Plans for a major development in San Juan Bautista won big at
the end of a month-long, mail-in election.
San Juan Bautista – Plans for a major development in San Juan Bautista won big at the end of a month-long, mail-in election.
Developer Tod duBois paid for the election so he could ask locals for an exemption from the city’s 1 percent growth cap for his proposed Artisans’ Plaza project. DuBois has said the cap, which limits construction to around seven residential units per year, would have made his plans impossible.
On Wednesday, Deputy City Clerk Trish Paetz announced the final count – 205 votes in favor of the Artisans’ Plaza, 114 votes against.
San Juan Bautista resident Wanda Guibert said she supports duBois’ plans because they could “benefit the city, the community and the economy.” Guibert, a member of the city’s historic society and a former member of the Historic Resources Board, said it can be hard to address the Mission City’s sometimes competing needs for residential growth and historic preservation.
“(This project) is a good balance between the two,” she said.
DuBois has said he paid $13,000 to cover the election’s cost and budgeted $5,000 for his campaign, though he said Wednesday that he probably spent substantially less. DuBois feels “super” about his nearly 2-to-1 victory, but it also means he has a lot of work ahead.
“I’m glad I won, but I’m realizing that I’ve made a huge commitment to the community,” he said.
DuBois hopes to submit a formal application for the Artisans’ Plaza in two or three months. Preliminary plans call for between 20 and 25 units of senior co-housing, 10 live-work condominiums, a bed-and-breakfast inn, an art gallery and a regional visitor’s center.
Many locals have said the potentially lucrative project could be just what the cash-strapped city needs. Councilman George Dias, on the other hand, said he is “disappointed” by the election results.
“The concept is great, but it has a long ways to go,” Dias said. “I supported it at the beginning, and as it progressed, I looked twice at it. … There’s some loose issues.” Dias said he is concerned about the project’s size.
San Juan Bautista has another election scheduled for November, when voters will have a chance to increase the city’s sales tax from 8 percent to 8.5 percent and to raise the annual growth cap from 1 percent to 3 percent. Dias emphasized that the two elections are completely separate.
“I’m not going to piggyback either one off the other,” he said.
Some attendees at Tuesday night’s vote count said they were surprised duBois didn’t make an appearance. DuBois told the Free Lance that he was helping his girlfriend move.
“I also wasn’t sure whether being there was a good idea or not,” he added.
DuBois said he sent out ballots to nearly 800 local voters.
