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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 agricultural lands preservation program.
The City Council voted 4-1 on each of these items, with Councilmember Rolan Resendiz voting no.
The general plan, which was last updated in 2005, is required by California Law and serves as the city’s blueprint for growth.
Six people spoke during the public comment period in opposition to the adoption of the general plan, citing objections to expanding the so-called sphere of influence, which they claimed opens the door to more housing and the loss of agricultural land.
The California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCO) defines a sphere of influence as “a planning boundary outside of an agency’s legal boundary that designates the agency’s probable future boundary and service area.”
The purpose of the boundary is to ensure efficient services and discourage urban sprawl and premature development of agricultural and open space, according to LAFCO. The city’s sphere of influence area will remain under the county’s jurisdiction unless annexed into the city limits.
Briggite Baumann-Thorp spoke in opposition to the move. “We don’t want to build over prime ag land,” she said. “ Once you build over ag land it’s gone forever.”
She said expanding the sphere of influence ammounted to a “cheap land grab” in an attempt to circumvent recently passed Measure A. That measure requires voter approval to change land use designations in the unincorporated parts of the county from agricultural or rangeland to other uses.
David Early, with the consultant Placeworks, said the plan does not guarantee development will happen.
“There is nothing the government can do to force a person to develop their property,” he said. “One of the things that happens if you designate lots of land for development, you can end up getting a more patchwork pattern because areas that are more central may not be developed while areas that are further out might be developed more quickly.”
Resendiz said he opposed expanding the sphere of influence by 3,000 acres and that the city should address and plan for adequate infrastructure.
Five people spoke in favor of adopting the plan, saying it encourages infill development and economic development.
Willis Pack said the general plan addresses issues that have been needed in the community for several years.
“This draft general plan seems to point toward rational infill, filling in within the current city limits, and moving outwards,” he said. “The city and towns should control housing growth.”
He added that his property, identified within the Buena Vista Specific Plan, is expected to remain agricultural “for quite a while, probably my lifetime.”
Mayor Mia Casey addressed information in flyers distributed to the community that claimed the City Council was attempting to build 30,000 homes. She asked Early if that can be achieved in the next 20 years. Early said, given that Hollister is one of the fastest growing cities in California, the addition of 4,000 to 6,000 new homes over the next several years is “conceivable.”
The state mandates that the city plan its growth through a document known as the “housing element,” and accommodate 4,163 additional residential units per year for the next eight years.
Early presented the components of the general plan to the City Council, as he had done at a Planning Commission meeting on Oct. 25.
It includes 10 elements:
The 2040 draft plan includes 10 elements:
- Land Use and Community Design
- Circulation
- Housing
- Natural Resources and Conservation
- Open Space and Agriculture
- Health and Safety
- Community Services and Facilities
- Arts
- Economic Development
- Environmental Justice
An environmental impact report, which was published on Oct. 18, analyzes 18 topics, 11 of which are listed as “less than significant.” According to Early, three additional topics would be in the same category after mitigation measures.
Air quality, agricultural resources, noise and transportation are categorized as “significant and unavoidable impacts”
The agricultural land preservation policy was changed in the general plan to require that one acre of agricultural land be preserved for every one acre developed, instead of requiring the preservation of two acres per every acre developed. The land that is to be preserved needs to be within Hollister’s defined planning area (see map below), be in active agricultural use—or be put in agricultural use within a year—and be served by a water supply adequate to support its use.
The city began the process of updating the general plan in 2020.
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