Developer seeks to build 6,800 homes south of Gilroy, but plans
for new purchase up in the air
Hollister – Though it is in the process of purchasing several thousand more acres in San Benito County, Arizona-based developer DMB Associates, Inc. says it isn’t going to expand its plan for the proposed mini-city El Rancho San Benito – yet.
DMB plans to build a 6,800-home community on about 4,500 acres it owns bordering Highway 25, just south of Gilroy. The developer announced that it is finalizing the purchase of the adjacent O’Connell Ranch property that consists of about 7,000 acres running along Highway 101 and stretching to San Juan Bautista.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity,” said Ray Becker, DMB’s local representative. “The challenge is we don’t have an answer for what we’re going to do with the land.”
Becker did say, however, that DMB would not develop the O’Connell Ranch property without going through the same lengthy public outreach process that it undertook while creating a plan for its original 4,500 acres. DMB spent more than a year seeking local input about what El Rancho San Benito should be before unveiling a preliminary plan for the project last week. Ultimately voters will have to approve a zoning change to the DMB property and county supervisors will have to allow the project an exception to the county’s 1 percent growth cap before any construction can occur.
“We recognize it is one of the most scenic and historic places in the county,” Becker said. “We will not make any plans for the ranch until we go through the community process.”
DMB was spurred to make an offer to buy the ranch property, according to Becker, after discovering two other developers had recently made unsolicited bids for the land. The DMB offer was accepted late last month, and the deal will likely be finalized in the next 60 days, Becker said.
Supervisor Pat Loe, a self-proclaimed proponent of “smart-growth,” raised concerns that DMB will want to expand its Rancho San Benito project with the purchase of the ranch.
“We need to make sure they don’t say 6,800 (houses) now and then turn around and ask for another 4,000,” she said.
DMB will likely submit a land plan by the end of this year. Then environmental studies and other reviews will take about two years, Becker said, putting the start of the 10- to 12-year build out of the project at 2009 with the first homes finished by 2011. If market-rate homes at El Rancho San Benito were available today they would range in price from $270,000 to $1.3 million, according to Becker.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho was optimistic about DMB buying the O’Connell Ranch, saying that he hopes DMB would preserve most of it as open space.
“I think it’s an opportunity. More open space could be set aside,” Botelho said. “I’m excited about that, I think it’s a good move. It’s better than having another set of developers come in.”
The preliminary plan for the 4,500 acres DMB already owns calls for compact, “walkable” town that meshes with the ranching and agricultural heritage of the county. The plan includes:
– 6,800 homes, including a variety of options small and large and 1,360 affordable units
– Commercial and light industrial space
– A new road through El Rancho San Benito connecting highways 25 and 101
– A new sewage treatment plant for the development
– New public safety facilities for fire and sheriff’s department
El Rancho San Benito – which will need support from county voters and supervisors to become a reality – will bring big benefits to the county, according to Becker. A fiscal impact study commissioned by DMB found that, between 2010 and 2020, DMB will generate enough tax revenue to pay for all public services – such as the hiring of 30 new sheriff’s deputies – and still leave the county with $12 million in new property and sales taxes and other revenue.
Supervisors say that more study is needed to determine whether El Rancho San Benito will be a good thing for San Benito County’s economic and environmental well-being. Supervisor Don Marcus said that he wants the county to analyze DMB’s fiscal impact study to be sure that the numbers hold up.
“Benefit to the community has got to be No. 1,” Loe said.
DMB Forum
– When: Tuesday, April 18, 3 to 7pm
– Where: Veterans Memorial Building,
Hollister
– What: Forum to discuss recently-released plan for El Rancho San Benito
