Modesto doesn’t vote yet on growth options. Some want to capture more tax dollars
Modesto City Council members and planners weighed in on the city’s general plan growth options Wednesday.
At a joint meeting, the council and Planning Commission did not vote to endorse either the competitive, moderate or minimal growth land use alternatives. But they commented on city goals, the need for more housing and prospects for industrial development capable of bringing high-paying jobs.
The city will hold another workshop on the Modesto General Plan 2050 Update and an environmental justice focus group next month before the council chooses one of the three growth alternatives for environmental study.
The council will consider approval of a draft general plan update about 15 months from now. Changes to the city’s “sphere of influence,” or its ultimate growth boundary, will require approval from the Local Agency Formation Commission.
Councilmember Jeremiah Williams and two planning commissioners said they supported the most aggressive option, which calls for city expansion north to Ladd Road, light industrial development along Highway 132, west of the city, and commercial and business center development on the west side of Highway 99, across from Vintage Faire Mall.
Councilmembers Rosa Escutia-Braaton, Nick Bavaro, Chris Ricci, David Wright, Eric Alvarez and Mayor Sue Zwahlen did not specifically endorse a growth option.
Wright and Bavaro said staff should keep talking with landowners on Finney, Beckwith, Blue Gum and other roads west of the city, who have said they want to be included in the city plan. “If people want to be part of the city, we need to give them the opportunity to be part of the city,” Wright said.
Residents of Wood Colony, an agricultural community opposed to city expansion in their area, did not speak during the in-person-only comment period. In a Facebook post, Lisa Dovichi-Braden of the Wood Colony Municipal Advisory Council criticized the city for holding the afternoon meeting “when most people can’t make it and on the Zoom you can’t make public comments.”
Development proponents said the general plan maps should indicate transportation links through the Wood Colony area to tie in Highways 99 and 132.
Officials said Modesto has not expanded much since the last general plan update in 1995. The current sphere of influence has about 1,800 acres available for projects. In the meantime, other cities including Turlock, Patterson and Riverbank have reaped benefits from growth.
As an example, residents of east Modesto drive to Riverbank to spend their dollars at Costco and TJ Maxx, giving the sales tax revenue to that city, Bavaro said. “We should have never allowed Costco and TJ Maxx to be taken by Riverbank,” Bavaro said. “Not to blame them — they saw the opportunity.”
A consultant analyzed the three land use alternatives and estimated the competitive growth option would have a positive fiscal impact of $34.6 million when annual general fund revenues and expenditures are considered. The moderate alternative would net $31 million and the minimal would net $28.1 million.
Some questioned the demand for business parks planned for some time along Kiernan Avenue in north Modesto. Councilmember Escutia-Braaton, who was a planning commissioner for seven years, said the hoped-for business opportunities along Kiernan did not materialize, but city flexibility resulted in the mixed-use development that sprang up near the Kaiser hospital.
Talk of future jobs not in ag but bioindustry
Planning Commissioner Cecil Russell said most of the ag-based industries that historically employed county residents are gone and the 1,800 employees displaced by the Del Monte Foods plant closure won’t find work in canneries. He suggested the city’s economic future is not in agriculture.
“The jobs we need are not going to be ag-based jobs,” Russell said. “We have no alternative but to grow.”
Commissioner Erin Black said the bioindustrial innovations promoted by Beam Circular, to transform farm wastes into commercial products, are promising and should be incorporated into the land-use planning.
Jessica Hill, director of community and economic development, said the city has received letters of support from landowners in the Highway 132 corridor to be included within the city’s future boundaries.
Bill Lyons, a former state agriculture secretary and owner of Mapes Ranch, proposed that his family’s land in the Beckwith and Highway 99 area be included in the general plan update. “Our kids can’t find jobs in Modesto,” he said.
Kevin Genasci, whose family has 80 acres south of Salida, asked that the general plan provide options for the community and landowners who are leaving agriculture.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 6:44 AM.
