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San Benito County Land Use & Development Overview



California Local Pin Marker Get To Know A Group

The Wildlands Conservancy is California’s largest nonprofit nature preserve system. It protects and maintains more than 20 nature preserves in California and one in Central Oregon.

California Local Pin Marker Local Land Use & Development Digest

Can New State Regulations Resolve California’s Existential Insurance Crisis?

12/16/2024

There’s no law requiring California property owners to carry insurance, but the vast majority buy it to protect themselves from fire and other perils, or are required to do so by their mortgage lenders.

California Lawmakers Want to Cut Red Tape to Ramp Up Clean Energy but Rural Communities Push Back

12/13/2024

Some rural California communities are resisting efforts to streamline permitting for wind and solar farms and battery storage for environmental or safety reasons.

California Local Pin Marker Recent Articles

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
Developer Proposes 104 Homes in North Gilroy

A Morgan Hill-based developer has submitted plans for a 104-unit housing project on an 18.3-acre parcel in unincorporated Gilroy.

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Measure a Clashes With Federal ‘Opportunity Zones’

Lea este artículo en español aquí.In 2017, President Donald Trump created a program called Opportunity Zones to spur economic growth in low-income communities—two of these are located in San Benito County. Although the program will continue until 2026 and Congress …

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
‘Governors Are Going to Have to Create a New System’: Leaders in the West Lambast Insurance Industry Over Rising Costs for Homeowners

Smoke and burned trees are pictured near Sylvan Lake State Park during a wildfire that erupted south of Eagle in the White River National Forest on June 20, 2021. With intense wildfires becoming a greater threat in the West, homeowners …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Sheriff’s Office Visits Encampments in Riverbed

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Homeless residents have built elaborate living arrangements along the San Benito River, and some of them include underground dwellings and walled communities, according to a recent census conducted by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
San Benito Supervisors Delay Changes to Planning Commission’s Authority

Lea este artículo en español aquí.At its last meeting of the year, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to postpone voting on amendments to the rules governing the county Planning Commission. The proposal modifies the commission’s duties …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
For Now, Measure a Will Not Halt Betabel Project

Lea este artículo en español aquí.According to a San Benito County planner, Measure A will not immediately stall the plan to build a visitor center, gas station, fruit stand and motel at the corner of Hwy 101 and Betabel Road. …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
San Juan Bautista City Council Sends Growth Measure to Supervisors

Lea este artículo en español aquí.At a Dec. 2 special meeting, the San Juan Bautista City Council voted to approve the final wording of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will be submitted to the San Benito County Board of …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Hollister City Council Adopts 2040 General Plan

Lea este artículo en español aquí.On Dec. 3, the Hollister City Council approved the 2040 general plan update and certified its environmental impact report amid mixed reactions from community members. The council also adopted a climate action plan and an …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
CalFire to Conduct Prescribed Burns in December

Information provided by CalFire. Lea este artículo en español aquí.Conditions and weather permitting, CAL FIRE plans to conduct multiple broadcast burns through the San Benito-Monterey Unit during December 3, 2024 to December 13,2024.The planned burns will range from 3 acres …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Supervisors Delay Changes to the County’s Zoning Code

Lea este artículo en español aquí.In a Nov. 26 meeting, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors tabled a series of amendments to a number of zoning ordinances listed in the County Code. The amendments, which were introduced by county …

Featured

Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society
Zoning is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since 1972, the California Coastal Commission has ruled over the state’s shoreline.
California Coastal Commission: Where It Comes From, What It Does
How a nuclear plant, a real estate development and an oil spill led to a landmark law.
The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land
Starting in 1976, the legislature began creating agencies to buy up open land, and keep it open.
Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law
54-year-old environmental law is often blamed for causing the state’s housing crisis. Is it getting a bad rap?
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.
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