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San Benito County Land Use & Development Overview



California Local Pin Marker Get To Know A Group

The mission of the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust is “to conserve regionally significant lands that sustain productive agriculture, preserve open space, and maintain the rural character of the county.”

California Local Pin Marker Local Land Use & Development Digest

More Funding Allocated to Raise San Luis Reservoir Dam

01/17/2025

Read on for the latest progress in the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project to raise the dam at the San Luis Reservoir to add storage capacity.

California Lags in Making Homes Fire Resistant

01/17/2025

As wildfires ravage southern California, state mandated defensible space requirements legislated in 2020 haven't been encoded into enforceable regulations. Read on to learn why.

California Local Pin Marker Recent Articles

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
For San Benito Blueprint, It’s Just the Facts

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Raymond Martinez has lived in San Benito County for only six months. Still, he has already launched his new website, The San Benito Blueprint, which he hopes will help county residents cut through the misinformation …

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Wildfarmers Receives Grant to Support Blue Oak Woodland Habitat Stewardship

Information provided by Wildfarmers. Lea este artículo en español aquí.Wildfarmers is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting and strengthening wildlife, wilderness and human communities, through the enhancement of native habitat, aquifers, and forest lands; specifically pertaining to the ancient Blue Oak …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Top Stories of 2024

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Being an election year, there was no shortage of news for BenitoLink to dig into in 2024. Stories included several campaign flyers distributed by two unknown organizations which, as BenitoLink’s Fact Check project revealed, contained …

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Pinnacles National Park Hiring Habitat Restoration Crew Members

Information provided by Pinnacles National Park. Lea este artículo en español aquí.Pinnacles National Park and Conservation Legacy are hiring Habitat Restoration Crew members for the 2025 field season. For more information about the position, desired qualifications, and application instructions, please …

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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. …

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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 …

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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. …

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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 …

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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