Before You Begin
Charter School: A charter school is a tuition-free public school that operates under a charter agreement approved by an authorizing agency. Charter schools receive public funding and are subject to state educational requirements.
Conditional Use Permit (CUP): A Conditional Use Permit is a land use approval that allows certain uses in a zoning district when specific conditions are met. The process allows the city to evaluate potential impacts and require measures to ensure compatibility with surrounding properties.
Background
A long-vacant commercial building on Tres Pinos Road could soon find a new purpose.
Navigator Charter Schools has applied for approvals to convert the former Kmart building at 491 Tres Pinos Road into a TK-12 charter school campus. The proposal will be considered by the Hollister Planning Commission on June 25.
Navigator Schools is not new to Hollister. The organization currently operates Hollister Prep, a public charter school in the city. The proposed conversion of the former Kmart site would provide a significantly larger campus capable of serving students from transitional kindergarten through high school.
The project would repurpose the approximately 94,000-square-foot building and surrounding site, which has remained vacant since Kmart closed. Rather than constructing a new campus, Navigator is proposing to renovate the existing structure for educational use.
The Project
The proposed school would serve a total of 1,070 students, including:
• 575 Transitional Kindergarten through 8th-grade students
• 495 high school students
The interior of the building would be remodeled to accommodate classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, two gymnasiums, offices, and a parent center. Plans include a total of 41 classrooms spread throughout the former retail building.
Exterior improvements are also proposed, including the installation of new windows and doors around the building, frontage landscaping, a trash enclosure, and a new outdoor play area. The 18,526-square-foot play area would include a basketball court, playground surface, and stormwater improvements.
Traffic Improvements
Because the project would bring more than 1,000 students to the site, traffic circulation was a major focus of the review process.
The City of Hollister contracted with engineering firm Kimley-Horn to evaluate circulation and parking conditions. Recommended improvements incorporated into the project include raised pedestrian walkways, crosswalks, updated striping, speed bumps, bicycle improvements, additional signage, and other safety measures designed to improve traffic flow and pedestrian access.
According to city staff, the site will provide 298 parking spaces, exceeding the 201 spaces required by city code.
An Interesting Planning Detail
The project site is designated General Commercial and is surrounded primarily by commercial uses, with residential neighborhoods located to the south and west.
While schools are no longer listed as a permitted use in the city’s recently updated General Commercial zoning district, city staff notes that this application was deemed complete before those changes took effect. As a result, the project is being reviewed under the regulations that were in place when the application was submitted.
What’s Next
The Hollister Planning Commission will consider a Conditional Use Permit and Site and Architectural Review for the project at its June 25 meeting. City staff has recommended approval of both requests.
If approved, the project would transform one of Hollister’s largest vacant commercial buildings into a new educational campus serving more than 1,000 students.
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