Resident asking for city’s help to bring more restaurants to
northern Hollister
Hollister – Hollister resident Jim DeLaPena is hoping his plan to develop a “restaurant row” in northern Hollister along the proposed Highway 25 bypass route will bring jobs, tax revenue and more entertainment options into the city.
DeLaPena says representatives from restaurants such as Chili’s, Mimi’s, the Olive Garden and In N’ Out have shown interest in locating in Hollister on property he owns on the south side of Chappell Road east of San Felipe Road.
“When a project comes to town like this, you’ve got to jump on it,” he said to the City Council during a Nov. 21 meeting when the council was considering adopting the city’s new general plan.
Under the new general plan, which the council is anticipated to officially adopt Dec. 5, DeLaPena’s property will be zoned as north gateway general commercial. Two houses, which DeLaPena said he will demolish to make way for the restaurants, sit on the land. He declined to comment further on the his plans, saying that he was still working on organizing everything.
DeLaPena faces a couple of obstacles, however.
Caltrans’ plans for the bypass include the construction of a sound wall in front of DeLaPena’s property. Also, current plans include no entrance or exit from the bypass to his property. Each of these obstacles is enough to kill the project, he said.
“If the sound wall goes up and stays up, none of the businesses I’ve talked to will want to build there,” DeLaPena told the City Council recently. “Without accessibility we won’t have revenue, we won’t have jobs or shops.”
He said he is hoping that council members will voice support for his efforts to work with Caltrans to address his concerns.
“I need your help to help me help the city,” he said during the November meeting.
Some on the council said that they would likely give whatever support they could to DeLaPena’s cause, saying that his plan would bring sales tax revenue to city coffers and give locals more dining options so they don’t have to drive to Gilroy if they want something different.
“If it’s a Caltrans thing, I don’t know how much we can do about it,” Councilwoman Monica Johnson said. “But I’d support his efforts with Caltrans. I would definitely write a letter of support as a council member.”
Johnson said that many of her constituents say they want more dining options in town.
“I think that it’s a good thing,” she said. “We talked about building up the north gateway. I think it can be a combination of things to keep locals in town for shopping.”
Councilman Brad Pike said he would want to know more specifics about DeLaPena’s plan before he threw his support behind it, but thinks the concept is good.
“I like the fact that some restaurants come in that people flock to,” he said. “That would be good money-wise.”
