League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Cruz County, CA June 4, 2013 Election
	Measure T Proposed Urban Limit Line Amendment City of Watsonville Majority Approval Required Unofficial Results, 10/10 precincts reporting Fail: 815 / 22.6% Yes votes ...... 2785 / 77.4% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure T

Arguments Against Measure T

The City of Watsonville has historically had the highest rate of unemployment in the County. We have experienced a high rate (22%) of unemployment over the last year. With the demise of the State Redevelopment law and Enterprise zones, Watsonville is facing growing fiscal challenges. Over 2200 residents of our community signed a petition to make an amendment of the Western boundary of the Urban Limit Line as set forth in Measure U. This action will assist the City of Watsonville in meeting its municipal service responsibilities to all of its residents by creating economic development opportunities and encouraging employment growth. The proposed site is located next to Highway One. This proposed project is an infill project as it is surrounded on 3 sides by urban development. All utilities and infrastructure are in place to serve development. With the recent remodeling of the Salinas Road interchange and with the current freeway interchange located there, access to the proposed site is easily accessible. We need new revenues for Watsonville to provide for the important services like Police, Fire, Library and Parks and Recreation. Watsonville needs to take care of its own responsibilities by working to create a new future for its residents. Agriculture is important for Watsonville. There is over 23,000 acres of farmland in Santa Cruz County. This measure would allow for a Commercial Development on 95 acres of land. This is less than 1 percent of the workable farmland in Santa Cruz County. Our community has the opportunity now to take the future into our own hands. We aren't waiting to be saved by the State or Federal government. We are moving forward with a move towards self-determination and prosperity. Because in the final analysis, we are the future. s/ Isaac Rodriguez s/ Julian Posadas s/ Daniel Dodge Rebuttal to Arguments For Watsonville is a community that thrives when we work together to solve the challenges we face. Working together, we need to develop solutions that respect our unique economy and diverse population. Sadly, Measure T does neither. Our broad coalition is united by our belief that losing 95 acres of valuable farmland would be misguided and bad for Watsonville. We stand ready to work collaboratively with the entire community to develop sustainable solutions to our economic challenges. Proponents of Measure T want voters to believe that urban sprawl will solve Watsonville's economic woes, but they provide no data or studies to support this claim. What is certain is that these 95 acres currently generate over $4 million annually in strawberry and vegetable production. And, the economic activity from this land creates a ripple effect throughout Watsonville in terms of wages paid, the spending made possible by those wages, and the commerce created for other local businesses that supply goods and services to this property. We can't afford to lose the economic stimulus created by this prime farmland at a time when our local economy is struggling. Rather than paving over precious farmland, let's focus on revitalizing our historic downtown and developing the hundreds of acres already approved for annexation into Watsonville when voters approved Measure U in 2002. Please join us in saying no to divisive politics and empty promises. Please support our local businesses, local jobs and irreplaceable farmland. Please vote no on Measure T. s/ Dennis Osmer Former Mayor of Watsonville s/ Amy Newell* Co-Chair, Committee to Save Jobs and Farmland s/ Sam Earnshaw Community Alliance with Family Farmers s/ James J. Barsi Local Bus. Owner 42 yr s/ Peter Navarro Farmer on Kett Land Signing on behalf of the organization listed below the name.

PROTECT OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OUR VALUABLE FARMLAND VOTE NO ON MEASURE T Please join our diverse coalition of Watsonville community members by voting no on Measure T. Measure T is ill-conceived and poorly planned. We are at our best when we work collaboratively to find solutions, as we did with Measure U. Now, a small segment of the community wants to undo that collaborative effort. They want voters to approve their plan without a community-wide discussion or detailed study regarding the true impacts of their proposal. Measure T is based on empty promises about speculative future economic gains. But how can the proponents of Measure T be so certain their vision will become reality? What we do know for certain is that if approved, Measure T will allow for the paving over of 95 acres of valuable farmland. And, Measure T will make it harder for existing local businesses to survive. Please consider these important facts: FACT - The property proposed for annexation is among the most fertile farmland in the world because of our unique climate and deep, rich soils. Once gone, it simply cannot be replaced. FACT - The type of development proposed by backers of Measure T will make it harder for existing locally-owned businesses to compete with larger corporate retailers. We must revitalize our existing local businesses and downtown corridor, not abandon them. FACT - The farmland proposed for annexation already provides much-needed jobs and revenue for Watsonville. Studies show the immense economic returns generated by farmland. We cannot afford to lose our most valuable economic resource. We need to work collaboratively to revitalize our local economy and include all stakeholders in the discussion. Please support our local businesses and irreplaceable farmland. Please vote no on Measure T. s/ Betty Bobeda former mayor City of Watsonville s/ Celia B. Organista Co-Chair Committee to Save Jobs and Farmland s/ Dobie Jenkins Board Member Watsonville Wetlands Watch s/ Brandon Kett farmland owner s/ Cynthia L. Mathiesen President Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau Rebuttal to Arguments Against Our community is experiencing an unemployment rate of over 22 percent currently. The opponents of Measure T would like you to believe that doing nothing and saying "no" to change would be the best solution to the challenges that we face. We have a population of over 34 percent of youth that are under 18 years of age. Recently the Watsonville City Youth council took a survey amongst the youth in the City. It showed that 71 percent of them favored development and expansion of jobs and businesses. 87 percent of them said they would like to work in Retail or Office work. We need to listen to their voices. Measure U wasn't able to deliver the benefits as expected. Measure U recognized that it would need to be reviewed for effectiveness, and it allowed for revision with a Vote of the People. The effort to revise the Urban Limit Line is exactly the remedy called for in Measure U if the benefits have not materialized. Since Measure U went into effect our City Unemployment rate has gone from 13 percent to reach an all time high of 31 percent. We can revitalize our downtown and move forward this change to the Urban Limit Line. This location is essentially urban infill, fully served by infrastructure and adjacent to existing development. Any characterization of this as sprawl is inaccurate. Watsonville deserves the best. Our Yes Vote on Measure T will give us that. s/ Daniel Dodge s/ Felipe Hernandez s/ Eduardo Montesino

Full Text of Measure T

THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA, DO HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: The City of Watsonville amends the Watsonville 2005 General Plan Urban Limit Line (ULL) as it is identified in the 2005 General Plan as adopted in 1994 and amended by Measure U as adopted by the voters in November 2002; Policy 3.C (Urban Limit Line) and 3.C.1. (Urban Limit Line and Twenty Year ULL) to include: The Sakata and Kett parcels, which are identified as Subarea 2, which comprise approximately 80 acres South of West Beach Road and East of Highway 1, The Greenfarms parcel, which is identified as Subarea 3, which comprises approximately 15 acres South of West Beach road and West of Highway 1, Riverside Dr, West Beach St., Lee Road and the City limits of the City of Watsonville from the boundaries of this area.