Category: San Benito County

This November, San Benito voters can change the way land use decisions are made in the county. Measure A, the “Empower Voters to Make Land Use Decisions” initiative, would make voters the decision makers on any proposed development that would change rural, agricultural, or range land to commercial, industrial, or residential uses. It would protect...

In San Benito County, just northwest of San Juan Bautista, a 2.5-mile stretch of Highway 101 is a “hot spot” for wildlife/vehicle collisions. This part of the county is still mostly ranches, farms, and pristine natural landscapes, and it is one of the main routes wildlife use when traveling between the Santa Cruz Mountains and...

In November, San Benito County voters have a chance to change the way land use decisions are made in the county. A new initiative to help protect rural, agricultural, and rangelands will be on the ballot. Green Foothills has endorsed this ballot measure, and we will be working with Campaign to Protect San Benito, the...

Update 3/22/24: Good news! Waste Solutions, the operator of the John Smith Road Landfill, withdrew their appeal. This means that the Planning Commission’s decision stands, and the expansion will not be moving forward as it is currently proposed, and will not be discussed by the Board of Supervisors on 3/26. There is a possibility that...

Green Foothills has historically focused on Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Mountain lions and other wildlife, however, are unaware of county lines, and development impacts don’t stop when one county ends and another begins. As land further north becomes scarce, developers are turning their attention to lands further south in San Benito County. So...

San Benito County is considering whether to approve an expansion of the John Smith Road Landfill, located just east of Hollister, from its current size of 95 acres to 483 acres – the size of 365 football fields. This massive expansion is not because San Benito County’s residents generate that much trash, but because the...

Update: On January 31, the Planning Commission voted to deny the Conditional Use Permit for the Landfill Expansion. After hearing public comments, the Planning Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to conceptually deny the project, with Commissioner Scagliotti being the opposing vote. County Staff was directed to return with written findings for denial of the conditional...

An enormous truck stop called the “San Benito Ag Center” has been proposed on a site that would jeopardize a crucial wildlife corridor and damage the sacred tribal landscape of the Amah Mutsun. Green Foothills is requesting that San Benito County thoroughly analyze the potential cultural and environmental impacts of this project. San Benito Ag...