Proponents of an initiative that would give voters a direct say on some developments in Grass Valley took a step in their efforts to get the it on the ballot today when the city’s attorney issued her summary of the measure.

The next step for supporters of the Managed Growth Initiative is to publish it in a local newspaper, take proof of publishing and an affidavit to the city clerk, and begin collecting signatures, Grass Valley Mayor Mark Johnson said.

Friends of Grass Valley, the organization that was formed to support the initiative, must collect signatures from 10 percent of the city’s registered voters to get the measure on the November general election ballot, Nevada County Elections officials said.

Grass Valley has 6,209 residents registered to vote, elections officials said.

The measure would lock in place the Grass Valley 2020 General Plan — a document that was approved in 1999 to guide the city’s growth as it expands into surrounding county lands — until 2038.

Under the measure, any development that would deviate from the general plan would have to go before the city’s voters for approval.

Several controversial developments before the city, including the reopening ot the Idaho-Maryland Mine and the Loma Rica Ranch development, would be affected.

For more on this story, see Thursday’s edition of The Union.

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