Community debates merits of proposed Hollister campus
By Danielle Smith Staff Writer
Hollister – While few debate that a local Gavilan College campus will benefit the community, some are concerned about the school’s choice of location, believing the proposed site is incongruous with the county’s smart growth plans, and that the public was afforded little opportunity to influence the decision.
“Nobody thinks this is the best possible site for a new campus,” said Joe Morris, member of Vision San Benito, a local group seeking to develop a written plan for the future of the community. “In fact, from my perspective and the perspective of Vision San Benito, it’s not even a good site … a number of people sat down and drafted a vision statement for the future that included walkable communities, clean air and water, a healthy downtown and lots of open space. The proposed site does not even recognize those goals.”
The site in question is an 85-acre plot of land north of Hollister near the airport. The Gavilan College Board of Trustees voted Jan. 10 to purchase the land for about $4 million, about one-third of the total $12.7 million that had been earmarked for the acquisition of land from Measure E, the 2004 bond measure that funded the purchase and possible early construction. Gavilan officials have said that the remaining $8.7 million will be used to begin developing the land.
“A couple people are willing to express strong concerns, and that’s fine,” said Tom Breen, President of Gavilan College’s Board of Trustees. “But most people I’ve spoken with say ‘Hey, what a great idea…’ I don’t think most people understand that we’re planning a campus not just for the immediate future, but for 25 and 50 years from now.”
Gavilan officials defend their decision, claiming that land near the airport is not only a fiscally responsible purchase, but coincides well with neighboring property, which has been zoned for light industrial development. A nearby community college could better prepare the workforce for entry into such business, could attract companies to the area and would not require any drastic changes to the flow of traffic getting on and off campus.
On the other hand, parcels nearer to the heart of the community, such as the property located adjacent to Vista Park Hill, entail a host of accessibility and traffic problems, as well as a bigger price tag, officials point out.
“We still believe this is a good parcel, for a variety of reasons,” said Jan Bernstein Chargin, Director of Public Information for Gavilan College. “One of those is the price… another parcel we looked at closer to the center of town was twice the price, and that didn’t even take into account the additional cost of building on a hill.”
The location’s critics, however, think the additional cost is worth the potential benefits a college campus could bring to downtown Hollister, including new business for downtown retailers and services, as well as a wealth of new cultural opportunities.
“I know they’re looking to save money, but if they were located downtown, they could save that same dollar in other ways,” said Gordon Machado, Hollister Downtown Association Board Member. “When you want to fund a library or performing arts center, there’s nothing better than three or four agencies working together, like the college, the city and the county… If you want a grant, that partnership puts you at the top of their list.”
City Manager Clint Quilter said the city does have concerns regarding the new site.
“We have some concerns about consistency with our own planning documents,” he said. “But right now we’re just interested in arranging a meeting to discuss those concerns.”
Additionally, Machado said, that same money Gavilan hopes to save in building on flat land could easily be spent in construction designed to filter out noise from the nearby Hollister Airport. While Chargin conceded such noise could pose a problem, the college is still studying the issue and has not yet determined the financial implications involved.
“If any other big development were planned for that parcel, the community would go berserk,” said Morris. “And if I were a downtown business owner I would be screaming my head off. The students can’t just run downtown if the campus is four miles away, it just shackles us to the automobile.”
In the near future, a meeting will be organized among the economic, civic and environmental leaders of the community, to discuss possible alternatives to the proposed satellite campus site, Morris said.
“Hollister and San Benito County have an opportunity to go after the best possible future, and every time we allow big interests to compromise that future, that opportunity fades away,” he said. “Right now it seems like a lot of griping and whining, but Rome wasn’t built through griping, and neither was this country. It’s just a matter of coming together and getting to work.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com.
