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Press Release

October 19, 2006

The Orderly Growth Committee is a group of Solano County residents that is supporting the renewal of Measure J, the Orderly Growth Initiative.


CONTACT:
Ernest Kimme, Chair, Orderly Growth Committee, (707) 447-1555
Nicole Byrd, Solano-Napa Field Rep., Greenbelt Alliance, (707) 427-2308


ADDITIONAL QUOTES on Measure J:
"Measure J is a powerful tool to preserve valued community farmland and open spaces which make Solano County so special. It is our heritage and we must protect it for future generations to enjoy."
—Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, 7th District

"I am proud to support Measure J, the renewal of the Orderly Growth Initiative. Solano County is blessed to have had such strong protection of its open spaces, farmlands, hillsides and Travis AFB buffers. Let's continue that protection."
—Helen M. Thomson, Yolo County Supervisor, 2nd District and Former Assemblywoman, 8th District

"Solano County has been very blessed to have the Orderly Growth Initiative in place; it has kept housing in cities, where it belongs, and protected farmlands from their biggest threat, urban development. I strongly support Measure J to renew the Orderly Growth Initiative."
—Senate Candidate Pat Wiggins, Former Assemblywoman, 7th District

“I helped to start the Orderly Growth Committee back in 1984. It is one of the very best things I ever did for Solano County. I am so proud of how Solano has managed to keep control over growth in the voters’ hands. Please join me in supporting Measure J to continue our tradition of voter control over major growth decisions."
—Former Assemblyman Tom Hannigan, 8th District

State Legislators Declare Support for Measure J at Solano Farm

Elected officials join local farmers to celebrate
productive farmland protected by the Orderly Growth Initiative

Standing in bright October sunlight at the appropriately named Morningsun Herb Farm, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, and several local farmers announced their support of Measure J, the renewal of the Orderly Growth Initiative. Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, former Assemblymembers Tom Hannigan and Helen Thomson, former Assemblywoman and State Senate candidate Pat Wiggins contributed their statements of support for the Orderly Growth Initiative.

“Solano County has been able to accommodate growth while keeping that growth in urban areas and protecting agricultural land and open space because of the Orderly Growth Initiative. The Orderly Growth Initiative has served Solano County well in the past twenty years and should continue to do so,” said Assemblywoman Wolk.

Morningsun Herb Farm is in Pleasants Valley, a well-known farming area outside Vacaville. Rose Loveall-Sale owns the farm which she says has prospered under the protection of the Orderly Growth Initiative. “The Orderly Growth Initiative protects farmland from development,” she said. “My family’s land was under intense pressure in the early 1980’s from the developers. Under the Orderly Growth Initiative, we have been able to build our nursery business without the worry that our agricultural land or neighboring agricultural land would be sold for housing.”

Her fellow farmers agreed. “The reason that I support the Orderly Growth Initiative is because it has done us so well for the past 20 years. It has been a positive thing to have in place. The Orderly Growth Initiative is an important tool for us to have to protect farmland and open space. This is what sets us apart from being another out-of-control sprawl enterprise like so many other cities in the Bay Area,” said a statement by Alexis Koefoed, owner of Soul Food Farms.

Barbara Comfort, long-time Pleasants Valley olive farmer, added an economic perspective on why farmers are supporting the Yes on J campaign, saying “The Orderly Growth Initiative has worked for 22 years in this county. It has worked well for the cities and the agricultural community. It is imperative that we continue it to protect agriculture in Solano County, which is our highest-dollar industry.”

Measure J extends the Orderly Growth Initiative, which has put development decisions in the hands of Solano County voters since 1984 by requiring a vote on large developments on rural county land. More information on Measure J is at www.solanovotersdecide.org.

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