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The Hollister City Council voted 4-1 to adopt a wastewater services agreement between Hollister and Sunnyslope County Water District for Gavilan College, Cielo Vista, Fairview Corners and Lands of Lee.
Councilmember Rolan Resendiz voted against the plan.
According to the agreement, Hollister will receive $2.2 million in collection/impact fees at full buildout, as well as monthly collection charges.
The agreement contains several terms:
- Sewer service will be limited to those parties listed in the agreement.
- The district will pay the city 100% of the portion of the sewer rate and 70% of the collection portion. The district will keep 30% of the collection portion for maintenance.
- The city will need to obtain written approval from the Local Agency Formation Commission (LACO), the body that oversees changes in city or special district boundaries.
- Flow is estimated at 145,000 gallons per day at full buildout.
There were 13 speakers, with 11 speaking against the agreement and two speaking in favor.
One speaker in favor was Lands of Lee Developer Bill Lee, who said that without the agreement, Gavilan College would be forced to build a septic tank.
“So in order to do that, the time is very very limited and we really need to get the gas pedal down on this and get it across LAFCO as well,” Lee said.
He ended by saying his project, a 141-unit residential subdivision on Fairview Road. would include 10% of housing for low-income families, 5% for moderate and 25 additional dwelling units.
Another speaker in favor of the project was Roberta Daniel, president of the Cielo Vista homeowners association, who said the community needs sewer treatment.
Though Ciela Vista’s homeowner association hasn’t met with the water district, she’s “sure that the whole community will support the hookup.”
“I think it’s beneficial for the college, for Lands of Lee, that everybody gets an affordable sewer that isn’t a septic tank, which is not very environmentally friendly for our area,” Daniel said.
Bella Rosales spoke against the agreement, saying that most of the meeting attendees were against the agreement.
She said that residents of the Westside regularly attend council meetings to talk about the “overwhelming stench” from the sewage.
“But instead of this problem being fixed, the adoption of this resolution to extend services and bring in more sewage would clearly make the problem worse,” Rosales said. “This is a social justice issue. So, if you care about the concerns of the Latino Westside, the way to show that would be to vote ‘no.’”
Another speaker, Maureen Nelson, said the city shouldn’t extend services to those outside the city limits.
“We have limited resources. We already have an issue with the wastewater treatment plant,” she said. “Who are you servicing? Are you servicing the county residents or are you servicing your city residents?” she asked the council.
Brigitte Baumaun-Thorp told the council: “I feel like you need to take care of your residents first before you enlarge it.”
Other speakers were concerned about the constant smell coming from the existing sewage system and claimed the city wasn’t taking the Westside’s community’s concerns seriously.
Resendiz thanked the public for attending the meeting. He said the residents of Hollister built the regional treatment plant, not Cielo Vista or the county.
He also said the Lee family gave campaign money to Councilmember Dolores Morales and Mayor Mia Casey.
BenitoLink reported this year that Casey received a $250 contribution from Andrew Lee and another $250 from Bill and Michelle Lee, but returned it.
In 2021, Morales received $250 from Bill and Michelle Lee, respectively. In 2022, Michelle Lee donated another $250.
Burns said he didn’t take any money from developers and felt no pressure to support the item.
Perez said: “Money was taken from people and it was returned.” He then looked over the dias and stopped himself. “I’m going in the wrong direction. I support this. This is the right choice.”
There was an outburst from the public, which Perez answered and Casey asked Perez to stop.
Casey noted that the state has passed laws to limit the ability of cities and counties to restrict development, and that if cities or counties ignore those laws, they may face financial penalties, lose grants, or even lose control over the planning of local housing.
She explained that the city is prohibited from launching a moratorium and that there is “more and more pressure to build, more and more laws and I don’t want to run afoul of the laws. It’s dangerous.”
Other council actions
The council unanimously approved additional items under the consent calendar including an amendment change to add The 400 of Hollister Owners’ Association, the name of the homeowners association, as the holder of the license for the agreement of reserving up to 24 parking spaces for the condominium development on the 400 block of San Benito Street; a contract for parking spaces for condos next to the Briggs Building Parking Garage; and long-term security for the Briggs parking garage.
In a 4-1 vote, with Resendiz opposed, the council denied an appeal filed by the San Benito High School District. The school district was appealing the city Planning Commission’s approval of a mixed-used development with 157 apartment units.
The council also voted 3-2, with Resendiz and Burns opposed, to pay PlaceWorks, Inc. an additional $762,800 to amend Hollister’s draft 2040 General Plan.
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