Lea este artículo en español aquí.
With two properties as options for another high school campus, San Benito High School District has seemingly chosen to abandon one of those options by submitting a preliminary application for a 1,000-unit residential project at the Best Road site.
The district submitted the preliminary application, which also includes commercial uses, to the county on Jan. 23, according to the county’s online planning portal Accella.
On Jan. 27, the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved resolutions supporting a workforce housing strategy in order to enhance its recruitment and retention efforts and to solicit proposals for development on the Best Road property.
In his presentation, Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum said the district was not alone in pursuing workforce housing. He said more than46 school districts in California are “exploring or doing this.”
Tennenbaum added San Diego Unified School District is looking to develop a project including between 750 and 1,500 units.
According to the district’s preliminary application, the project proposes 520 apartment units and 480 townhome units on the 69.2-acre property located on the corner of Best Road and Hwy 25.
San Benito High School District Chief Business Officer John Frusetta said the units will be for rent with prioritization for district employees and employees of other public services.
According to the application, the project proposes a mix of two- and three-bedroom townhouses, and apartments ranging between one and three bedrooms, including 480 market rate units, 100 for very low, 210 for low and 210 for moderate income levels.
The design of the residential units would feature Mission-style architecture “reminiscent of the Hollister High School campus,” the application states. It adds the townhomes’ maximum height would be 25 feet and apartment buildings would be 35 feet.
The proposed project also includes 100,000 square feet of commercial and administrative use, including an administrative center and child care center, 2,720 parking spots, and five acres of “central green space for community members to gather and socialize.”
The proposal also calls for 60,000 square feet for retail space, including a grocery store.
According to the application, the applicant has 180 days after the preliminary application to submit a full application or the preliminary application expires.
The project was submitted under a state tool known as the “Builder’s Remedy” that makes it harder for jurisdictions without a state-approved housing plan, such as San Benito County, to reject projects that include affordable housing.
“We envision a unified, self-sufficient community where educators can live near the students they serve, strengthening academic outcomes and community well-being through proximity, stability, and daily engagement,” according to the application.
The application comes 10 days after the San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved its Housing Element. The document, which outlines the jurisdiction’s plan to accommodate its share of the states’ housing goals, still requires state approval.
Not having a state-certified Housing Element enables projects to be submitted under the “Builder’s Remedy.” The county, Hollister and San Juan Bautista have been out of compliance since 2024. All the jurisdictions have submitted or are expected to submit revised Housing Elements to the state soon and are awaiting the state’s certification.
Asked about how the project is affected by Measure A, which requires voter approval for projects that change land designations from agricultural, rural and rangeland to other uses, Frusetta said he could not comment on the issue but would look into it.
He also declined to comment as to what the benefits are for the district to pursue the project through the “Builder’s Remedy” rather than the traditional planning process.
“When we applied, was it still within the range of the SB330? Yes,” he said. “That’s the framework that was available to us when we were interested in applying.”
The district published a public notice soliciting organizations to submit expressions of interest in “potential joint occupancy and development” of the property. It says the responses are due by March 6 at 12 p.m.
At the Jan. 27 meeting, the district trustees approved soliciting proposals to develop the property. According to the staff report, the trustees will consider the applications on May 12.
In September, the district presented the property as a potential site of a high school campus to the San Benito County Planning Commission. The commissioners requested the district conduct an environmental study to analyze issues they were concerned with such as traffic and walkability for students.
At the meeting, Tennenbaum said the district was still pursuing the Wright Road adjacent properties it purchased in 2024 and 2025 as a potential high school campus site.
Asked if the decision means the district chose the Wright Road as the site for a new campus, Frusetta said it still remains an option.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve put out anything official at the board level or anything like that,” he said.”Our property at Wright Road does remain an option for the second high school.”
The district is pursuing another high school campus to address overcrowding at the Hollister High School Campus, which has a capacity of 3,400 students.
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. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.