On Tuesday, January 28 about 50 concerned residents met with Fifth District Supervisor, Jaime De LA Cruz, and Third District Supervisor, Robert Rivas, to discuss the plans for a county Resource Recovery Park (RRP)in the outskirts of Hollister and the upcoming Board of Supervisors consideration of re-zoning a parcel on John Smith Road for the purpose of a Resource Recovery Park. Hollister Fire Chief Mike O’Connor and Police Chief David Westrick were also in attendance. The land is across John Smith Road from the John Smith Landfill.
Many of the attendees also went to the previous night’s meeting with Fourth District Representative and Board Chair Jerry Muenzer and First District Supervisor Margie Barrios.
The meeting was held at the Immaculate Conception Hall in Hollister. The church was not involved in the meeting itself.
Supervisor Rivas began by saying that having only recently been elected to the board and being the only supervisor who did not represent a rural area of the county, he was there to listen to the concerns and to learn.
Supervisor De La Cruz arrived and cautioned the attendees that as soon as someone started yelling at him he would be leaving. He explained that his wife is the hospital and he has somewhere else to be.
People expressed concern that if the zoning is changed, “the ball will start rolling towards an unwanted conclusion”. Resident Tammy Jackson said that she had not received an answer about how much money has already been spent on the project. She noted the property purchase, installation of power poles, road improvements as costs she was aware of. Jackson wanted to know how they will recover the money spent if the project is not approved.
She said that there are differences of opinion about whether the asphalt overlay on John Smith Road will last 10 years and she asked, “Who will be in office then, and how will they address the problem?”
Other attendees asked questions about how traffic will be limited to the RRP or if it would exceed the estimated 433 vehicle trips a day.
How much will the project produce for the county?
The property does not have potable water because the well is contaminated by the landfill. The public was told that the businesses would have portable toilets, and someone in the audience pointed out that it would not be up to County Health Codes.
A speaker said the proposed acitivities at the site would present fire danger.
Another speaker said he would like to now why the site is there, rather than closer to the major roads. He noted that the refuse brought which is 75% of the refuse has already been picked through for recyclables.
It was suggested that the sorting and recycling be done elsewhere and what can’t be recycled taken to the landfill.
There was discussion about whether the topic at a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday would be about the county changing the zoning. A speaker asked, “Why is the RRP designation needed? What will the zoning change allow which can not happen now?”
Other speakers asked the supervisors what was the incentive for this businesses? What will this allow the county to do?
Rivas said he does not want a composting facility. He said that there are always loopholes. He said that this is about quality of life. He noted that there is an egress/ingress problem with the project. He said that he is against poor planning.
It was suggested that rather than specifying the property as an RRP, why not let the businesses pay for the change?
Supervisor De La Cruz told the group that it would take $2-3 million to turn the key to open the project. He said he thought that it was looking like a big business would most likely be coming in and that anyone who comes in is going to have to go through public scrutiny.
There was concern expressed about the lack of monitoring of truck traffic on John Smith Road. It was stated that trucks have been showing up at 5:30 in the morning waiting for the landfill to open. It was noted that the hours of operation were unclear was it 5:30- 6:00am or dusk to dawn. Homeowners in the area felt that they are not getting straight answers about the operating hours of the landfill.
“We are saying that this is the wrong place. it is not a matter of working out the small issues. The question is, ‘Is this the right place?'”
The Supervisors repeated that they were there to listen and they were thanked. It was noted that people were being much nicer than the previous night.
The Supervisors were asked what sort of public response would make a difference to the decision. Supervisor Rivas noted that he does not get much email and he does not represent rural San Benito County.
Supervisor De La Cruz asked the group, “Do you want me to treat this project the way you would want me to treat YOUR project?”
Heatherwood Estates and Fox Hill have 34 homes serviced by a private water system, The overflow water from the property drains in to the area.
It was noted that the water monitoring wells do not read the runoff which stays on the right hand side of the road crosses goes into Santa Ana Creek.
Another speaker emphasized that the City has property near the airport which has the infrastructure appropriate for a project of this nature. They said that it seems that the county and city don’t want to work together.
Someone else asked is it possible to do a zoning on a non-specific site? It was noted that unlike regular citizens, the county could then create a fast-track to move projects forward.
There was concern expressed several times about the Heavy Industrial Zoning being changed to RRP.
De La Cruz suggested that updating the 2007 feasibility study would be a waste of taxpayer money.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors will be considering the change in zoning at their Feb. 4 regular meeting at 9:00am at the County Administration Building at 481 Fourth Street in Hollister.