Urban Area Growth Review

Public Advisory Elections (Measures A and M)

To ensure that Modesto’s growth is handled in a fiscally responsible manner, the Modesto City Council adopted an Urban Growth Policy on March 25, 1974. One goal of the 1974 Urban Growth Policy was to maintain a three- to five-year supply of vacant residential land for future development.

Measures A and M apply indirectly to the annexation of new territory into the City of Modesto, by requiring that an advisory election of the citizens of Modesto be held prior to extending sewer improvements to new areas with five or more dwelling units. Measure M does not apply to non-residential areas.

Measure A
On March 6, 1979, the voters enacted Measure A, the “Citizens’ Advisory Growth Management Act,” which requires the City Council to hold an advisory vote of the citizens of Modesto prior to extending sewer trunk lines to areas outside of the current sewer service area. Measure A allows Modesto’s citizens to voice their opinions on growth before it happens and ensures that City Council members know the public opinion.

Measure M
On November 4, 1997, the voters enacted Measure M, the “Modesto Citizens’ Advisory Growth Management Act of 1995” . The purpose of Measure M is to extend the advisory votes required by Measure A to all sewer improvements and to bring the public’s voice into decisions concerning whether or not to allow urban expansion.

Public advisory elections concerning extending sewer service are typically scheduled every other year in odd-numbered years if City Council determines, through the Urban Growth Review, that the City has an inadequate supply of developable land and that the City’s infrastructure can accommodate additional development.

General Plan Policies (Urban Area Growth Policy Review)

The City of Modesto Urban Area General Plan provides for a periodic review of the City’s Urban Area Growth Policy (Review). The primary purpose of the Review is to assure that there is an adequate inventory of vacant and agricultural land served with urban infrastructure to accommodate anticipated economic development during the next five years. If there is not sufficient inventory, there is a deficit in needed land and additional land should be added to the Current Inventory. (Refer to Chapter II, Section C.1 of the Modesto Urban Area General Plan for more information.)

Urban Growth Review is also conducted to assist the City Council in channeling the timing and direction of growth to those areas that can most feasibly be served with urban infrastructure. As an end result of this review, the City Council may determine which, if any, sewer trunk extensions as defined by the Modesto Citizens’ Advisory Growth Management Act of 1995 (Measure M, see below) are needed and schedule those areas for a public advisory election.

Recent Urban Growth Reviews and Public Advisory Elections

The last Urban Growth Review was accepted by the City Council in July 2003. Based on the findings of the 2003 Urban Growth Review report, the City Council scheduled the following areas for a Measure M advisory election:

Johanson CPD (501 acres) and Empire North CPD (141 acres) generally located east of Claus Road, north of Yosemite Blvd., south of Dry Creek and west of Church Street.
80 acre portion within the Kiernan Carver CPD, bounded by Pelandale Avenue on the south, Bangs Avenue on the north, Tully Road on the east and Carver Road on the west.
Unincorporated 'island' area referred to as the Shackelford Neighborhood, generally located south of SR 99, east of Crows Landing Road and west of Main Street, containing approximately 208 acres.

All three areas received affirmative votes in the November 2003 Municipal Election.

Modesto Public Advisory Elections Map

Areas that have received support for expansion of development through Public Advisory Elections have not all been planned, developed, or annexed, but each area is expected to eventually annex to the City and be developed. The map link shows all of those areas that have been the subject of a public advisory election and indicates which areas have received both positive and negative votes. The positive or negative result of a public advisory election is not binding upon the City Council, which may choose to either allow or prohibit growth in these areas.

NOTE:
These documents is also available in hardcopy through Dittos Copy Center, located on the first floor of Tenth Street Place - 1010 10th Street, Modesto.

Dittos Copy Center: (209) 527-8300