Urban limit proposal undermines solid Modesto planning, sacrifices part of Wood Colony

Something as important as Modesto’s growth over the next two decades demands serious and methodical consideration, with maximum public input. That’s exactly what a General Plan update would deliver.

Mayor Ted Brandvold is leading a charge to circumvent that process. He instead wants to put before city voters in November the question of an urban limit line.

Ideally, such limits contain sprawl and are viewed fondly by agriculture preservationists. But this proposed urban limit features a significant exception allowing Modesto to annex 1,200 acres to the west of Highway 99, at the north end of the rural hamlet called Wood Colony.

Asking Modesto voters to settle an emotion-charged dispute over Wood Colony, under cover of the larger question about Modesto’s 20-year growth plan, is unfair and unwise. Modesto City Council members should reject the idea when it comes up July 14, and instead recommit to pursuing a General Plan update.

We wouldn’t be in this pickle if city leaders long ago had agreed to remake Modesto’s General Plan, which has not seen a comprehensive revision since 1995. Something so important should not have been kicked down the road

Rushing to place a measure on the November ballot without adequate public review is ill-advised.

Some council members may be tempted by Brandvold’s promise of economic prosperity. The powerful interests he represents — one landowner is Bill Lyons, who earlier this year left a job in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet — want to bring a business park, jobs and housing west of Highway 99 near Beckwith Road.

Does Modesto really need more land for development?

Modesto already has laid claim to 7,150 acres just outside current city boundaries but within the city’s sphere of influence, 3,120 of which are designated for future business.

That looks good on paper, but looks can be deceiving, some say, including the mayor. Any developer has been free all these years to pitch a project; why hasn’t it been done? Because location is everything, and every business park and industrial developer craves property fronting on a major thoroughfare like Highway 99.

True enough. But the 1,200 acres in question here are part of Wood Colony, and that changes everything.

Most people owning land in those 1,200 acres want to make a pretty penny by becoming part of Modesto and developing or selling that land. Opposing them are most owners of Wood Colony’s remaining 14,000 acres, to the south.

Whose rights are more important?

Unbridled capitalism seems to favor those pushing annexation. Why shouldn’t a landowner be allowed to do what she wants with her land? Especially if doing so also boosts a city’s vision for economic expansion?

Democratic principles of majority rule, on the other hand, would favor those opposing annexation, who want nothing more than to be left alone. Why should the greed of the 1,200-acre tail be allowed to wag the entire 15,000-acre dog? And how could any of this be fair to Wood Colony residents if they’re not allowed to vote, while Modesto voters can?

The mayor and his supporters hope to make it more appealing by dangling the carrot of an urban limit. That is a virtual line drawn on a map around Modesto beyond which the city could not grow unless approved by another vote of the people.

Denny Jackman served a term on the City Council, from 2001 to 2005, but is better known as the area’s premier controlled-growth activist. Jackman gathered enough signatures to force a previous Modesto vote on an urban limit that would have protected Wood Colony from Modesto’s imperialism, back in 2015. It failed by a mere 215 votes.

He vowed to try again. The prospect of Modesto losing control over its destiny brought Brandvold to the bargaining table with Jackman. They arrived at something of a compromise in the form of a November ballot measure ceding the north tip of Wood Colony while placing an urban limit around the rest of Modesto.

Don’t rush this, Modesto

Such ballot-box planning serves no one well.

Binding the hands of future city leaders is a spectacularly poor idea. Why should a new mayor and council be burdened with Brandvold’s dream for the future of a city he may no longer lead in a few short months? As many as five of the seven current council members, including the mayor, could be out come November.

After Modesto City Council members discuss this idea, they should drop it.

They must then recommit to the tried-and-true General Plan process, designed to draw out the best ideas of our people for Modesto’s growth.

Asking Modesto voters to shoulder the burden of sorting out a complex, long-brewing battle might benefit a few at the expense of many. It represents an easy way out for a bickering council whose members must instead do what’s right for all Modesto people, which in this case lies at the end of a General Plan update.

This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.