Hollister took its first step in updating its General Plan by convening the first General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) meeting on June 4. At the meeting, the three-member committee appointed Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and Planning Commissioner David Huboi chair and vice chair, respectively. They also discussed filling two vacant positions on the five-member committee, one related to the Hollister Planning Commission and one at-large seat for a member of the public.
The General Plan is a document required by the state that serves as the blueprint for growth and development. Hollister’s current General Plan was adopted in 2005. The city contracted with PlaceWorks, Inc. consulting services in February for $700,000, but according to city documents, the final cost will be $1.4 million. The city launched a website to inform residents of meetings and activities, as well as to provide documents related to the plan.
After a presentation by PlaceWorks consultant David Early on what a general plan is, members of the public voiced concern that the GPAC lacked diverse views on growth.
“Rolan Resendiz and the mayor are both on the same page when it comes to growth for our community, and they are both against it,” resident Elia Salinas said. “Mr. Early from Placeworks, you must at least agree with us that you should have all different people giving you input.”
Early said PlaceWorks will conduct public outreach throughout the update process and not rely only on the discussions that take place at committee meetings. He also said while the committee advises the Planning Commission and the City Council, it’s the council that makes final decisions on the General Plan.
The selection of chair and vice chair was made despite the objections of Huboi and two members of the public, John and Mia Casey, who said it would be better to wait for a full committee before making the decision.
“It’s premature electing chairs and vice chairs,” Mia Casey said. “I mean, you only have three of your five members. That being said, I also agree David Huboi is the most experienced person on that committee and has gone through this process before and would be an excellent chair.”
The three members also discussed what process they would use to fill the two vacant positions.
The 2005 General Plan Advisory Committee had nine members.
On April 20, the City Council tried to appoint Planning Commissioner Roxanne Stephens and resident Trevin Barber to the committee, but the effort stalled in a 2-2 vote.
“She is a very intelligent person that has good vision and I was disappointed it became political,” Velazquez said of Stephens, adding that Barber was also capable of serving as he did not have any connections to developers.
Barber has worked for the city of Gilroy as the senior management analyst since September 2018, according to his resume. In his application to the committee, he wrote that “Hollister suffers from rampant sprawl. A sprawled development pattern creates massive inefficiencies in the delivery of basic and essential government services.”
According to the April 20 City Council agenda packet, former Planning Commissioner Gabriel Torres was appointed to the GPAC alongside Huboi in February 2018. Torres’ term, however, ended at the end of 2018. Stephens was then chosen by the Planning Commission over Commissioner Kevin Henderson in April 2019 to replace Torres. The agenda also states the city advertised the at-large position and received only one applicant.
While Huboi suggested going back to the City Council to vote on Stephens again, Resendiz and Velazquez preferred to move forward and leave the seat vacant until the November election. The City Council is also operating with a vacant seat until the election following the death of Councilman Marty Richman in March. Since that time, the council has been deadlocked with 2-2 votes on land use items.
While residents urged GPAC to consider having more public participation and giving more committee seats to the public, the committee did not take action on the issue. Early reminded committee members that though GPAC can make recommendations, the City Council is ultimately responsible for how to proceed with filling vacancies.
During the meeting, Henderson voiced his concern over how Resendiz was appointed to the committee. He said according to GPAC bylaws, the City Council needed to appoint the members. In the case of Resendiz, Henderson pointed out that Velazquez appointed him.
“I believe that the action taken by the mayor on the April 20 City Council meeting of this year was to unilaterally appoint Councilmember Resendiz to the GPAC, and it’s a violation of the resolution 2018-27,” Henderson said.
The GPAC bylaw on filling vacancies states that “vacancies created by resignation or removal for non-attendance may be filled by the City Council for the remainder of the term.”
City Attorney Jason Epperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether the bylaws were violated.
The committee also analyzed a list of intersections for PlaceWorks to study as nodes of congestion. Because the list included intersections outside the city limits, some of which are currently being worked on or studied by the county, the committee directed PlaceWorks to focus on intersections in the areas of San Benito Street, Union Road, Hillcrest Road and Memorial Drive.
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