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The San Benito County Board of Supervisors brought back to life a discussion about changing the name of the county’s main artery, Highway 25, to Pinnacles National Park Highway. At its April 8 meeting, the board voted to hold off on a decision, but agreed to revisit the proposal in 2026 after gathering more input from the community.
Because Highway 25 is a state route, any name change would require approval from the California legislature. The proposal under consideration was to send a letter to State Senator John Laird and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, urging them to support the renaming of the northern section of the highway. Graciela Rodriguez, the county’s associate administrative analyst, told the board that request required approval from all five supervisors.
Supervisor Mindy Sotelo declined to back the idea, prompting the board to postpone the decision. She said that while she might support the renaming in the future, she wants the San Benito Council of Governments (COG) to lead the initiative, and called on the county to gather more feedback from community members.
“Right now, this is just too preliminary,” Sotelo said. “I appreciate the idea being brought forward, but I think there’s a lot more conversation that needs to happen with the public, with the homeowners, with the business owners.”
The idea of renaming Highway 25 is not new. It first appeared in 2013, after then-President Barack Obama formally designated Pinnacles—then a National Monument—as a National Park. At the time, the effort had momentum: The Board of Supervisors had the votes to urge the state legislature to approve the change, and then-State Senator Anthony Cannella had introduced a bill to rename the highway. But at the last minute, the board reversed course and withdrew its support.
Then-Supervisor Jerry Muenzer said the board’s reversal was taken after listening to complaints from South County residents, who expressed concerns about having to change their addresses, and about potential increased traffic in the area.
At the April 8 meeting, supervisor Angela Curro, who represents South County, said she surveyed her constituents before the discussion. The opposition, she said, remains after twelve years.
“South County has a high tolerance for this body,” Curro said. “A high tolerance of saying, ‘Okay, they’ll do whatever they want and never think about South County.’ But this is a ‘no’ they’ll die on.”
Curro said she agreed with Sotelo that the community should have more input and that the San Benito Council of Governments (COG) should lead the process. Still, she said, she would support the initiative, since the current proposal avoids South County.
The Tourism Advisory Committee, where the current proposal originated, was aware of the resistance. Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki, who sits on that committee, said that’s why the plan only considers renaming the stretch of Highway 25 between the northern limits of the city of Hollister and Highway 101.
Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez criticized South County’s opposition. Velazquez has been a longtime supporter of the renaming effort, and backed the first initiative twelve years ago in his time as mayor of Hollister. He successfully pushed the renaming of the short segment of Highway 25 running through Hollister, from San Benito Street to Sunnyslope Road, as Pinnacles National Park Highway. South of that point, the road remains Airline Highway, as it has been known since the 1930s.
Velazquez said the project shouldn’t be just from Hwy 101 to Hollister, but should go all the way “down to the county line.”
“How embarrassing is it that we have a National Park in our county and we’re too embarrassed or ashamed to name a road after it,” he said.
Kosmicki, who has advocated for the name change since his 2020 campaign for supervisor, also pushed back on the opposition.
“There are some people that just don’t like Pinnacles National Park,” he said. He proposed postponing the vote and revisiting the initiative next year, after more community input is collected. He also suggested the board could consider including the proposal in upcoming budget discussions to hear what residents have to say.
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