Lea este articulo en español aqui.
The Hollister Planning Commission approved a new multi-family project and issued an extension to a 28-unit project during its Feb. 22 meeting.
Located at 221 Hawkins Street, the new project known as the Brookshire Apartments consists of a 1,943 square-foot, two-story duplex; two 444 square-foot accessory dwelling units and four parking spots on a 4,421 square-foot parcel. The project is consistent with the city’s General Plan, a city report said.
Commissioner Carol Lenoir excused herself from the Brookshire presentation and vote citing a conflict of interest, saying, “I’m within 300 feet of the Brookshire project.”
Commissioner Christina Hernandez was not present, leaving Commissioners Kevin Hernandez, Steven Belong and Luke Corona to approve Brookshire in a 3-0 vote.
While the commissioners voted to approve the project, they also agreed to remove four general conditions under the conditions of approval, including submitting a signed development improvement agreement and presenting the project to the City Council; creating a maintenance agreement prior to issuing a certificate of occupancy; paying all required fair share development fees prior to approving the improvement plan and clearing brush and flammable vegetation near the property.
The duplex’s lower level will measure 965 square feet with a 60 square-foot porch while the upper level will measure 977 square feet with a 72 square-foot balcony, the project’s report states.
The accessory dwelling units will be detached.
There was one public speaker, Anne Hall, the applicant with San Benito Engineering & Surveying, who spoke before the vote.
“We are happy to go along with the resolution that was suggested with the removal of those items that staff recommended,” Hall said.
A second project was seeking to appeal the expiration of its site and architectural review, which includes its site design and location. The project consists of 16 multi-family apartments and 12 accessory dwelling units located at 2001 Memorial Drive.
The project’s tentative map and site and architectural review was first approved on Aug. 7, 2022, by the Planning Commission with an expiration date of Aug. 27, 2022, according to a city staff report.
On Sept. 22, 2022, the Planning Commission approved a one-year extension, the report said.
The project’s subdivision improvement agreement and final map were approved by the City Council on Sept. 5, 2023. On Oct. 3, 2023, the project’s final map was recorded by the county.
On Oct. 23, 2023, the applicant, Annotti Landing LLC, emailed the city’s planning division, the report said. Since the email was sent after the one-year extension period, the city found that the site and architectural review had expired before a building permit was issued.
According to the city report, a statement from Annotti Landing states: “There have been delays due to staff changes and some resulting confusion. The developer has shown commitment to the project by posting over $2.4 million in bonds in September 2023 as part of the subdivision improvement agreement.”
During the presentation to the commissioners, Hollister Planning Manager Eva Kelly said without changes to the project, the project is compliant with the city’s codes and policies.
Commissioners approved the appeal in a 4-0 vote.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.