HOLLISTER
– One down. Two to go.
The county Planning Commission is ready to approve blueprints
for a housing and golf resort development at San Juan Oaks Golf
Club near San Juan Bautista. At their latest meeting, the
Commission requested its staff to prepare
”
conditions of approval.
”
HOLLISTER – One down. Two to go.
The county Planning Commission is ready to approve blueprints for a housing and golf resort development at San Juan Oaks Golf Club near San Juan Bautista. At their latest meeting, the Commission requested its staff to prepare “conditions of approval.”
If the Commission officially endorses the project as expected at its Jan. 7 meeting, the growth-cautious Board of Supervisors will then consider a final approval. Meanwhile, the project awaits a March vote on Measure G (the Growth Control Initiative) – constraints of which could also halt the development’s fruition.
If supervisors approve the San Juan Oaks project before the March ballot, however, the possibilities become even murkier. The development could then be exempt from Measure G’s restrictions, according to Fred Goodrich, assistant planning director for the county. A legal interpretation, though, would likely be necessary, he said.
“Only a judge could tell you that,” Goodrich said.
Measure G would raise zoning of agricultural rangeland – much of San Juan Oaks falls into that category – from 40 acres to 160 acres. It would severely shrink the number of allowed housing units and probably knock out hopes for the golf club’s development.
Board members, meanwhile, haven’t indicated where they stand on the development, Fuller said. Supervisors Ruth Kesler and Pat Loe, both supporters of controlled growth, said Tuesday they have not formed an opinion on the proposal.
“The Board has been concerned about growth and actually has managed growth in the county very well,” said Scott Fuller, vice president of the golf club and project manager of the proposal. “We’re hopeful, but not predicting anything.”
For more than a decade, San Juan Oaks has considered selling lots intended for housing construction on its scenic property.
The current proposal of 186 lots has been trimmed to comply with the county’s progressively tougher growth restrictions, Fuller says. The club had hoped at one time for 900 lots but never formally applied for that amount.
The project also calls for two added golf courses and a 200-room resort-hotel. One of the courses would be 18 holes and private. The other would be nine holes and open for public use.
The Commission is ready to approve the project despite concerns from county planners about further traffic gridlock on nearby roadways, such as Union Road and Highway 156.
“We indicated we felt there were some unresolved issues with the project,” Goodrich said. He mentioned traffic being the main concern, along with timing.
Caltrans officials have projected a proposed widening of Highway 156 would finish in 2011. While the completion of San Juan Oaks’ proposal – which includes 25 homes built a year – would finish in 2010.
Fuller contends the project – preliminary allocations of which were approved in 2002 – complies with the county’s rigid 1 percent growth cap. Traffic issues will exist on those roads with or without San Juan Oaks’ development, he said.
“If we don’t build, they will allocate to someone else,” he said.
County planners don’t decry most aspects of the project, either, as Fuller mentioned. The staff report presented to the commission points out the proposal includes several conditions of a “smart growth” philosophy the county follows. They include “habitat preservation, open space, parkland and agricultural conservation, to name a few,” according to the report.
The blueprint includes 1,162 acres set aside for permanent wildlife habitat, a 61-acre park and 55 acres of preserved ag lands. Additionally enticing to county officials, 30 of the 186 lots will be earmarked for affordable units.
Commissioner Gordon Machado said Tuesday unless “something radical” happens, the project will be sent to the Board of Supervisors. Though some minor alterations of it may be necessary Jan. 7, Machado said.
If the project survives all the hurdles, Fuller hopes the club can allocate its first set of permits by July 2004.
