CP&DR

Land Use Measures Kept Off Ballots In San Mateo, Riverside

Dec 18, 2007

Ballot Measures, CP&DR Staff, Initiatives and referendums, Legal Digest, Vol. 23 No. 01 Jan 2008

Proponents of placing land use ballot measures before voters in San Mateo and Riverside have lost separate appellate court rulings.

Pro-Growth Salida Initiative Wins Without Going To Voters

Aug 29, 2007

Initiatives and referendums, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Stanislaus County, Vol. 22 No. 09 Sep 2007

Stanislaus County supervisors and developers have beaten farmland preservation advocates to the punch. Supervisors adopted a developer-written growth plan for the unincorporated community of Salida six months before voters are scheduled to decide on a slow growth/farmland protection initiative that actually was written first.

Coastal Commission Rejects Development in Monterey County

Jun 29, 2007

California, Corruption, CP&DR Staff, Eminent domain, In Brief, Initiatives and referendums, Takings, Vol. 22 No. 07 Jul 2007

The Coastal Commission has rejected Pebble Beach Company's Del Monte Forest plan in Monterey County, Placer County Board of Supervisors remove thier panning commissioner after published controversy, a superior court judge rejects San Francisco referendum petitions, Napa County begins processing an application for the largest project in county history, and Oregonians will vote on a takings ballot measure.

Right On Cue, Ballot Measure Confusion Grows While Construction Slows

Jun 26, 2007

California, Initiatives and referendums, Insight, Vol. 22 No. 07 Jul 2007, William Fulton

Wouldn't you know it? Right when the real estate market slows down, the land use initiative business is picking up. And, as is often the case, the initiatives – rather than clarifying things – are making things more confusing. Although localized in nature, the confusion will continue all the way through the emerging real estate bust and on to the beginning of the next boom.

Loma Linda Advocates Push Referendums, Initiative

Dec 1, 2005

Initiatives and referendums, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, San Bernardino County, Vol. 20 No. 12 Dec 2005

Voters in Loma Linda could soon make decisions that greatly affect how the San Bernardino County city of 21,000 people grows. Referendums of two specific plans that call for a total of 2,400 housing units are likely to appear on the June 2006 ballot. And petitions for a general plan initiative are currently circulating.

Slow-Growth Advocates Win Elections; Proposed El Toro Airport Loses Again

Apr 1, 2002

Featured Articles, Initiatives and referendums, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

Slow growth advocates won eight of 14 easily classified local land use ballot measures in the March primary election. However, development supporters won elections in some long-time strongholds of slow growth, including Napa County and the City of Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Petaluma Marks 30 Years Of Growth Control

Apr 1, 2002

Initiatives and referendums, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Sonoma County, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first voter-approved growth control initiative in California. In 1972, voters in the City of Petaluma — in Sonoma County, 40 miles north San Francisco — capped approval of new homes at 500 units per year, or about half the previous year's total. Growth has remained a hot issue in Petaluma, but today it lacks the urgency it had during the 1970s.

Santee Voters Get Choice: Higher Taxes or Houses

Sep 1, 1999

Initiatives and referendums, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, San Diego County, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

In the San Diego suburb of Santee, it's the old houses versus open space controversy — but with a twist. In November, Santee voters will decide the fate of a 2,988-lot subdivision already approved by the City Council. The twist comes in the form of an advisory measure on the same special election ballot that asks if the City Council should try to buy the property as permanent open space.