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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

July 21 , 2008

Orderly growth advocates bargain with supervisors

Orderly growth advocates on Monday said they might support the county's proposed General Plan for rural areas -- with one big 'if.'

They want proposed land use changes bound to an extension of the Orderly Growth Initiative. The existing law expires in 2010.

Should the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee, Greenbelt Alliance, Green Valley Landowners Association and others reach an understanding with the county, they would not oppose the General Plan revisions. The county's latest growth war could end before it really begins.

'It's really kind of an exciting time,' said Jack Batson, who is on the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee.

On the other hand, opposition might arise from people opposed to the Orderly Growth Initiative.

Supervisors heard the proposal during their meeting Monday as they continued work on the General Plan. They made no formal response.

The Orderly Growth Initiative gives voters -- and not the county Board of Supervisors -- the power to make major rural land use revisions to the General Plan. Among the stated goals is to preserve farmland and open space from leapfrog development and focus growth in the cities.

Voters passed the first version in 1984.

Supervisors want to add commercial, industrial and residential areas to the rural county through 2030 as part of their proposed General Plan revisions. Under the existing Orderly Growth Initiative, they must take these proposals to voters, probably in November.

They could ask voters to approve the changes and still allow the Orderly Growth Initiative to expire in 2010. Or they could ask voters to approve the changes and extend the Orderly Growth Initiative through 2030 or for some lesser amount of time.

The Greenbelt Alliance has expressed concern about such General Plan proposals as allowing small, community sewer treatment plants in unincorporated areas. It views such plants as promoting growth. Existing county law requires most rural homes to use septic tanks.

Extending the Orderly Growth Initiative would help mitigate such concerns, said Nicole Byrd of the Greenbelt Alliance.

Supervisor Jim Spering has talked with orderly growth representatives in recent days. Several months ago, Spering said in an interview said he wanted to extend the Orderly Growth Initiative to mirror a new General Plan, so that position is nothing new to him.

Supervisor John Vasquez on Monday said the debate will probably be over how long to ask voters to extend the Orderly Growth Initiative.

Heading off a county growth war means dealing with the middle Green Valley issue. The proposed General Plan would designate the rural valley as a special study area. It could have as many as 400 homes and areas set aside for open space.

The Green Valley Landowners Association has fought large growth proposals there for a couple of decades.

'Green Valley is truly one of the county's most valuable jewels,' Herb Hughes of the association told supervisors at Monday's meeting.

Spering asked his peers on the board to form a Green Valley committee. This committee would include association members and representatives from property owners who want to develop. The committee would meet to work out the rural area's future.

Hughes told the board that the Green Valley Landowners Association supports forming the committee.

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