The passage of Measure Q by voters shows that Watsonville citizens want to see the city grow in an orderly manner, which does not involve willy-nilly searching around for nice flat pieces of farmland, to put up a Costco or Walmart for city revenues or to build out a nice big subdivision with “single-family homes” that some City Council members think will be so good for our population.
The community can work together on growth issues that can be addressed as the city embarks on the 2050 General Plan. City Council members knew since 2018 that some people in the community were talking about Measure U expiring and what that would mean. We reached out to the city, with meetings with the city manager and councilmembers, but they stonewalled us, when they could have initiated the “community process” that they accused us of ignoring.
Now there is a real opportunity for a community process. With a new city manager and new city council, we can move forward on these important growth issues: get started on understanding the Downtown Specific Plan; get community committees working on the 2050 General Plan; look at the Industrial area along Walker Street for mixed-use potential; take another review of existing vacant and under-utilized sites throughout the city.
People on all sides of the recent vote to renew our Urban Limit Line have a lot in common in their visions for Watsonville in the future.
The future is now; let’s work together and move forward.
Sam Earnshaw, Watsonville
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