The Nov. 6 ballot will include two initiatives
– Measure B to increase the city’s growth cap from 1 percent to
3 percent and Measure C to raise the local sales tax from 8 percent
to 8.5 percent.
San Juan Bautista – Mission City voters are less than a month away from an election that could be crucial for the city’s future.
The Nov. 6 ballot will include two initiatives – Measure B to increase the city’s growth cap from 1 percent to 3 percent and Measure C to raise the local sales tax from 8 percent to 8.5 percent.
Both measures have met some resistance in a city where the economy is ailing and growth remains a hot-button issue. But City Manager Jan McClintock said that if passed, the initiatives would give a big boost to San Juan Bautista’s financial health.
The city’s growth management ordinance, which allows the construction of up to seven new homes per year, has been deemed too restrictive by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, McClintock said, and the state won’t approve the housing element of San Juan Bautista’s general plan.
“There are serious legal issues involved in not having a general plan,” McClintock said. “It’s so far-reaching … that we could be challenged on any ordinance or restrictions, from fences to design.”
But Rebecca McGovern, a longtime slow-growth advocate who helped pass the current growth cap, said she’s skeptical of McClintock’s claims. If the state really cracks down on local growth restrictions, more cities would be protesting, McGovern said.
“There would be lawsuits galore,” she said.
San Juan Bautista’s position as “The City of History” will eventually save the local economy, McGovern said, but only if locals protect its historic character.
“We’ve turned down many, many applications before because we don’t have water or resources for any growth over 1 percent,” she said. “You’d change the whole atmosphere here. We would be destroyed totally.”
Cathy Creswell, deputy director of HCD’s Division of Housing Policy Development, confirmed that San Juan Bautista’s housing element would be considered “out of compliance” if the growth ordinance isn’t loosened by the end of 2007. San Juan Bautista needs to do its part to meet regional housing needs, she said.
“When you don’t do it, it’s a burden on your neighboring communities,” Creswell said. “It’s also a burden on families and workers who have to drive further and further away.”
Local developer Tod duBois, who recently convinced voters to exempt his proposed Artisans’ Plaza from the growth cap, said he’s all for changing the growth ordinance. To make the 36-unit Artisans’ Plaza feasible, DuBois said he had to hold an election to go around the current rules, and the delay and cost “hurt the project.”
Judging from his conversations in the community, duBois said Measure B will probably pass.
“Most educated, informed voters in San Juan now recognize that the growth management ordinance has failed to work,” he said.
Supporters of the measure have also said a certified housing element makes San Juan Bautista eligible for government grants, which could pay for projects ranging from the creation of a marketing plan for the city to making more local sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“It’d be nice to leave San Juan Bautista the same forever and ever, but who’s going to pay the bills?” said Councilman Rick Edge.
And Creswell added that opposing the changes won’t help the city or its preservation efforts.
“If you do nothing, things always change,” she said.
Judging from the ballot – which includes an argument against the growth changes, but not the sales tax – Measure C hasn’t spurred as much discussion. But McClintock said the city needs the estimated $125,000 per year in additional revenue and tourists will end up paying most of that money.
DuBois said he’s still on the fence when it comes to the tax.
“The city needs help, but they’re not necessarily doing a good job with what we have,” he said.
