Growth planning gains momentum in some Stanislaus County cities

After years of stagnation, several cities in Stanislaus County are showing signs of positioning for eventual growth.

Construction still seems scarce nearly a decade after recession began hammering the area. But urban planning – a cerebral exercise required before nails are pounded and saws start whirring – is starting to pick up, ever so slowly.

Modesto and Ceres, for instance, are updating their general plans, a monumental planning effort that cities engage in every decade or so.

Riverbank officially is seeking to expand its sphere of influence, reflecting where it might grow in the next 20 years, by 82 percent, which would more than double its population of 23,485 to nearly 50,000.

And Newman is closest to an actual annexation, the step that officially expands a city limit, to accommodate a 350-acre master plan with lots of stores, houses and a business park.

The Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission, tasked with weighing requests when cities want to grow, has seen “steadily increasing” inquiries over the past year, executive officer Sara Lytle-Pinhey said.

Most cities, however, have yet to formalize farmland-preservation strategies. Hughson aggressively requires that 2 acres of farmland somewhere in the county be permanently preserved for every acre developed near that city, and Newman voters approved urban limits.

Riverbank joined the short list last week when its city council adopted a “Sustainable Agricultural Strategy” with 1-acre-to-1-acre mitigation, which will be presented to LAFCo along with that city’s sphere expansion request.

Also last week, Riverbank leaders unanimously agreed to establish “areas of concern” at the city’s southwest and northeast fringes. That’s a little-used land designation encouraged by LAFCo for places of potential conflict. In essence, it means Riverbank wants formal notification if the county considers a potential project in those areas.

“It’s a new way to get them to talk together,” Lytle-Pinhey said, about how the neighboring agencies might share taxes or beef up roads in sensitive areas.

Modesto, for example, is closely watching the northwest corner of Claribel and Oakdale roads, likely the location of Riverbank’s next growth move. Landowners envision an expansion of the bustling Crossroads shopping center across the street, whose traffic demands annoy Modesto.

“Because traffic improvements were not adequately addressed,” Modesto Planning Manager Patrick Kelly wrote in a letter to Riverbank’s contract planner, “Modesto would like assurances that those mistakes do not happen in the future.”

Modesto, by the way, has not chosen to use the “areas of concern” designation in its planning documents.

“Riverbank apparently feels the need to describe an area with those terms,” said Modesto principal planner Brad Wall. “I’m sure Riverbank officials are choosing their words carefully.”

Modesto, meanwhile, began amending its general plan more than two years ago before running into a buzz saw of protests from the Wood Colony area west of Highway 99. Key environmental documents should be made public at year’s end, with a vote expected in summer 2017.

Having removed most of Wood Colony from its planning area, Modesto’s proposed footprint will have shrunk from the 42,852 acres adopted in 2009 to the currently envisioned 40,615 acres. Still, that would represent a 41 percent increase from Modesto’s current size of 28,768 acres.

Modesto’s city limit grew 23 percent in the past decade, compared to no growth in Newman and 64 percent expansion in Patterson.

“With all the activity in Patterson and the economy making a recovery, (Newman) said, ‘Let’s get vested and ready to go,’ ” said city planner Stephanie Ocasio. “A developer could come in a say, ‘I want to build a business park,’ and there would be space for it, so we decided to get ahead of the curve. Time is of the essence.”

Despite the uptick in planning activity, “Everyone is being very cautious” about actual construction, said John Anderson, Riverbank’s contract planner who has other clients up and down the Valley. Tracy, for example, is positioning for thousands of industrial jobs, while new homes and stores are going up in Mountain House, Lathrop and Manteca.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Growth planning gains momentum in some Stanislaus County cities."