
Another issue of concern is water. Water is a precious commodity that seems to be in limitless supply – but it’s not. Wars have been fought and lives have been lost due to a lack of clean, fresh water. In Tres Pinos, restaurants such as Flapjacks shut down one a day a week because there is not enough water to run the restaurant seven days a week.
Eade has circumvented the issue by drilling a well for the hotel. Some project opponents are crying foul over that move, since the well is within the tiny Tres Pinos Water District boundaries. The San Benito County Water District staff has opined that Eade had that right.
The back of the hotel also shares a bike lane that heads towards Tres Pinos School – a route many children take to the rural campus.
Project plans say the bike route will only be used by traffic in emergencies.
For us it comes down to location, location, location. Less than a mile away, facing Hwy. 25 across from the Tres Pinos Inn and the Cantina is a block of land zoned as commercial. The land is flat, set away from the residential neighborhoods and is far from the bike path that leads toward the school. A hotel in Tres Pinos would be great if only it were in the right place.
On one hand, the property rights of those who purchased homes in areas designated for residential growth deserve to be respected.
On the other, developers like the Eades are usually compelled to use the property that’s available, not the property that is theoretically ideal.
We hope the Eades are able to successfully engineer a deal that brings the Spur to the commercial strip in Tres Pinos, preserving the quiet of residential neighborhoods and earning the goodwill of neighbors while becoming a gem in the county’s developing tourism industry.
