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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
December 18, 2007
Vacaville to
gauge interest in urban limit
Ian Thompson
A petition asking Vacaville residents
whether they want to vote to create an urban growth boundary or urban planning
area around the city could be hitting the streets by early January.
Vacaville city officials and representatives of the Greenbelt Alliance and developer
Standard Pacific are hashing out the language of a petition that will be circulated
for signatures.
'We are looking at some time in early January,' said Amanda Brown-Stevens, a
field representative for the San Francisco-based Greenbelt Alliance.
If enough signatures are gathered, a proposed urban limit could be put on
the ballot as early as November, said Maureen Traut of the Vacaville Community
Development
Department
If the limit is passed by voters, Vacaville would not be able to rezone land
outside the urban planning area for any use other than open space or farming
for the next 20 years.
City leaders have stated that the proposed boundaries are not too restrictive,
still giving the city plenty of room to grow.
This is the latest development stemming from an agreement reached in late
2004 between Vacaville, the alliance and the developer who wants to build
about 1,000
homes in Lagoon Valley.
The alliance had taken Triad Communities to court over its plans to develop
Lagoon Valley. Triad later brought on Standard Pacific Homes of Fullerton
to build the
residential portion of the development.
A settlement reached in late 2004 led to the alliance dropping its lawsuit
against the development.
In return, the developer agreed to cut back the number of homes to be built
in Lagoon Valley and work with the alliance to create an urban planning
area.
The petition was kept on hold until a separate lawsuit against the development
brought by a local group, Friends of Lagoon Valley, had run its course
last month when the California Supreme Court declined to hear it.
With the Friends of Lagoon Valley lawsuit resolved, the petition could
land on the Vacaville City Attorney's desk for review as early as Friday,
Brown-Stevens
said.
'We are definitely excited that the urban planning is going forward,'
Brown-Stevens said. 'It has the potential for protecting thousands of
acres of working
farms and open space around Vacaville.'
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