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 of the Idaho-Maryland Mine and the Loma Rica Ranch development, would be affected.



Disagreement over growth

Grass Valley city leaders "are not following their own general plan" in their treatment of four special development areas - the mixed-use developments of Loma Rica Ranch, SouthHill Village, Northstar and Kenny Ranch - said Paul Jorgensen, president of the Rural Quality Coalition.

The group is partnering with Citizens Concerned About Traffic to create Friends of Grass Valley in the campaign to put the managed growth initiative on November's ballot.

Allowing voters to approve zoning and land use amendments to the general plan would control impacts of growth such as traffic congestion, Jorgensen said.

"It says, O.K., you can develop, but you have to stick to the general plan," Jorgensen said.

The measure would allow officials to change the general plan to allow less-intensive uses, such as changing the zoning of a property from housing to open space.

The general plan already allows for the construction of 12,000 new homes, Jorgensen said.

"This is by no means a no-growth initiative," he added. "It has a very good chance of passing if people want to have a say in how the city grows. This is democracy in action."

The growth allowed under the general plan is of a different variety from what city leaders are contemplating. The general plan for the special development areas follows Nevada County zoning, which calls for residences on large parcels, generally of five acres. In addition, it calls for a proportion of retail, commercial and industrial land that does not meet the area's needs, city officials have said.

The city council adopted guidelines in 2006 that allows developers to cluster residences in the developments in exchange for amenities such as open space on remaining land, walkability, appropriate architecture and communications infrastructure.

Opponents of the initiative say the general plan, as it stands, would extend the rural sprawl that already exists in the incorporated areas.



To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.