Anti-sprawl measure in Modesto on verge of defeat

Measure I, the anti-sprawl initiative in Modesto, fell behind as thousands of additional ballots were counted.

According to an update released Friday morning, the farmland protection measure had lost its slight lead and fallen behind by 205 votes. The margin was 50.47 percent opposed to 49.53 percent in favor.

The ballot measure, pitting the anti-sprawl campaign against development interests, was a contentious issue on the city election ballot. The outcome has remained up in the air because of the huge percentage of ballots cast by mail.

Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters Lee Lundrigan said Friday that more than 1,800 ballots countywide remain to be reviewed and processed before they are counted. Those include 1,200 valid vote-by-mail ballots and 600 provisional and miscellaneous ballots. Not all of them are Modesto ballots, and not all of the provisional ballots will qualify.

Lundrigan said the process of wrapping up the election count will resume Monday. More than 80 percent of voters in the city and school district elections in Stanislaus County used mail ballots. The election office continued to receive ballots in the mail this week, and those postmarked on or before Election Day must be included in the final tally.

Proponents of the anti-sprawl measure gave up an 83-vote lead when about 9,100 city ballots were counted for the latest update. Those votes were among 14,000 ballots countywide that were processed and counted for the update.

Cecil Russell, chief executive officer of the Modesto Chamber of Commerce, which opposed Measure I, said the opposition was not declaring victory. “My understanding is they got more ballots in the mail (Friday),” Russell said. “It would be great if we win, but you have to wait until all the cows are in the barn.”

Denny Jackman, the primary author of Measure I, did not return phone messages. A voter petition placed the initiative on the ballot to draw a firm boundary for farmland protection and establish an urban limit for Modesto. If it were to regain the lead, the measure would require a public vote on proposals to annex development outside the boundary.

The No on Measure I committee raised more than $30,000 for opposing the ballot initiative. The opponents said Measure I would stifle economic development and prevent expansion of Modesto’s tax base, making it difficult to pay for public safety services.

The supporters for Measure I included residents in Wood Colony and Salida who have waged territorial battles against Modesto’s expansion proposals. Those residents in the county jurisdiction are not allowed to vote in city elections.

Katherine Borges, who serves on the Salida Municipal Advisory Council, said she favored Measure I even though it would let Modesto annex potential business parks east of Salida near Gregori High School. The measure would require a public vote on any residential projects north of Pelandale Avenue, between Highway 99 and Dale Road.

“It limits Modesto, which is trying a land grab on Salida and Wood Colony,” Borges said.

The Measure I boundaries roughly follow Kiernan and Claribel avenues on the north; Highway 99 and an extension of Morse Road on the west; and Whitmore Avenue and the Tuolumne River on the south. Most development proposals outside those boundary lines would require approval by city voters.

Housing subdivisions, shopping centers and other development would be allowed east of Claus Road and north of Dry Creek.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Anti-sprawl measure in Modesto on verge of defeat."