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Following fierce opposition from some members of the surrounding community, the San Benito County Planning Commission on Sept. 18 rejected a proposed commercial project located at the intersection of Highways 101 and 129.
The Ag Center, as it has been named by the county, was one vote shy of winning a development agreement —a contract between the landowners, the county, and the developer. If the project had been passed by the Planning Commission, it would have been sent to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors for final approval.
Arielle Goodspeed, the County’s principal planner, said the Ag Center project is a good deal for the people of San Benito County.
“The public benefit includes a $500,000 deposit to fund county traffic improvements and public safety to use at our discretion,” Goodspeed said, “as well as a 30.4-acre open space wildlife corridor easement, and an architectural theme review of any future development.”
During the public comment period, Donna Bosworth spoke against the project. “These areas that we’d had for like decades and decades and decades, and that people specifically look for when they are driving on 101, are just going to be developed,” Bosworth said. “Why are we paving paradise to put in parking lots?”
Only one person at the meeting spoke in favor of the project. Valerie Egland, president of the board of the nonprofit REACH San Benito Parks Foundation, said the wildlife corridor included in the proposal is sufficient.
“My family and I have lived all of our lives here, so we understand quite well how wildlife moves through,” England said. “They have a huge area and that specific spot is quite like a funnel. I was happy to see that it would be a wildlife corridor.”
The Ag Center is proposed for two parcels totaling 21 acres to accommodate a 16,000- square-foot convenience store and food hall, a 12,500-square-foot truck service building and a 13,500 cold storage building. The project is intended to provide more services to trucks on the county’s busiest thoroughfares and help boost the county’s economy.
The $500,000 contribution to fund traffic improvements and public safety, which was scheduled to be dispersed in five payments ($100,000 upon the execution of the agreement and $100,000 annually for four years), was not enough to convince Commissioner Richard Way of District 2, where the project would be located.
“There’s a $400,000 incentive to approve the conditional use permit,” Way said. “I don’t think that’s right. How much money is enough to compensate for subverting the will of the people?”
The concerns expressed by opponents of the project swirled around its impact on wildlife and the landscape, the lack of an environmental impact report, and its impact on traffic.
Some opponents expressed concerns about approving a project that affects rural areas just a month before voters will be asked to decide on Measure A, which would remove the parcel’s commercial designation. That measure would also remove commercial designation from three other highly trafficked “nodes,” and require that all commercial projects be put before a popular vote.
“The timing is premature,” said San Bautista City Councilmember Jackie Morris-Lopez. “We have a measure on the ballot that would answer the question of whether this approval is worthy or not.”
The County can still appeal the planning commission’s decision or resubmit an adjusted project for discussion.
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