We’re trying to make changes. Hopefully, we can change our ordinances to better serve the people.
SAN BENITO — For decades, commercial property owners here couldn’t build on the first 65 feet of their front yards.
With average commercial lots sized at 150 by 50 feet, the old ordinance deeply cut into owners’ business development.
Earlier this week, city commissioners agreed to revise the ordinance, pushing up setbacks to 25 feet.
“Hopefully, this will help businesses,” Mayor Rick Guerra said Wednesday. “That setback gives you more land for building. It depends on what the needs of the business are — either for parking or expansion.”
The revision is part of the commission’s plan to update the city’s code of ordinances, he said.
“We’re trying to make changes,” Guerra said. “Hopefully, we can change our ordinances to better serve the people.”
Boosting commercial sales
The revised ordinance could help boost commercial sales, Velma De Los Santos, a real estate broker who serves on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, said.
“I think people will be encouraged,” she said, referring to commercial real estate purchases. “People care about their buildable area. The question always is, ‘How much buildable land do I have?’ This makes it more feasible. It’s going to allow people to utilize their property. It’s great for the progress of San Benito.”
The city’s old ordinance went into the books when commercial lots were bigger, De Los Santos said.
“It doesn’t make sense today, with the way lots have changed,” she said. “If you have a 50- by 150-foot lot commercial lot — that’s a standard lot — it didn’t allow them to utilize it the way they needed. It was holding back progress.”
Anything the city can do to help companies grow, the EDC is in full support of it. Hopefully, it leads to job creation and investment and that helps the city’s tax rolls — anything they can do to expand businesses and growth.
Planning manager’s help
Like Guerra, Commissioner Pete Galvan credited Planning Manager Johanna Maldonado, who took the job late last year, with proposing the ordinance’s revision.
“We were putting these businesses so far back it didn’t leave much footage,” Galvan said. “She’s been tasked with how we can make things easier and more efficient for prospective businesses and our citizens — how can we look for solutions. It’s business-friendly, really. It’s starting to pay off. I’m glad we can make things more efficient.”
Business expansion
The revised ordinance will help businesses expand, said Ramiro Aleman, executive director of the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
“It’s good for the companies because they can utilize more of their property,” he said. “It gives them room to expand and grow. Anything the city can do to help companies grow, the EDC is in full support of it. Hopefully, it leads to job creation and investment and that helps the city’s tax rolls — anything they can do to expand businesses and growth.”
Updating old ordinances
Times are changing and we have to change with the times.
The ordinance’s revision marks the second time commissioners have updated the city’s laws in last few months.
In October, they streamlined a costly process requiring home buyers to spend thousands of dollars subdividing properties sitting on more than one lot, with violators facing the threat of getting their utilities cut off.
After months of community pressure, commissioners revised the 1995 ordinance, cutting down the extensive re-platting process while slashing its high costs.
As part of the city’s new requirements, they allowed staff to approve plats involving subdivisions of four or fewer lots if new street construction or utility installations weren’t required, as long as the property hadn’t changed boundaries since the ordinance’s passage on Feb. 14, 1995.
Meanwhile, commissioners scrapped a utility code clause giving the city the right to cut properties’ utilities if owners hadn’t complied with re-platting requirements.
Now, commissioner are working with Maldonado and other officials to help update some of the city’s ordinances, Guerra said.
“We want new ideas to help the people,” he said. “We want to be more business-friendly if ordinances are too strict. We’re looking at some ordinances to see if we can change them. We’re relying on our departments to look at our ordinances. Times are changing and we have to change with the times.”
