Growth Measures Dominate California Ballots

Over 50 local measures affecting growth throughout the stateappear on the November ballot, the largest number in about a decade. Asthe Legislative Analyst's Office estimatesthat California's population is growing by nearly 550,000 people a year,even more growth measures are expected to appear on future ballots. Theeconomy also seems to affect the number of land-use ballot measures,David Booher of the California 2000 (C2K) Project states, for residents have the "luxury" tofocus on quality of life issues in their area.Many of the growth measures appear to to reflect a distrust of state andcounty officials to guide balanced planning, for measures such as theRural Heritage Initiative in Sonoma County would require voter approvalof any change in the general plan affecting agricultural land or openspace. Mark Baldassare, pollster for the Public Policy Institute ofCalifornia (PPIC), asserts that measures ofthese kind have "far-reaching implications," for the role of residentsand developers in determining land use plans will broaden significantly.

Thanks to California 2000 Project