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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 Sept. 11 meeting, the San Benito County Planning Commission expressed concerns about the project’s impact on the city’s complex traffic problems.
“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.”
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.
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.
“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.
The revised project, first released for public comment in May, has taken on some significant changes.
First, it would be larger. According to the new environmental impact report, which documents and discloses the project’s possible effects on the community, the development would occupy a bit more than 33 acres, instead of 27, following the county’s direction to include more space for slope and drainage easement.
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.
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.
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.
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 District.
“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.”
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.
“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.
ADUs are believed to reduce traffic because, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, 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.
“We got rid of the significant traffic impact,” Lee said.
Some members of the community defended the revised proposal.
“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.”
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?”
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.”
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.
Lee agreed to this tax and said he would include it, among other adjustments, in next month’s revised presentation.
“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.”
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