County builder’s remedy project proposes 149 units 

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The effect of remaining out of compliance with the state over its Housing Element for more than two years is still being felt by San Benito County, as another housing project was officially filed under the state’s builder’s remedy. 

The latest project filed on March 3 by Emily Chen representing The E and H 3rd Family Limited Partnership (FLP) of Cupertino proposes 149 housing units on Hwy 25, across the street from the east end of the Ridgemark golf course.

The project would construct 104 single-family units and 45 town homes on two lots; 30 of the town homes would be designated as affordable. 

While the project also proposes to build an on-site sewage treatment and disposal facility on the 28.9-acre property, it states another option is connecting to the municipal system in the Cielo Vista development across the street. That neighborhood is in the county but is connected to Hollister water.

According to the application, the single-family units would be between 1,500 and 3,000 square feet. The townhomes would be between 1,528 and 1,648 square feet. 

It also proposes a community park and a small park, 556 parking spaces consisting of 334 garage parking spaces, 208 driveway spaces and 14 stalls.

The builder’s remedy allows developers to bypass certain local zoning and general plan requirements for projects with affordable housing when jurisdictions don’t have a certified Housing Element, which serves as a planning tool for residential development on eight-year cycles.

Though San Benito County received its Housing Element certification by the state on Feb. 3, California law allows project applications that were submitted before certification to still move forward.

According to county records, Chen submitted a preliminary application in August 2024 proposing 172 units including 63 apartments that were proposed to be designated as affordable. 

Among the concerns the county raised in the preliminary application was the single access point to the subdivision. 

“The proposal should include more outward stubs to improve circulation with potential future neighboring development, especially in the northern area,” planner Michael Kelly wrote in his review. 

In the latest application, Chen redesigned the most northern street to be able to connect on the west and east sides of the subdivision with future projects.

In response to the preliminary application, Caltrans asked Chen to conduct a traffic analysis of four intersections near the project to measure potential impacts on Hwy 25. It also recommended against including pedestrian right of ways that lead to the highway. 

“Any pedestrian facilities should be designed outside of the Caltrans right of way to ensure the safety of all users,” Caltrans states. 

Kelly said it “will be difficult” for the applicant to get approval from the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board for an on-site sewage treatment system to serve the subdivision, but did not provide reasons.

He said there are three options available, including connecting to the city’s system, connecting to Ridgemark’s system, or constructing a lift station connecting the subdivision and adjacent Fairview Corners developments, which includes Gavilan College Hollister Campus, to the city’s system.

However, connecting to the city would be a challenge, as the majority of current Hollister City Council members ran on slowing growth and have previously said they opposed hookups to projects outside city boundaries. 

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