Lea este articulo en español aquí.
Residents of the San Juan Bautista Cemetery could have new neighbors if the city approves the D’Ambrosio Vista project, which was presented at the Feb. 6 Planning Commission meeting by Jan Hockhauser of the architecture and planning firm Hochhauser Blatter Associates.
The new project would be located downhill from the historic graveyard on Third Street and would include 34 units. Eight single-family homes, a mix of single-story and two-story units, would be built facing Third Street. Thirteen duplexes (26 units) would be built behind them further up the hill.
The project was initially approved by the City Council on Oct. 16, 2012, as a 40-unit project. It was then redesigned and reapproved on Aug. 19, 2016, as a 27-unit project. The presentation was intended to present the revised project and begin the process of reapproving permits for the development that expired during the pandemic.
Hochhauser said that the existing plans would need revision to reflect any changes to building codes and standards since the units were proposed. While there is no affordable housing in the project, Hochhauser said that each of the duplexes has a “small ADU [accessory dwelling unit] capability” by way of a ground floor “granny apartment” next to the garage.
City Manager Don Reynolds pointed out that the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance requires low-income housing to be part of any development over six units. Reynolds also said that the city had a height limit that the three-story units would have to respect.
Hochhauser said that substantial grading of the property would be required, which would give the impression of the housing development being “nestled by its surroundings.” Part of Third Street would have to be widened as well.
Commissioner Dan De Vries was in favor of the density and concept behind the project but objected to the design of the duplexes as being inappropriate for San Juan.
“I would love this design for Venice Beach, maybe,” he said. “But I am trying to be mindful of the design vibe of the city, which tends to skew more traditional and historic.”
Hochhauser said the concepts were still new and that they would work to better articulate a style appropriate to San Juan and bring back a design that was more appropriate.
The area proposed for the development has an interesting history. In the 1860s, Monterey County Surveyor B. B. Barker owned it and in 1866 he buried gold coins valued at over $2,000 somewhere on the property. While Barker was in San Francisco the coins mysteriously vanished and his search for who took them resulted in a gunfight at Kemp’s Saloon, then located on Second Street. Contemporary rumors held that Barker’s wife had reburied the money somewhere else on the property, but it has never been found.
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.