Watsonville residents voice concerns over possible housing development

UPDATE (8/29/18): The Watsonville City Council approved the housing development project in a 5-1 vote, with one member of the council recusing himself due to a conflict of interest.

The project is costing about $70 million and will take about four to six years to complete.

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Residents in Watsonville are divided over plans for new housing in the city.

Some are worried it could cause more traffic, but supporters say it will bring in much needed affordable housing to the area.

People who live on Ohlone Parkway and Loma Vista Drive are making their voices heard by placing banners on a plot of grass where a potential extension of Loma Vista Drive will go through. One banner says “No Road Thru Here” and another says “Our Kids Play Here.”

Residents are concerned the potential 150-home residential development over the hill nearby would just create more traffic to they say an already congested area.

The development, located on 511 Ohlone Parkway, would have a mixture of single family, duplex and row-style attached town houses.

20 percent of those houses will be slated for low and moderate income residents. The land used to be the sigh of an auto junkyard called Cluster’s Village, all but abandoned now.

“As a junkyard, they would scrap metal, they would dismantle vehicles. A lot of that meant that fuel or oils leaked into the ground and contaminated the soil,” said Justin Meek, the principal planner for the City of Watsonville.

The developer will grate and remove parts of the land as part of a clean up effort before houses are put in. Construction would likely be in four phases, building about 35 homes at a time.

The city is aware of the concerns from residents.

“There were a number of individuals that came out, I think 12 in total, that expressed a range of concerns about the project. Those include everything from traffic safety, pedestrian safety to things like drainage and habitat,” said Meek.

One supporter says it comes down to one simple issue.

“We’re an agriculture community and we’re trying to have a balanced community in economics, and we have a shortage in housing in our community like they do everywhere,” said Chuck Allen, a developer who works in Watsonville.

The Watsonville City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to approve the housing development on Tuesday night. At the time of this article’s publication, KION has not received any word on whether the council has made a decision. We will bring you the results as soon as they become available.

The project is costing about $70 million and will take about four to six years to complete.