UPDATE: Hollister City Council rejects proposal for tougher Regional Stay at Home Order enforcement on businesses

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION) In a split decision, the Hollister City Council rejected an ordinance that would have allowed for tougher enforcement against businesses that refuse to follow COVID-19 public safety guidelines.

It was a 3-2 vote against the ordinance that was the subject of an Emergency Meeting Thursday night. Only Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and councilmember Rolan Resendiz voted in favor.

There was commotion outside the Hollister City Council Chambers on Thursday at the beginning of an emergency meeting over a very controversial new ordinance.

The purpose is to penalize businesses that do not comply with the new regional stay at home order, targeting indoor dining and large gatherings. If passed, violating businesses could lose the license.

"All businesses are essential. Everybody has the right to put food on their tables and right now, there's a lot of people especially in the Hispanic community that they have a small business, and their business has been affected," said Alma Bhillibs, a Hollister resident and business owner.

With a limited 13 person capacity inside the chambers, many people against the proposal stood out City Hall, listening through Zoom into the meeting and demanding their voices be heard before council; in the end, many were allowed to speak in person, one by one.

"We're here trying to feed our families, we're here trying to provide for our families, we're employing people that have to provide for their families. With everything going on, cutting out the outdoor, cutting out the indoor and just expecting us to survive on just take out alone, it's going to happen," said Raul Escareno, the owner of Mangia Italian Kitchen.

But Mayor Ignacio Velazquez argues the city is currently in a state of health emergency. He, along with county health data, says COVID-19 numbers are rising and ICU beds are next to zero.

"We still have people going around telling businesses to ignore the rules, don't wear face coverings because it's not a big deal. I'm telling you guys, it's a big deal," said Mayor Velazquez.

"I was in support of the ordinance because the ordinance would be an avenue to be able to support the city staff and city department heads from having their hands tied to be able to do some type of a penalty for people who are continuously defiant against the state mandate," said Elia Salinas, a Hollister resident.

In the end, two councilmembers took issue with how quickly the ordinance was brought before them for a vote and decided to vote against it along with a third, and deciding, member.

While it is over for this ordinance, the mayor tells KION it is possible for a councilmember who voted "no" to bring it back again for a vote. But if that happens, to get the ordinance passed would require four "yes" votes from the council.

UPDATE 7:30 P.M. 12/17/20 -

In a split decision, the Hollister City Council rejected an ordinance that would have allowed for tougher enforcement against businesses that refuse to follow COVID-19 public safety guidelines.

It was a 3-2 vote against the ordinance that was the subject of an Emergency Meeting Thursday night. Only Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and councilmember Rolan Resendiz voted in favor.

The ordinance would have allowed the city to cite businesses and individuals as a "public nuisance" for violating California's new Regional State at Home Order. Penalties would have included a daily $1,000 fine and the ability of the City to revoke the business license.

San Benito County is under California's Regional Stay at Home Order due to a low ICU availability in the region. The county is part of the San Joaquin Valley region, where as of Thursday, ICU availability is just 0.7 percent. The state's trigger to enter the order's restrictions is 15 percent.

This is a developing story.

INITIAL REPORT 12/16/20:

A woman's arrest before a San Benito County Supervisors meeting, Tuesday, is the latest escalation between a group fighting against COVID-19 guidelines and officials trying to control a surge in cases.

On Wednesday, the city of Hollister proposed an ordinance to declare businesses refusing to follow COVID-19 health and safety guidelines a "public nuisance," making them eligible for penalties, fines and even having their business license revoked.

“This is getting crazy right now with the numbers and people fighting about just wearing a simple face cover," says Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velasquez.

Mayor Velasquez says the city is currently in the state of a health emergency.

“The county refuses to enforce anything. The local cities, our city and San Juan Bautista are looking at finding a way to enforce an emergency order that follows the state order that restricts indoor dining, large gatherings, all these things that we know are causing us these problems and causing those additional people to die in our community," says Velasquez.

Last week, more than 300 new cases were reported in San Benito County and another 100 cases on Wednesday alone.

Mayor Velasquez says the city has been trying to combat the surge in COVID-19 cases, but has faced issues with a group called #OPENSBC, a group of residents and business owners pushing back against local health and safety guidelines who argue the restrictions are too damaging on businesses.

Hollister City Manager Brett Miller says city staff members have received anonymous emails and voicemails from people demanding city officials resign from their positions and threatening to file a lawsuit against the city for enforcing face mask orders.

“Basically to stop doing the enforcement of our face coverings or harassing local businesses but we are forwarding them to our local police departments," says Miller.

The woman who was seen being arrested at the Board meeting, Courtney Evans, is cofounder of the group.

"I believe in my medical freedoms and I believe that I should be able to breathe without an obstruction over my face," says Evans.

Things quickly escalated for Evans when she attended the Board meeting without a mask.

“I sat down in a row by myself into a corner, I wanted to make sure I was respectful of everyone’s space, a man came up to me and asked if I could put on a mask or a face shield and I said no thank you and he walked away," says Evans.

Evans says she was approached and handcuffed by two sheriffs just moments later.

Captain Eric Taylor from the San Benito County Sheriffs Department says Evans was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest but not for refusing to wear a mask.

“That trespassing charge had nothing to do with anybody entering the building, it was remaining in the building after being asked to leave, there was another charge of delaying and resisting a public official, that doesn’t mean that anyone was fighting anybody or was doing anything combative, it just means being asked to leave not leaving," says Taylor.

The city will make their vote on Thursday.