Pulte homes plans criticized for negative effect housing would
have on Hollister
Hollister – The city harshly criticized developer Pulte Homes’ plans to build a 4,400-home retirement community on the outskirts of town earlier this month in a report on the effect the proposed development would have on Hollister.
The report, commissioned by the City Council earlier this year, examined the effect of the proposed development and expressed concern that it would burden city roads, tax the general fund and erode prime agricultural land through leapfrog development.
The city paid three independent consulting firms to analyze the project and write the report in an effort to better inform voters of the potential effects of the development. Voters will decide if the project goes forward in November by voting on an amendment to the general plan.
Critics of the report claim the analysis is “fatally flawed” and have plans to correct the original report. The report has already been submitted to the City Council for review, but Hollister City Clerk Geri Johnson said further input from Pulte would be considered in an amended version of the report for future consideration.
Even with an amended report expected in the coming weeks, some on the City Council don’t like what they see.
Annette Giacomazzi, a local resident hired by Pulte to head lobbying efforts to get voter approval for the project, said the report was flawed. She said Pulte and subsidiary Del Webb plan to make significant corrections to the report and highlight errors within the document.
The project, led by Pulte Homes and its subsidiary Del Webb, would increase the number of new homes built in Hollister between 2000 and 2023 by 75 percent, from 5,845 to 10,245, according to the report released this week. The report pointed out that such growth has not been planned for by the city, district or region.
The company collected enough signatures in May to add an initiative to the November ballot amending Hollister’s general plan and exemption from growth controls. To accommodate the project, which would build about 600 houses annually during its estimated seven-year build-out, voters will have to approve amending Hollister’s general plan to create a “mixed-use residential growth community” land-use designation. Voters will also have to give the project an exemption from the city’s growth restrictions, which limit allocations for new residential units to 244 per year.
Although billed as a senior community, Pulte’s initiative is not specific as to exactly how many senior homes will be built. It could range anywhere from 35 senior housing units to 4,400, according to the report.
Giacomazzi said the company plans to build an “active adult community” and would lose its hard-won reputation as a developer if it built a community with 35 senior housing units instead of several thousand.
The report said Pulte’s initiative does not “explain how Hollister’s street system could accommodate the 16,000 to 50,000 trips per day generated by 4,400 homes.” It goes on to state that many of the roads near the proposed development, such as San Felipe Road, Highway 25, Highway 156 and Flynn Road are already operating at capacity.
City staff believe the city will have to spend significantly more than developers have estimated to pay for police and fire protection. Such costs could, according to the report, result in “a total operating deficit of $1.3 million to $2.7 million per year.”
