A smart move on Leatherback
The Hollister Redevelopment Agency acted wisely in the $4
million purchase of the GAF Leatherback properties located at the
eastern edge of downtown.
Leatherback ended its decades-long presence in Hollister in
August of last year. The company manufactured building felt
– tarpaper to most of us.
A smart move on Leatherback
The Hollister Redevelopment Agency acted wisely in the $4 million purchase of the GAF Leatherback properties located at the eastern edge of downtown.
Leatherback ended its decades-long presence in Hollister in August of last year. The company manufactured building felt – tarpaper to most of us.
As the city grew up around it, complaints of odors and noise began to grow.
Hollister’s policy makers are embracing the notion of infill, adding housing to the gaps in the town’s development fabric.
That’s a good idea for a lot of reasons. Growing from the center out creates a smaller demand for new infrastructure, swallows up less valuable land and offers the opportunity for greater affordability.
As the properties develop, the effect will be to bring more people to the downtown area, and to expand the historic district to the east, where a lively retail community already appears to be thriving.
Redevelopment agencies use a powerful tool to collect funds. As property within a mapped redevelopment district is re-assessed, much of its increased value is diverted into the redevelopment fund. The effect, over time, can become an enormous community chest.
Hollister RDA funds revamped the downtown storm sewer system, ending perennial flooding. The Hollister Police Department and the multi-story garage at Fourth and San Benito are the manifestations of redevelopment money.
But the city’s plan to level the aging Leatherback buildings, then make the property available for sale for housing and commercial development, offers local residents two winning benefits.
First is the control that purchasing the property brings. Had it gone on the open market, the property might have been acquired for other industrial uses, creating the potential for a whole new round of headaches for nearby residents.
More important, acquiring, then reselling the property stretches redevelopment dollars further, so the money might be reapplied on other public projects.
Frankly, the power invested in RDAs should be a cause for concern. When public funds are used to prop up private business enterprises, the effect can be to discourage private sector development nearby. We believe that public agencies should move very deliberately before electing to enter into areas better served by the private sector.
In this case, the RDA’s move brings sound, modern planning practices and a much-needed stimulus for the local business and development communities.
