Hollister Aldermen amend two ordinances

The Hollister Aldermen approved amending Bills No. 2026-19 and No. 2026-20 during their regular aldermen meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20. Both bills concern ordinances pertaining to construction, whether commercial or residential, within city limits. 

The first, Bill No. 2026-19, amended Chapter 515 (excavations) of the code of the city of Hollister. According to the city, Chapter 515 sets forth the regulations and rules of “any person, partnership, or corporation who wants to dig into or across, bore or tunnel under any street or alley in the City.”

City Administrator Lamar Patton told the aldermen the amendment will increase the bond needed for such excavation.

“So, this is the bond we get for road cuts and stuff when people are doing connections to water lines, sewer lines by cutting across the street. We get a bond so we can make sure the street gets repaired correctly after work is done. Our old bond was $300. With current costs that doesn't get you all the way across the street. So, this is changing the bond amount up to $1,000, and that way we ensure the road gets fixed up to city standards,” Patton said. “We've had an instance this week where we had a road patch fail, and their bond wasn't paid out, and they've now gotten it fixed. It's on the person digging to get the roads fixed, so they get their $1,000 back. We don't hold their money like the county holds bonds for a year afterwards. We don't do that. As soon as Public Works approves work is done correctly and up to our standards, then their money is returned.”

Mayor Jeff Long added, “This also changes the requirements to a written agreement included from maintenance supervisor to the public works director, and somebody from the building department as well.”

The second, Bill No. 2026-20, amended Chapter 502 (debris containment) of the code of the city of Hollister. According to the city, Chapter 502 is an ordinance “to protect public health, safety and welfare by requiring proper containment and disposal of construction and demolition debris” amongst other things. 

Patton explained what the amendment changes within the ordinance.

“It is strictly an ordinance that says if you're going to do demo work, commercial to residential, we need you to have a roll-off dumpster on site or something on site to put your stuff in, not on the ground,” Patton told the Aldermen. “In the past, we had a problem with people that didn't want to pay for dumpsters or something to put debris in.”

Patton said the city doesn’t require you to purchase a dumpster but this amendment would require anyone doing construction or remodels to keep their construction waste and trash contained. 

“If you've got a trailer and you want to put in a trailer, we don't care as long as the trailer's hauled off regularly but, what we will no longer accept is just gutting the building and putting everything on the ground for us to look at for a couple weeks, whether residential or commercial,” said Patton.

Both amendments passed unanimously.