Emerson Drake caused a minor sensation recently when he reported contents of an email from Bruce Frohman to Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh. In the email, Frohman offered to write an opposition argument to the Stamp Out Sprawl (SOS) ballot initiative. Drake claimed the email was evidence Frohman had gone over to the “Dark Side.” Given the context, “Dark Side” most likely meant “pro-development.” Since Frohman and I communicate frequently, I […]
Stamp Out Sprawl
SOS: Our Last Resort
Denny Jackman has tried for many years to get the leaders of Stanislaus County to use comprehensive planning to build a community where growth is orderly, affordable and livable, and where agriculture would be protected in perpetuity. I worked with him up until I left the Modesto City Council in 2003. After disappointment in regional leaders’ ongoing failure to protect farmland, Mr. Jackman, Jake Wenger, and Vance Kennedy created the […]
Bruce Frohman on the “Dark Side” of Urban Sprawl
The City of Modesto’s positions on Wood Colony and Salida have become two of the most divisive issues in the region. One of the sources of the controversy is differing views about Stanislaus County’s role in promoting urban sprawl. Garrad Marsh, John Gunderson, and Bruce Frohman have long been acutely sensitive to the County’s potential threats to farm land. Here, Bruce establishes the historical context for fears that the County […]
Will Modesto Boundaries Protect Enough Farmland?
News item: 1.5 Million Square Feet Warehouse To Be Built Near Patterson For over 10 years, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has been trying to develop a business park at the former Crows Landing Naval Air Station. The location is only a few miles from Patterson. In 10 years, nothing has been accomplished at Crows Landing. Instead of having a 1.5 million square feet warehouse located at Crows Landing, […]