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California environmental regulations have stalled construction of Riverview Regional Park, putting the project on the verge of being scrapped.
The 46-acre site—planned with trails, softball fields, picnic areas and an amphitheater between Hollister High School and the San Benito River—now hangs in the balance as the state requires mitigation measures that would drive up costs beyond what county supervisors say the county can afford amid a budget crisis.
The project’s fate will be decided next week when county officials meet with staff from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. At the heart of the dispute is the California tiger salamander, an endangered species in some parts of California that state officials believe could be threatened by the park’s construction.
Public Works Administrator Steve Loupe informed the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 23 that the state has offered two options: pay $2.2 million for mitigation, or build ponds on the site and spend two years studying whether salamanders actually live there.
“County staff met with CDFW a few months ago and said, ‘Can we please reconsider the mitigation requirements?’” Loupe said. “And in a very positive turn of events, the CDFW said, ‘You know what? We will reconsider.’”
That meeting is scheduled for Sept. 29.
Riverview Regional Park has been in the works for more than a decade and is projected to cost more than $20 million. The plan is divided into three phases: Phase One consists of a parking lot with about 60 spaces; Phase Two includes trails, pickleball courts, picnic areas and restrooms; and Phase Three would expand the parking lot and add more amenities.
The county completed the project’s environmental impact report in 2016 and in 2021 received $750,000 from the state budget, pushed by Assemblymember Robert Rivas, to begin building the parking lot.
A bid was awarded in May 2022, but as construction was about to start, the county was told it could not proceed without first securing all environmental permits.
As part of the environmental review, Loupe said, the county was required to consult with federal and state authorities about the potential impact on tiger salamanders. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told the county that the project would most likely not harm salamanders.
“And so, they gave us some standard protocols during construction of what to do if you encounter a salamander, and how to try to avoid impacting them,” Loupe said.
But the California Department of Fish and Wildlife had a different opinion, Loupe told the board. Because salamanders were found in 2006 and 2017 at 1.2 miles from the project, the agency determined that there could be an impact.
As a result, despite securing a $2.4 million grant in July 2022 for Phase Two and signing a contract to build the parking lot, all construction was halted until the county could obtain environmental permits and prove that salamanders will not be harmed.
“The state says we can’t do this because 10 years ago there was a salamander over a mile away,” said Supervisor Dom Zanger. “I think that’s ridiculous, frankly.”
Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki called what is happening with Riverview Regional Park “a dimly lit example of why things can never get done” in California.
“This is an example of how overburdensome the environmental regulations are at the state level, how the environmental regulations are killing California,” he said.
Kosmicki added that if the county has to pay $2.2 million in mitigation costs, “it would never get built,” especially as supervisors are struggling with a multi-million-dollar budget gap and weighing cuts and layoffs to close it.
Kosmicki also questioned whether Phase Three of the park—the most expensive portion, estimated at $15 to $17 million—could ever be completed.
To fund it, the county applied last November for a $15 million federal Environmental Protection Agency grant aimed at climate justice and disadvantaged communities. But in March, the agency announced it was terminating more than 400 grants totaling $1.7 billion “related to DEI and environmental justice.”
Loupe told BenitoLink the county has not received formal notice that the grant they had applied for was cancelled. The county expected to hear back by summer, but has not heard back, despite repeated follow-ups through consultants.
Supervisors agreed the park’s future should be discussed in light of the county’s strained finances, but voted to table that until staff has met with CDFW to see whether the agency is willing to reconsider its mitigation requirements for the tiger salamander.
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