CP&DR

Elsewhere Near River City . . .

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

Elsewhere Near River City … West Sacramento hopes to become home to a minor league baseball team in little more than a year. The 12-year-old city is forming a Joint Powers Authority with Yolo and Sacramento counties to issue $40 million worth of taxable bonds to build a 10,000-seat baseball stadium near the Sacramento River. The new owner of the Oakland A's Triple-A franchise, now located in Vancouver, B.C., wants to play ball in West Sacramento in April 2000. Under the plan all three entities appr...

El Dorado County May Reconsider Long-Range Development Plans

Mar 1, 1999

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

A Superior Court ruling invalidating the environmental impact report for El Dorado County's general plan is likely to reopen debate over the amount of growth allowed in the county and puts into question the future of several large developments. In a 142-page ruling, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Cecily Bond determined that the EIR violated the California Environmental Quality Act in 23 different ways. The judge found the county did not adequately address, among other things, impacts on w...

Inter-County JPA Will Deal with Tracy HIlls Transportation

Feb 1, 1999

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 14 No. 02 Feb 1999

No sooner had the fast-growing San Joaquin County city of Tracy settled a lawsuit and agreed to set up a joint powers authority on traffic issues than it was hit with a second lawsuit challenging its water supply and other facets of another huge development. In December, Tracy, Alameda County, the nearby city of Livermore, and the Sierra Club announced a settlement to a lawsuit brought over traffic issues raised by the city's approval of the 5,000-unit Tracy Hills project. Under the settlement, the J...

Santa Clara Moves Forward with Controversial Sun Project

Jan 1, 1999

Kathleen Sharp, Local Watch, Vol. 14 No. 01 Jan 1999

A state hospital once used as an insane asylum has triggered one of the most contentious development battles in Silicon Valley, with officials on both sides of the deal calling each other crazy - and more. "It was a sweetheart deal and there was a lot of yelling over it," said Eddie Souza, former Santa Clara mayor. Sun Microsystems is building new corporate headquarters on 82.5 acres it bought from the state for $52 million. The high-tech company's digs will rise on a portion of the former Agnew Dev...

Shasta Lake Battles Over Fibergalss Plant

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

In a region where unemployment is double the state average and many available jobs are in the low-paying service and retail sectors, a $100 million factory would appear to be a godsend. But in Shasta County, a proposed fiberglass insulation factory has instead become a lightning rod. The two-year-old battle has split the community, with business and government leaders on one side and a mix of slow-growth advocates, physicians, and small business owners on the other. In October 1996, representatives ...

Redlands Embroiled in Battle Over Competing Malls

Nov 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

Efforts to build retail centers in the Inland Empire city of Redlands have all the drama and twists and turns of a soap opera these days. Jilted suitors seeking justice, promises made and then broken, dashed hopes ï¿½ and the arrest of one popular shopping center developer ï¿½ are all part of a long-running battle over development in the slow-growth, upscale city. Not surprisingly, the matter has ended up in court. At least eight lawsuits have been filed. The city's legal fees so far are approxi...

Eastern Contra Costa County Explodes with Growth

Oct 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch

One of the last undeveloped regions of San Francisco Bay Area land - eastern Contra Costa County - is booming so much that a county supervisor has asked local cities to consider a temporary halt to residential growth. Eastern Contra Costa County, with its rich delta topsoil, is where the Central Valley meets the Bay Area. For years, agriculture was the main industry in this area east of Mount Diablo and south of the Sacramento River-San Joaquin River Delta. The region is made up of the local citi...

Santa Cruz Boardwalk Expansion Proposed

Oct 1, 1998

Economic development, Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Santa Cruz County, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

Expansion plans for Santa Cruz's beach boardwalk amusement park have been on a roller coaster ride for months, with election results in November's city council races expected to offer a public referendum on the city council's recent decision to limit the huge plan.

Citrus Heights Settles with Sacramento County

Sep 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 09 Sep 1998

A settlement has been reached in lawsuits between Sacramento County and the city of Citrus Heights over costs to be paid by the new city related to its incorporation. Citrus Heights incorporated in January 1997, and before incorporation had agreed to pay the county $5.6 million in installments for 25 years. That amount was the county's "profit" from taxes after paying for all services in the area during the period Citrus Heights was unincorporated. The new city was to pay a projected total of $14...

Newhall Ranch Plans Scaled Back

Sep 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 09 Sep 1998

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has begun scaling back Newhall Ranch, a huge project that has been heavily criticized by neighboring Ventura County. Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district contains the proposed project, introduced a motion in July to create more open space and possibly reduce the proposed 24,000 home development by 3,500 homes. The board approved the supervisor's motion that the county's staff should implement the proposed changes at its July 28 meeting. As approved by...

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