Supervisor Pat Loe's proposal to delay work on DMB's El Rancho San Benito until a new general plan is done was ill-reasoned because it's a wide open process on which voters already will ultimately decide and, even more important, it hedged on illegal in pushing to detract DMB's right to due process.
Loe contended it would be more appropriate to wait for the new general plan's completion - about two to three years from now - to finish processing the 6,800 unit project before potentially sending it to San Benito County voters on a ballot initiative.
Her push, debated among residents on both sides of the issue, failed by a 4-1 vote. It's a good thing and might have saved San Benito County voters from dealing with yet another major lawsuit.
Equal opportunity to convince public
It was a political move by Loe - the idea faced a likely rejection from the start - and one that reflected the anti-developer, anti-business attitude that had been dominant among prior boards for many years.
Whether someone supports or denounces El Rancho San Benito, DMB deserves the same, equal opportunity as any other potential builder, and Loe attempted to thwart that right.
While most of the detractors at Tuesday's meeting continually noted why they dislike the project - never mentioning the policy consideration at hand - some pointed to the county's foreclosure crisis and implied DMB shouldn't start building homes in that environment.
What they misunderstand is that it's the prerogative of DMB - the business making the investment, forecasting its ultimate profit - as to whether they are best suited to build in the coming years, and not citizens and leaders who would undoubtedly oppose the project regardless of economic conditions.
De La Cruz wavers on DMB project
With all that going on at Tuesday's meeting, Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz managed to reveal that he has reversed his tone on the DMB project. The question, which he failed to answer, remains "Why?"
In May, before his reelection June 3, De La Cruz said at a forum Hollister would turn into a "ghost town" if El Rancho San Benito gets built. He said at the time in several settings he would vote "no" on the project and named off reasons why.
This week, he appeared to reverse course on the issue and told the Free Lance the project would "bring hope back in the community" and he followed up by saying he's neutral on the project at this point.
It's not a good sign for De La Cruz, and we're disappointed in his blatant wavering on a monumental topic. We also must take this opportunity to remind De La Cruz about other campaign stances he took before handily defeating Marian Cruz.
Among other commitments, he said he would examine the possibility of consolidating the sheriff's office with the city police department. He also said he would pursue formation of a five-year financial plan. And he said he would aggressively help recruit new businesses into this county to create much-needed jobs. We hope he doesn't waver again, because this county needs leaders who stick to the principles they tout to earn voters trust.
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