Oakdale annexation idea will get vote Wednesday

Oakdale could add nearly 100 acres to its west end if a regional growth-guiding agency gives its blessing to the city’s annexation request Wednesday.

The city nearly surrounds the 99-acre south portion of the Crane Crossing area, on Crane Road just north of Highway 108. City leaders envision about 173 homes and two parks, plus stores near the highway.

It’s part of Oakdale’s 2030 General Plan, a document recently approved by the City Council outlining where leaders expect to grow in the next couple of decades. Oakdale has 3,894 acres, so the annexation, sponsored by Chris Hayes, Susan O’Ferrall and Robert Ott, would increase the city’s size 2.5 percent.

Wednesday’s request will go before the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission, where debates have raged over how to grow without hurting agriculture. A majority of mayors in Stanislaus County recently removed Hughson Mayor Matt Beekman as the cities’ representative on LAFCO after he voted for a policy change addressing farmland preservation.

The controversial vote adopted a formula for valuing fees paid to preserve farmland elsewhere when a city sacrifices farmland to growth. Oakdale Mayor Pat Paul was among the five mayors agreeing to boot Beekman, with four mayors opposed.

Oakdale’s annexation request features a “Plan for Agricultural Preservation” requiring that developers preserve as much farmland elsewhere as they consume with new construction. Such a guarantee has become an accepted standard and satisfies LAFCO’s policy.

Oakdale’s proposal includes expanding its sphere of influence, or the area just outside the city eyed by city leaders for eventual growth, by 82 acres. The proposal comprises 13 acres just to the west of the Crane Crossing annexation, and 69 acres in the Sierra Pointe area on Oakdale’s east end, south of Highway 108-120 and east of Stearns Road. That could take advantage of traffic on the future North County Corridor, if state transportation officials agree to connect the expressway’s east end near Stearns instead of closer to Wamble Road, further to the east.

“The proposed sphere of influence would accommodate new growth to the east and west of the city,” reads a LAFCO staff report recommending approval of both the annexation and expanded sphere.

Oakdale already has 2,730 acres within its sphere but outside city limits, and also has a greenbelt agreement with Riverbank intended to prevent the cities from growing together in an urban mass. When stores appear, Oakdale has an agreement to share sales tax revenue with the county.

Studies found that Oakdale’s ambition could affect air quality and farmland and elevate noise and traffic, but the council decided those problems would be outweighed by benefits.

Wednesday’s LAFCO meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the basement chamber at 10th Street Place, 1010 10th St., Modesto. For more information, go to www.stanislauslafco.org/info/Agenda_PDFs/15/07222015a.pdf.

This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Oakdale annexation idea will get vote Wednesday."