On Feb. 8, the San Juan Bautista Planning Commission was presented with a recommendation drawn up by the city’s Urban Growth Boundary Committee meant to control development around the city.
The recommendation goes to the San Juan Bautista City Council on Feb. 15 for a vote. From there, a series of planning meetings will be held to determine issues relating to land use and design guidelines.
EMC Planning Group Inc., a land use, planning, and design group based in Monterey, was hired to determine the city’s sphere of influence (SOI), which is an area that goes beyond the city’s legal boundaries as determined by the Local Agency Formation Commission.
The area included in the SOI may at some point become part of the city, but until then it gives the City Council and residents more say in how the land is used.
The preliminary proposal designates areas available for possible housing and industrial development as well as areas to be preserved. This includes just over 90 acres of land south of the city, with some constraints regarding where homes can be built due to the location of the San Andreas Fault.
The planned areas include:
- Low-Level Residential (12.4 acres—four units per acre)
- Medium-Density Residential (3.6 acres—16 units per acre)
- High-Density Residential (5.3 acres—24 units per acre)
- Industrial (7.3 acres)
- Undesignated (62.7 acres)
The total yield under that plan would be 202 units, with 50 low-density units, 25 medium-density units, and 127 high-density units.
San Juan Bautista City Councilman Scott Freels, who also is a member of the Urban Growth Boundary Committee, emphasized that no developments are planned at this stage and this proposal will help protect the city from rapid growth outside its boundaries.
“The state gave us these draconian growth mandates,” he said. “By setting up these boundaries, it gives us a chance to fend off the wolves.”
Public meetings will also be held to engage local residents in the planning process. The project schedule goes through October 2022, with a total budget of $259,500.
“At this point, we are not recommending any SOI,” said Community Development Director Brian Fouche. “This is just a configuration to start with.”
The Urban Growth Boundary Committee consists of Freels, San Juan Councilwoman Mary Edge, along with E. J. Sabathia, and planning commissioners Luis Matchain and Jackie Morris-Lopez.
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