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Planning and Growth Committee
Part 4
IV. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
OBSERVATIONS, FINDINGS, AND CONCLUSIONS
The growth and development problems addressed in this report are just the beginning. Other service area problems that need to be addressed are fire protection, school expansion and improvement, as well as roads and highways that cannot accommodate the traffic we have now. City streets, especially those in the older Hollister areas, are literally disintegrating. Highway 25 has become a "blood alley," with Highway 156, Union and Fairview Roads soon to follow. Granted, the City and County have limited ability to effect a change in the State highways. However, the existence of the problems and the impact they have on development is well known. With all the problems that have not yet been addressed, or cannot be resolved, the Grand Jury finds the City of Hollister's granting 1,300 more single-family permits, at the least, irresponsible.
The Grand Jury cannot completely blame our growth problems on all our current city and county officials. They have been a long time in the making. What is done in the next five years and how it is done is critical to the future quality of life for all of us in San Benito County. While the county is required by law to contribute to the State's housing stock, it is not the responsibility of San Benito County to provide housing for all of Silicon Valley or to help large developers get richer at the expense of our community. We can only expect more of the same results if we continue to move forward on short-term plans, hopes, and unrealistic expectations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
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The Grand Jury recommends that the city implement a strict building allocation on residential single family permits until the problems described in the above report have been addressed and a long-term (i.e. 30 to 40 year) working growth and development plan is approved and in place. |
AFFECTED AGENCIES
Hollister City Council
Hollister City Manager
Hollister City Planning Commission
RESPONSE REQUIRED
California Penal Code, §923, requires that a response to this final report and its recommendations must be delivered to the presiding judge of the Superior Court within 90 days of receipt of this report.
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