As long as funding for counties comes from development and globalization draws farming to other countries, the urge to build will continue.
The key strategy might be to work together to ensure whatever is built is congruently enhancing to the existing (and future) community.
Yolo's plans stir up Davis
Development study proposed for three parcels on city edge.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, July 12, 2007
For two decades, Yolo County and the city of Davis have maintained a truce.
The county has agreed to stick to farming and not allow significant development on unincorporated land just outside the city's borders. In return, Davis pays a portion of its property taxes to the county -- about $2 million this year.
Now, however, the supervisors are pursuing potential development on 2,553 acres in three spots right along the city's edge. The discussion, while in its early stages, has Davis leaders and residents mobilizing for political war.
The supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to study the proposed development areas in the environmental review for the county's general plan update.
The Davis City Council early Wednesday directed its staff to fire off a strongly worded letter to the supervisors opposing the growth plans. Council members noted that Yolo County stands to lose $72 million remaining in the revenue sharing agreement if the city opts to cancel it.
If Yolo County gets into the urban growth business, it will mark a significant break from its long-standing policy. But supervisors say they need to find some way to generate more tax revenue for the cash-starved county, one of the state's leaders in protecting agricultural land.
