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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 staff, aimed to change substantial parts of the county’s land use policies, including allowing commercial development on land zoned for agricultural use.
The County Code is a set of laws that include traffic regulations, finances, public health, and building codes. Arielle Goodspeed, the county’s principal planner, said these changes are needed to promote business in the county and generate revenue.
“There were different revisions basically to facilitate the development of local businesses in agricultural zones,” Goodspeed said
The proposed amendments would allow owners of ag land to build wine-tasting rooms, bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels, breweries, convenience stores, gas stations, and alternative fuel and charging stations without having to go through the process of changing zoning designations.
The county has been working on modifying its zoning laws since March 2023. The proposed amendments touch on a variety of topics, but the section that was in the spotlight at Tuesday’s meeting was the chapter regarding agricultural land.
Robert Gibson, who supported these changes when they were discussed at the Planning Commission on Nov. 6, said San Benito County needs the development such changes would allow.
“Nobody’s buying gas because there’s nothing along the way through the county,” Gibson said. “As far as tourism, how can they visit our wineries if they’re driving from far away? We don’t have any hotels or motels in the county.”
More than a dozen people attending the meeting spoke in opposition to the zoning law changes, arguing that they were an effort to bypass Measure A, which requires voter approval for any land use decision.
“It’s a blatant disregard for the will of the voters in San Benito County,” Elia Munoz-Cowan said. “How can gas stations and mini-marts be considered allowable uses in agricultural zones?”
“By voting to change the definition of agricultural land zoning to include non-agricultural uses, such as the ones being proposed, you’re obstructing the will of the voters who passed Measure A.”
Some speakers claimed that county planners were proposing this change to save specific development projects that are in jeopardy now that Measure A has passed—such as the Betabel Road project (a 30-acre development on Hwy 101 that includes a gas station, a visitor center, a fruit stand and motel) and the Ag Center (a cold storage building to accommodate trucks hauling local produce on Hwy 101).
“A lot of people’s perception is that this is an attempt to circumvent Measure A to allow that truck stop to come back in another form,” said Mary Hsia-Coron, one of the leaders of the Measure A campaign.
Goodspeed said that the county started thinking about the zoning amendments in April 2024, before Measure A was put on the ballot. They first discussed it with the planning commission in August 2024.
“These conversations with staff happened long before we even dreamt that Measure A would come into existence,” Gibson said.
Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Dom Zanger echoed the concerns of the supporters of Measure A.
After the public comments, principal planner Goodspeed said that the best route would be for the board to examine these changes in the zoning laws when the county competes finishes drafting the Agricultural Element of the General Plan. She said the county should focus on its “long-range policy decisions for Ag, because the zoning follows that.”
Before the Ag Element is ready, Goodspeed will bring back to the board the chapters that are not related to agricultural land. They will be discussed in the next Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 10.
The Ag Element is expected to be ready for presentation to the board of supervisors by the fall of next year.
The supervisors agreed to discuss nonagricultural related laws in two weeks and to postpone ag land zoning until the Ag Element is completed. And, following supervisor Kosmicki’s suggestion, also approved an amendment to exclude mini-marts and gas stations from being included in future agricultural zoning changes.
“We need to finish the Ag Element first, because there’s no reason to put one foot forward and not have that completed,” said supervisor Angela Curro. “We need to hear from the ag community about what their needs are.”
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