Board weighs wide-ranging zoning rewrite; asks staff to tighten rules on cannabis, charging stations, animal buffers and shooting ranges

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing March 11 on proposed, comprehensive amendments to Title 25 of the county zoning code and directed staff to return with several targeted changes and clarifications.

Planning staff summarized the package as a deletion and restatement of multiple zoning chapters to reflect recent policy changes and state law updates. Planner Abraham Prado told the board the package broadened public notice from 300 feet to 1,000 feet in many cases to "go above and beyond what's required in government code," clarified administrative procedures, and updated a wide range of use tables and standards for specific uses, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), kennels, short‑term rentals, and indoor shooting ranges.

The hearing generated detailed comments and questions from supervisors, members of the public and industry stakeholders. Key topics the board asked staff to refine before a second reading included:

- Agricultural buffers and ag‑land…