All 5 Modesto city growth measures voted down

By Garth Stapley
gstapley@modbee.com

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Modesto voters embraced none of five growth measures Tuesday, leaving future development in those areas up in the air.

With 87 percent of precincts reporting, voters signaled the strongest disapproval for Measure E, which garnered 9,160 "no" votes, or 69 percent. Measure A fared the best, winning 5,327 "yes" votes, or 40 percent.

Measures A, B, C, D and E are advisory, meaning City Council members can ignore ballot outcomes and extend sewer trunks to those areas. Council members wrote ballot arguments favoring Measures A and D, which would have generated the most jobs, they said.

Modesto Bee - Lights on auto row on North McHenry Avenue burn bright.

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Which of these candidates was the least gracious in defeat?

MID candidate Mike Serpa, who said, 'The voters have spoken, and they'll get what they asked for.'

Riverbank mayor candidate Dave White, who said, 'My philosophy at the start of this was anyone but Virginia.'

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With nearly 3,000 acres in play, the five measures represented the largest growth questions ever to confront Modesto voters on a single ballot. Measure E supporters raised $23,000 and displayed signs and advertisements, but none of the others submitted finance reports.

Measure B supporters said their 230 acres west of the Briggsmore overpass of Highway 99 should not have been subjected a citywide vote because that "College West" area would bring no homes and already has a sewer trunk.

The four other measures are on Modesto's north fringe, stretching nearly from Salida to Riverbank.

City leaders envisioned thousands of jobs at businesses covering 1,310 acres from Measure A, straddling both sides of Kiernan Avenue above northwest Modesto. Measure A was the largest of the five areas.

Measure C's 130 acres of mostly car dealerships on North McHenry Avenue made it the smallest of the five measures and seemed to be the least controversial. It garnered 5,069 votes, or 38 percent.

Farthest to the east, Measure D would have extended the approved but unbuilt Tivoli area by 480 acres to its north, bringing stores to compete with Riverbank's nearby Crossroads shopping center. Measure D captured 4,800 votes, or 36 percent.

Measure E, the 830-acre Hetch-Hetchy area, enjoyed no support from the League of Women Voters, the Modesto Chamber of Commerce or The Bee's editorial board, mostly because of its residential component as opposed to business. Measure E received 4,068 votes, or 31 percent.

Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at gstapley@modbee.com or 578-2390.

Reporter Leslie Albrecht contributed to this story.