Development Near Gilroy To Go Before Voters: Report

GILROY, CA — The fate of a proposed development near Gilroy will go before voters in an adjacent county, The Gilroy Dispatch reports.

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted in support of putting the Strada Verde Innovation Park project on the Nov. 3 ballot, the report said.

The 2,777-acre parcel in Northwestern San Benito County, seven miles from Gilroy, would be developed as an automotive testing facility by Newport Beach-based Newport Pacific Land Company, the report said.

The proposed development allocates 562 acres for agriculture along with plans to construct a multi-use trail and wildlife observation area at an adjacent 209-acre park, the report said.

The report said the proposed testing facility would include a three-mile straightaway track and a high-speed track, according to the developer.

The developer said on its website that the project is “Envisioned is a master planned hub for vehicle advancement through technological innovation, research and development.”

San Benito County Residents for Job Creation, a group that supports the development, garnered more than 3,000 signatures of those requesting that the project go before voters this fall, the report said.

The San Benito County Registrar of Voters deemed 2,538 of the signatures to be valid, well in excess of the 2,060 needed to put the proposal on the ballot, the report said.