Hollister council members Monday agreed to repeal a prior resolution to put a referendum on the ballot asking whether voters want allow development on the 400 block of San Benito Street.
That 4-0 vote came after the state attorney general’s office issued an opinion in recent months stating that the matter did not belong on the November 2018 ballot.
Council members in October 2017 approved placing the question on the ballot after a group of residents, in opposition to the proposal for a philanthropy center and mixed-use development, submitted a petition to stop the buildings from moving forward. The philanthropy center is meant to be the future home of the Community Foundation for San Benito County and other local nonprofits and will be funded by donation. The Del Curto Brothers development firm is handling the construction and was involved in pursuing the land purchase from the City of Hollister, which has owned the lot since the former redevelopment agency bought it following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
An array of speakers talked on the matter, all of them in favor of the 400 block development.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez, who has led the fight against allowing development there, recused himself from the decision. Velazquez owns The Vault building next to the open 400 block space.
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