LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.San Benito County is in the final stretch of completing a 16-unit housing development for homeless families, mostly funded by the state and located at the county-owned Migrant Center. Designed to help ease the county's …
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.The San Juan Bautista Planning Commission has accepted the annual progress reports on how the city has implemented its General Plan and Housing Elements during the last calendar year. The San Juan Bautista City Council …
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.At the March 11 meeting of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, Associate Planner Stephanie Reck delivered an update on the housing element of the county’s General Plan. While the county surpassed its goals …
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquíOn March 3, the Hollister City Council unanimously voted to repeal the 2040 General Plan following a successful referendum effort by local activist group Hollister Guardians Action. The state-mandated General Plan serves as the city’s …
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.For more than a year, the housing element of San Benito County’s General Plan—which California cities and counties must submit to address housing needs—has been out of compliance. That has triggered a provision in state …
LOCAL NEWS
Willow Landing—a new housing development touted by its developer as a tranquil home with convenient access to commercial amenities and urban opportunities—celebrated its grand opening in Hollister Feb. 1.
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.A San Diego developer has submitted plans for a project called Baler Place, which would provide affordable housing for very low income households. It includes two three-story buildings with 53 apartments at 340 Bridgevale Road …
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.For a year, Hollister has been susceptible to a provision of a state law, known as “the builder’s remedy,” which limits how much power local jurisdictions have over residential projects. Having the state approve the …
LOCAL NEWS
Information provided by County of San Benito. Lea este artículo en español aquí.NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the availability of the 6th Cycle (2023-2031) San Benito County Housing Element Public Review Draft. This update of the Housing Element constitutes an …
LOCAL NEWS
Information provided by the County of San Benito. Lea este articulo en español aquí.PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD: November 4, 2024, to November 11, 2024The County of San Benito has given notice of the availability of the 6th Cycle (2023-2031) San Benito …
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.After a two-year-long push and pull, the San Benito County Planning Commission denied the 141 single-family-unit project known as Lands of Lee, proposed for Fairview Road in Hollister. One of the main reasons behind the …
LOCAL NEWS
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a new state law that could lead to more farmworker housing development in Santa Clara County.
LOCAL NEWS
Lea este artículo en español aquí.Two years after it was conceived, the plan for the 141 single-family unit project known as Lands of Lee, proposed to be built on Fairview Road in Hollister, has yet to be approved. At its …
LOCAL NEWS
Information provided by Salvation Army Hollister. Lea este artículo en español aquí.The Salvation Army Hollister Corps Community Center, in collaboration with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, is launching an impactful program to empower migrant workers and support the unhoused community in …
LOCAL NEWS
With home ownership increasingly surpassing the reach of many Californians and residential real estate prices going up across the board, more people in South County are renting their homes in recent years.
LOCAL NEWS
Small, less-expensive readymade homes could buy time as the state continues to struggle with homelessness and high building costs. By Mark Kreidler, Capital & Main...
LOCAL NEWS
The Gilroy City Council this week narrowly voted to defend the city against a lawsuit that claims it has violated state housing laws by declining, so far, to approve a 501-unit residential project proposed on Las Animas Avenue.
LOCAL NEWS
In an ongoing legal dispute about the use and interpretation of a state housing law, the developer of a 501-unit project proposed on Las Animas Avenue now says the City of Gilroy must allow the residential complex to proceed.
LOCAL NEWS
Interested in moving to the tech capital of the world? Santa Clara County is in the heart of Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the tech industry. It is home to numerous tech giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel, Cisco …
LOCAL NEWS
Information provided by the city of Hollister. Lea este articulo en español aqui.
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![Image for display with article titled Concerned About Traffic, San Benito Planners Withhold Housing Project OK](<figure><img alt="" class="attachment-rss-image-size size-rss-image-size wp-post-image" height="527" src="https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-16-at-2.06.14 PM-1.png?fit=1024%2C527&ssl=1" tabindex="0" width="1024" /></figure><p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background">Lea este artículo en español <a href="https://benitolink.com/es/concerned-about-traffic-san-benito-planners-withhold-housing-project-ok">aquí</a>.</p><p><strong>Two years after it was conceived</strong>, the plan for the 141 single-family unit project known as Lands of Lee, proposed to be built on Fairview Road in Hollister, has yet to be approved. At its Sept. 11 meeting, the San Benito County Planning Commission expressed concerns about the project’s impact on the city’s complex traffic problems.</p><p>“Our commuters are struggling going to work and coming home,” said Commissioner Celeste Toledo-Bocanegra. “I believe it’s a hazard. It’s nothing against the project; it’s the timing.”</p><p>The commissioners, except Toledo-Bocanegra, voted to give the developer, Bill Lee more time to address traffic concerns and other issues. The commission will revisit the proposed development at a special meeting on Oct. 23.</p><p>The decision came after Lee and Arielle Goodspeed, the county’s principal planner, presented the revised project, addressing some of the main issues the San Benito County Board of Supervisors raised when it rejected the project In November 2022. At that time the supervisors said the developer didn’t provide a thorough study of its impact on the area’s traffic. Lee made an appeal, which the board denied in a meeting in February 2023.</p><p>“I’m extremely favorable of projects like this, but I think we need the infrastructure in place prior to approval,” said Supervisor Angela Curro at that meeting.</p><p>The revised project, first released for public comment in May, has taken on some significant changes. </p><p>First, it will be larger. According to the new environmental impact report, which documents and discloses the project’s possible effects on the community, the development will occupy a bit more than 33 acres, instead of 27, following the county’s direction to include more space for slope and drainage easement.</p><p>It would also have more affordable units. Lee decided to increase the number of affordable housing units from 21 to 30, and add five more accessory dwelling units (ADU), which are houses on the same lot as a single-family unit.</p><p>It would also be located further from Leal Vineyards. Among the main critiques of the last environmental report was that the units were too close to the vineyards, which increased residents’ chances of having contact with pesticides and other chemicals. The planning team decided to lengthen one of the project’s streets to create a bigger buffer zone.</p><p>The revised Lands of Lee plan also comes following an agreement between the Sunnyslope County Water District and the city of Hollister, approved in October 2023, to treat the project’s wastewater.</p><p>Lee, who’s also the director of Martha’s Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides food to those in need, also agreed to pay a voluntary fee—“nearly double the required fee,” he said—to San Benito High School. </p><p>“The reality is this community needs a new high school and the reason I offer to pay more is that it sets a precedent where the school will be able to ask other developers, whether it’s city or county, to also pay additional fees.”</p><figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="The Planning Commission met on Sept. 11 to discussed the revised EIR of the 141-unit housing project known as Lands of Lee." class="wp-image-109484" height="430" src="https://i0.wp.com/benitolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-5.22.42 PM.png?resize=780%2C430&ssl=1" tabindex="0" width="780" /></figure></figure><p>Lee and Goodspeed argued that the revised project contained elements that lowered the impact that 141 new homes might otherwise add to area traffic. While the previous proposal was more than 8% over the county’s “vehicle miles traveled” threshold, a measure which predicts the total travels a new development would add, the revised project is estimated to be 9.6% below the threshold.</p><p>“We actually hired the county’s traffic consultant, Kimley Horn, and they found a creative way to solve the traffic impact, which was creating these low-restricted low-income ADUs,” said Lee.</p><p>ADUs are believed to reduce traffic because, according to the <a href="https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/policy-and-research/ADUHandbookUpdate.pdf">California Department of Housing and Community Development</a>, car ownership rates in ADUs are lower than in single-family homes. This means that, by adding more ADUs, the developers were able to reduce the impact of traffic. </p><p>“We got rid of the significant traffic impact,” Lee said.</p><p>Some members of the community defended the revised proposal.</p><p>“This proposal is a tremendous idea,” said Manuel Bueno, a college student. “It brings a lot of hope to those pursuing an education like myself and looking to buy a house sooner than later.”</p><p>Others were skeptical of the lower traffic impact. “Every unit is going to increase traffic,” said Barry Katz. “What will the traffic be in 13 years before Highway 25 is widened? How many more units will be approved for housing without the necessary infrastructure?”</p><p>The commissioners echoed these traffic concerns and raised others. Commissioner Vincent Ringheden questioned the cost of each unit which, according to Lee’s estimates, would be around $500,000. “I don’t know how to get past the fact that most of these homes are quite expensive,” he said. “If you have to buy a house for this cost, you have to have a bigger income. Most of those high-income jobs are in Silicon Valley.” </p><p>Commissioner Robert Scagliotti also suggested what he called a “drop tax,” which would require that lumber, as well as every screw and plumbing fixture that the developer needs, be bought in the county; and if the item is not available, the developer would pay the county the sales tax it missed out on for items purchased elsewhere. </p><p>Lee agreed to this tax and said he would include it, among others, in next month’s revised presentation.</p><p>“I’m hoping that we can continue working on these items going forward. We need some agreements. We cannot simply approve the project without conversations and agreements,” said Commissioner Robert Gibson. “In order for us to make the best project, we need to work together.”</p><p class="has-light-gray-background-color has-background"><a href="https://benitolink.com/donate-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! </strong></a>BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider <a href="https://benitolink.com/donate-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>supporting BenitoLink,</strong></a> San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.</p><p>The post <a href="https://benitolink.com/concerned-about-traffic-san-benito-planners-withhold-housing-project-ok/">Concerned about traffic, San Benito planners withhold housing project OK</a> appeared first on <a href="https://benitolink.com">BenitoLink</a>.</p> "Image for display with article titled Concerned About Traffic, San Benito Planners Withhold Housing Project OK")
