Am I the only one that's bothered by Fresno being slightly bigger? (San Jose: credit card, bankrupt)

[Curmudgeon]

Actually, I'm most bothered by the fact that Fresno seems to have spawned Senno of 1,000 Names and there might be more of them there.

[wburg]

The problem is that our regional urban growth boundary is well outside the Sacramento County line--Sacramento County could do a 180 and decide they're going to go full-tilt to rein in sprawl, but Placer and El Dorado county would respond with a one-finger salute and keep cranking out cheap subdivisions until gas hits $10 a gallon.

Kind of funny how the skyscraper fetishist thinks I only support low-rise/low-density uses, and the suburban apologist thinks I want everyone to live in high-density Soviet style apartments. The truth is somewhere in the middle, which puts me in the somewhat uncomfortable position of being a moderate. The truth is, there isn't one perfect answer for everyone.

There are certain annexations that make sense for logistic reasons, like closing up the Stockton Boulevard "finger," but there are still economic questions that would have to be answered. The city tried repeatedly to annex Arden-Arcade, and we really did grow a lot over the past 60 years (we went from 10 square miles to almost 100!) including annexation of a neighboring incorporated city, but apparently that isn't enough for some folks. Part of the problem is the need to overcome the resistance of the region's biggest economic players, who are of the mindset that city government is an unnecessary layer of government that they simply don't need and won't pay for. Their business model is transmuting dirt into suburban homes, with the side effect of turning that dirt into tax revenue. To facilitate this business model, they also transmute handsome-looking folks who take orders well into city councilmembers and county supervisors.

[CeJeH]

Placer County and El Dorado County are separate though, under their own control. SACOG has some control, but Sacramento County has it's own issues that they need to deal with without worrying about what everyone else is doing.

[wburg]

SACOG has no control and zero authority, and what Placer and El Dorado do can pretty much directly sabotage what Sacramento County is doing if they decide to go counter to Sacramento County's growth strategy.

The local business community has zero qualms about savaging anyone who dares challenge their business model.

http://calwatchdog.com/2013/06/24/w-...al-businesses/

And here's what they think of SACOG:

http://www.climateplan.org/builders-...ut-from-sacog/

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by wburg

SACOG has no control and zero authority, and what Placer and El Dorado do can pretty much directly sabotage what Sacramento County is doing if they decide to go counter to Sacramento County's growth strategy.

The local business community has zero qualms about savaging anyone who dares challenge their business model.

W. Sacto Mayor threatens local businesses | CalWatchDog

And here's what they think of SACOG:

http://www.climateplan.org/builders-...ut-from-sacog/

Gee how dare they point out how some developers get what they want, and others do not, based entirely on Party membership. Soviet-style, indeed.

[wburg]

I was unaware that SACOG was a political party.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by wburg

I was unaware that SACOG was a political party.

Way to be obtuse, as usual.

[wburg]

Okay then, are you saying that Region Builders and these developers are Republicans, and they are threatening McKeever and Cabaldon because they're Democrats, and in order to get what they want?

[KC6ZLV]

The reason Fresno has a higher population is that, like most cities, they annex land prior to development, or more specifically, annex land in order to facilitate development, at the favor of developers. Fresno has been very effective at this. Locally, Roseville and Rocklin have done the same thing. Sacramento was made up of many smaller outlying communties that grew over time and coalesced into miles of urban development. People in those areas don't want to be annexed for a variety of reasons. The City eyes Arden-Arcade for the tax revenue and really don't have much to offer the residents of Arden-Arcade in terms of what those residents want, and the residents of Arden-Arcade don't want to pay additional taxes for things the City Council wants, like a sports arena, and they shouldn't have to (neither should the residents within the city limits).

Originally Posted by wburg

The problem is that our regional urban growth boundary is well outside the Sacramento County line--Sacramento County could do a 180 and decide they're going to go full-tilt to rein in sprawl, but Placer and El Dorado county would respond with a one-finger salute and keep cranking out cheap subdivisions until gas hits $10 a gallon.

Cheap? Placer and El Dorado have the most overpriced new homes in the region.

[CeJeH]

Taxes are not being raised for the arena...