To facilitate timely and informed land use application review, the County of San Benito Resource Management Agency offers Pre-Application Meetings.  At this early stage, before full application submittal, applicants may request these meetings to obtain meaningful comments from County and regional agencies.  The meetings also help to inform the County about upcoming projects. Pre-Application Meetings will reveal formal submittal requirements that particular departments may request, critical pathways toward potential approval, applicable regulations and development standards, and potential time periods for processing. Applicants may also use the opportunity to learn of prohibitive flaws or difficult/expensive code compliance issues that may factor into deciding whether to pursue the more intensive full project application. Procedures and potential expenses for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will also be discussed.

To further incentivize applicants to participate in Pre-Application meetings, the County will apply the $1,500 Pre-Application fee toward the San Benito County Planning Division’s deposit if a formal development review application is made within 6 months of the project’s Pre-Application meeting.

Pre-Application/Design Review Committee Meetings are scheduled once a month and fall on the third Thursday of the month, convening at 10:30 am and ending at noon.  Project materials and the $1,500 fee should be submitted at least three weeks before the scheduled meeting.

Regularly invited agencies include:

• The San Benito County Resource Management Agency:
  • Planning Division
  • Building Division
  • Public Works/Engineering Division
  • Capital Projects Division
  • Integrated Waste Management Division
  • Housing Division
• San Benito County Environmental Health Department
• San Benito County Fire Department (Represented by City of Hollister Fire)
• San Benito County Water  District (SBCWD)
• Sunnyslope County Water District (SSCWD)
• San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
• San Benito County Assessor
• San Benito County Council of Governments (SBC COG)
• San Benito County Office of Education (SBCOE)
• City of Hollister Development Services Department

Supplemental Agencies may also be invited, such as:

• California Department of Transportation: Caltrans
• Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (CCRWQCB)
• California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE)
• Local Agency Formation Committee (LAFCO)
• San Benito County Information Technology Department
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

While agencies may agree with a project proposal at a conceptual phase, often these agencies are not reviewing a complete set of plans. Many items are submitted to the committee as concepts with plans that may substantially change upon formal submittal. Codes, policies and interpretations may also change. Complete plans may reveal a previously unknown factor that will become relevant as the plans undergo full review. Agencies therefore cannot commit to approving project proposals at a conceptual stage, and the developer and/or contractor must take full responsibility for what is being submitted for detailed project review.

Application and Fee Schedule

Contacts