Denny Jackman likes to say his Residential Urban Limit (RUL) proposal eliminates bait and switch tactics, which occur when developers propose commercial and industrial projects and then switch to housing. Another thing the plan does is force players in the land-use game to show their cards. This was apparent when Jackman first put the proposal before the Modesto City Council. At that time, Village I developer and current City Council […]
Politics
Asphalt Empire: Ramped Up and Ready to Roll
The surest signs of another growth boom binge are recent maneuvers by the Asphalt Empire. All the evidence suggests we’re in for another round of runaway growth followed by all the ugly consequences. First, there was the announcement that Bill Zoslocki was running for the Modesto City Council. Zoslocki, a prime mover in the Village I debacle, is also a former president of the Building Industry Association. As a candidate […]
Denny Jackman Blindsided at Committee Meeting
Central Valley Farmland Trust President Denny Jackman was mugged, mauled, and kicked in the teeth at Wednesday night’s Economic Development Committee meeting in Modesto. The issue was Jackman’s Residential Urban Limit (RUL) proposal. Word was even the Chamber of Commerce was going to endorse it. Those who thought such a notion too good to be true were soon confirmed in their skepticism. When Committee Chair Dave Cogdill called for comment […]
Despite the Need, Can the Sales Tax Increase Pass? by Bruce Frohman
The Woodland West Neighborhood Association (WWNA) is the latest neighborhood to solicit bids for a private security company to patrol its neighborhood. The move follows a rash of residential burglaries, with the Modesto Police Department unable to catch the perpetrators or recover stolen property. With a pending federal court order requiring the release thousands of prisoners before they have served all their time, a growing number of citizens no longer feel that the police department can protect the community. To get […]
Modesto Sales Tax: Even Conservative Numbers-Crunchers Agree
The earth shook Tuesday night when the Modesto City Council voted 5-2 to put a one cent tax proposal on the November ballot. The vote could easily have been 6-1. Councilmember Dave Geer voted “no” only because he preferred a four year sunset to the six year duration of the proposal at hand. The key takeaway is that all Councilmembers save Stephanie Burnside agreed the City has a severe revenue […]
Lopez vs Monteith: Analysis by Bruce Frohman
The Modesto Bee reported last week that Modesto City Councilman Dave Lopez intends to unseat Stanislaus County Supervisor Dick Monteith next election. Monteith told the Bee that he has no plan to retire. However, the 80+ year old incumbent could decide at a later date to retire rather than seek reelection. If Monteith announces his retirement early enough, other candidates will probably join the competition. Historically, when an incumbent does not run for reelection, more candidates seek office. However, Supervisor Monteith […]
Lopez vs Monteith: Developers Can't Lose
Modesto City Councilman Dave Lopez has made all the right moves, beginning with his revelation of last year’s SCAP scandal to the Modesto Bee. It doesn’t much matter that a Grand Jury ruled Lopez should have brought the SCAP affair to the Mayor and City Council instead of the Bee. In going to the Bee first, Lopez positioned himself as a crusader for the public interest and endeared himself […]
Modesto City Council: Economic Development or Disaster?
Last Wednesday’s meeting of the Modesto Economic Development Committee highlighted a twenty-five year schism among Modesto leaders that is as much an effect of separate realities as it is of anything else. On the one hand we have those who think we are losing prime farmland at far too great a rate. They believe we must establish firm urban boundaries now or too soon suffer the fates of Los Angeles […]
City Council: Joe Muratore’s Revealing Moment
Bruce Frohman’s insider’s view of the Modesto City Council (below) offers a sobering look at local politics. Last Tuesday’s Council meeting confirmed Frohman’s claims—developers rule—but there were at least two episodes that shed even more light on the City’s current and future political realities. The first revealing moment came just after Councilmember John Gunderson moved to put Denny Jackman’s Residential Urban Limit proposal on the November ballot. During the comment […]
Home Builders Control City Council, Harm Local Economy, by Bruce Frohman
Nobody at City Hall will ever admit it, but home builders control Modesto’s government. Campaign contributions help elect shills to the City Council. The shills take instruction from those who helped them get elected. Some have even gotten text messages during Council meetings. Former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino has battled special interest groups for years, but the groups’ abundance of money and ambitious citizens willing to work for them is never ending. The reason is simple. There’s financial gain […]