Inflation Is Here But Farmers Optimistic

Tulare County - Consumers may have become used to sticker shock at the gas pump this spring, but now cruising through the dairy aisle at the supermarket where a gallon of milk may soon cost $4 - will add to an increasingly growing perception - the price for just about everything is going up.

To try to stimulate a lagging economy the government has reduced interest rates to banks to just 1% while supporting a low value for the dollar vs other currencies over the past year. The dual strategies and global economy may have helped light a fire under commodity prices that will force the Fed to finally raise interest rates as clear signs of inflation in our economy emerge, suggest many analysts.

“There’s no doubt about it, inflation is already here,” says Kings County farmer and member of the Board of Supervisors, Tony Oliveira.

A Farmer Price Index

“This can be seen in what I call the farmer price index - the prices for inputs farmers must pay and prices for what they produce each going up along with the standard consumer price index everybody pays,” says Oliveira.

To the degree that those increased prices are seen in ag commodities grown in the central valley, there appears to be a silver lining to these growing inflationary clouds.

The valley is often last to catch a break dependent on key farm products unique to this area that have been depressed for a number of years. Now across the board the prices the local farmer gets appears to be heading up.

“Nearly every farmer around here lost money last year,” says Congressman Devin Nunes, himself a dairyman. “Right now there is a shortage of milk on the market” helping to boost returns to dairymen.

Since 9/11 the government has been trying to ensure that domestic farmers survive and produce enough food, says Tipton farmer Ralph Friend. He believes the government is providing a base of support to keep farmers from going under.

It’s not surprising in an election year that Mr. Bush wants good market news in the nation’s farmbelt.

Certainly the value of cotton grown in the central valley wouldn’t be there without a government subsidy, although increased yields are a major factor too. Cotton is the valley’s biggest crop in acreage.

Nationwide the proof of an overheated economy is there for all to see. This past week the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the tame inflation seen last year - just 1.9% for all of 2003 - has risen to 5.1% during the first three months of this year.

For consumers the basket of groceries cost 4% more during the past 6 months, says the Bureau, the biggest jump in 8 years.

More Jingle In The Pocket

But for farmers, rising incomes beat lower incomes any day of the week.

It’s not just milk products that are seeing big price increases. A staple in food products - soybeans - are at their highest price since the late 1980s. Soybeans along with corn are fed to cattle. Corn prices too are up 30% along with both rice and wheat. High costs for soybeans and corn help fuel higher meat prices along with record demand due to the Atkins diet and despite a mad cow scare. Chicken too is some 40% higher than a year ago.

Egg prices are up about a third from a year ago, says the BLS. Some speculate that the price of eggs is up based on the fact that growers are now allowing more space for the chicken in their cage fueled by environmentalists concerns.

And it’s not just food prices that are going up. Consider lumber, steel, nickle, copper and aluminum - all seeing record numbers this spring (see charts).

Prices Up 24%

One measure of the strength of commodities is the Dow Jones AIG index that is up about 24% from a year ago.

For the consumer, prices for transportation and housing have been going up at record levels. The central valley finally has some appreciation in home values for those who own the homes already but with the average price increasing $50,000 in one year in many communities, there is an overheated factor that makes some people nervous.

Oliveira, who teaches economics at West Hills College, says higher commodity prices for food are welcomed in the valley particularly with milk that will circulate mostly locally. “We could see 40% higher milk prices in 2004 vs 2003,” he believes - a simple fact that will propel Tulare County back to number one ag county in 2004, many predict.

“We will feel that milk money right here in Tulare County at the car dealerships, farm suppliers and the retail stores in town,” says Congressman Nunes.

But the farmers basket of inputs is up sharply this year, Oliveira notes as farmers feed costs are higher, diesel almost doubled from last year, labor is up, workmen’s comp at 3 times other states, fertilizer prices - based on petroleum - are 30% higher than a year ago, water prices in this - another drought year will be higher and regulatory costs are mounting.

Dry Year

On the water issue, Kaweah water master Bruce George notes that this water year will be the 6th dry year in a row in the Central Valley forcing farmers to pay big power costs on pumping scarce groundwater to make up for the surface shortfall.

Of course the good news on rising prices is that the economy is able to sustain them. Companies feel that they can raise prices because of demand.

In the case of milk prices in California, the state government helps by using the value of future contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to set consumer prices in California. Recently there has been a wild upswing in prices on the CME with butter most recently at $2.34 a lb., a $1.24 increase from a year ago and block cheese at a record $2.20 per pound - a $1.08 increase from a year ago. Recent moves up have helped increase the minimum price dairymen in California must be paid for their milk, increasing 47 cents in May and higher yet this summer.

Nationwide there has been a decline in milk production both per cow and fewer cows. In addition, Monsanto suddenly stopped marketing much of their growth hormone rBST a month ago reducing milk volumes across the nation.

Tony Oliveira who sold his dairy in the past year says he remembers retailers didn’t lower the cost of milk to consumers even when farmers were getting under $10 per cwt for their milk betting consumers want stable prices. He bets they won’t hold to that now, that they will pay farmers $15 per cwt.

Across The Board

A look at the major commodities in Tulare County tells the tale with prices for milk way up this year, a good citrus year underway for a change - the first money maker in a number of years, and prospects for a better year in tree fruit and grapes. The nut business is doing very well and cattle prices are much higher than this time last year.

Lowering the value of the dollar vs foreign currencies has helped the ag sector to recover because it costs less for European consumers to by US goods. The US dollar lost 41% against the Euro in the past year and 19% against the yen.

Oil Up 64%

Record low interest rates have helped prop up the economy through the past two years and now a surge in demand for many metals and other raw materials may force the Feds’ hand, say bankers taking up interest rates to ensure inflation doesn’t return to those double digit numbers we saw in the 1980s after the oil shock back then. Today rising oil prices are a billion dollar drag on this economic recovery. Oil has risen 64% in dollars and just 16% pegged against the Euro.

Increasing the price of oil across the economy raises the cost of manufacturing, transportation, farming and production of electricity.

The higher oil prices “act like a tax on American producers,” says US Treasury Secretary John Snow.

The oil price increase comes as the world’s global economy sucks up every barrel of oil produced stimulated by the booming Chinese economy that has become a dominant factor in the past few years. Add to this the estimate that the US is running out of cheap oil, says author David Goodstein in a new book “Out of Gas” and you can expect the high price levels to remain and increase. “Ninety percent of organic chemicals we use - pharmaceuticals, ag chemicals, plastics are made of petroleum.”

He cites predictions from a 1950s geophysicist M. King Hubbert that oil production in the US lower 48 states would reach its highest point in 1970 and decrease rapidly after that. He was right, says the author. Hubbert says oil prices rise not when the last drop of oil is pumped but when there is a decline in production. That should happen likely this decade. This is the time of rapidly rising oil prices. Concerns over climate change effects of burning fossil fuels remains a potential increase in cost as well if you consider health and insurance costs.

Rising interest rates aren’t waiting for the Fed to act on the consumer level with borrowers paying half point higher this week than just a few weeks ago as more interest rates rise reducing the number of buyers that can qualify for loans as well as reducing how expensive a home person can afford on the same income.

Because of the low interest rates, towns like Visalia are booming with building activity that could slow if inflation becomes a factor and the Fed needs to slam on the brakes. Of course that is not likely to happen until after the election.

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Visalia - The Visalia city council is weighing a two pronged strategy to put to bed the issue of the Visalia Scenic Corridor - West 198. The long simmering issue was addressed at the recent council retreat. Coming out of that city planner Mike Olmos says the council has approved a strategy that would have the city purchase around 85 acres west of Roeben on both sides of the highway, conservation space - likely an oak forest design with some public trails and picnic access points.

One section of the conservation setback could feature an arboretum suggested urban forester Brian Kempf at this week’s West 198 task force meeting. The task force advises the council on plans for the area.

Planner Mike Olmos says he hopes to get Visalia council approval to move forward on beginning the purchase of the setback from property owners as soon as the May 3 council meeting. Already this week council is considering purchase of some frontage from George Perry just east of Shirk.

Olmos says staff will recommend to council the second phase of the corridor plan to hire a consultant firm to design a specific plan for the West 198 lands behind the green space along the highway working with all the players, property owner, community leaders and perhaps members of the Save Our Corridor group to see if there is vision that will allow its development.

The land, more than half of it in the county, totals more than 1000 acres.

Annexation Request

The latest move involves a request by the Elliott family to annex their 143 plus acres into the city. The oak studded land is currently in agriculture. The Elliotts want to bring the land into the city remaining in ag for now. Now that the Elliotts have applied, planner Steve Brandt says the city is weighing whether to move forward and annex or wait until the planning process is done to annex the remaining county lands at the same time. The later appears likely.

Allowing the planning process to proceed in these two phases gives the city an opportunity to move forward on the open space without an extensive environmental review while waiting to do a full EIR on the full project that will specify just how the remaining land would be used.

The corridor has been a hot button issue in the city for more than 20 years for those who would like to see it more or less developed in the future. Another task force in 2002 suggested the city work to attract “ag-enterprise” projects that could include small truck farms like strawberry growers, fruit stands or wineries along with corporate ag offices along both sides of 198. City council member Greg Kirkpatrick says the coming study will still consider ag uses for the project area.

Others see the corridor issue differently. Real estate broker Marty Zeeb says ag has little future in this “small finger” of ag land left between the city and Highway 99 and suggests property owners along West 198 have waited long enough to sell their lands. One property owner, George Perry, who owns land on West 198 east of Shirk is represented by Zeeb and has said he has had offers from a number of users including a motel and retirement home but can’t go forward because the city won’t make up its mind on what can be developed.

Another property owner, William Reid, on the northeast corner of Shirk and 198 has long shown his disdain of the process by parking rusty old farm equipment in front of his property for years - over 80 acres that is for sale. The city is looking to buy the front 30 acres between the creek and highway to put back into oak forest and park land, although currently the land looks like it was sterilized.

More Housing?

Meanwhile, the future of both the north and south side of the corridor may be in housing as can be seen by the development of two housing projects north of 198 east of Shirk. On the south side of the freeway a 60 acre Centex housing project is on the drawing board waiting for the city to allow development there along with a McMillin project proposed just 200 ft. from 198 north of the highway.

An earlier study of the corridor area offered alternative vision of the future out there including as many as 600 acres of residential - well over 2000 homes at typical densities.

Oak tree expert Alan George says almost ten years ago the city applied for grant monies to acquire over 200 acres along West 198 through a transportation fund available through the state. The monies would have bought enough land for a 700 ft. setback. The grant never materialized but even today officials believe a mix of funds including city fees, a portion of the profit from sale of property and perhaps even a $1 parcel tax, suggested by mayor Link this week - would help pay the millions of dollars it will take to buy the setback lands over the next few years. Some of that land can be purchased with the city waterways funds, for example.

Just how much of a setback should be bought by the city has been a matter of debate on the city’s West 198 task force with planning commissioner Doug Thompson suggesting a setback of 200 ft. all along the freeway except for the northwest corner of Shirk and 198. Others, like council member Jesus Gamboa have argued for more setback to keep the corridor’s urban feel where they come into Visalia. “I like the forest feel,” he says.

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Visalia - The multi-year battle over the West 198 auto mall isn’t over yet despite the fact a Visalia judge has ruled against a citizens group opposed to the project. Save Our Corridor is filing a motion this week to have Judge Paul Vortmann reconsider his ruling in light of new information, says attorney Richard Harriman.

The filing means the Save Our Corridor group will get another day in court after the judge considers the information - with a hearing set in 30 days. Judge Vortmann issued a ruling April 12 rejecting the corridor group’s argument to stop the 72 acre Visalia Auto Plaza project approved by city council last summer.

Harriman says one piece of new information is that the city itself recently stated that the general plan needed to be updated. “They are saying themselves that the general plan is inadequate,” Harriman says.

Staff made the statement at a February workshop. In addition, Harriman will try to change Judge Vortmann’s view of the need for the plan to be “consistent” internally. Vortmann had indicated in his April 12 ruling that the city’s open space and recreation element need not be internally consistent with the general plan rejecting the fact that the city never updated the map of the West Visalia Specific Plan showing the land in question is zoned for agriculture.

In his ruling Vortmann indicated a change in how he viewed the dispute after appearing to lean toward the petitioners.

“The court denies the Writ because the City has shown that its action was not arbitrary, capricious, or entirely lacking in evidentiary support.”

“The court now understands, based upon the City’s supplemental briefing, that the maps are not required to be consistent, but he policies are required to be consistent.”

Just how long a time a reconsideration will take isn’t clear, but it could set back the project’s timetable yet again. The developer of the project, the Mangano Company, wanted to begin work in May and have a dealership ready to open by year’s end.

Even if the judge reconsiders the ruling and finds in favor of the developer again, the Save Our Corridor group could choose to formally appeal the matter to the district court - a prospect considered likely.

On Thursday the corridor group will hold a meeting at the Tulare County Farm Bureau at 5:30 p.m. to consider whether to file an appeal if necessary, says Collins, and to consider a new voter initiative on the future of the entire corridor area that is today in farming.

The group launched a successful initiative drive last fall after the city council voted 3 to 2 in favor of the controversial project but failed to file the 4200 signatures within a 30 day period of the council’s action - a snafu that sorely disappointed supporters. Although the group disagree with the city attorney’s opinion on whether the petition was filed in a timely way - Mr. Harriman dropped the appeal on this - suggesting it didn’t have a good chance of winning.

A new initiative would be looked at by a number of experts this time admits Collins.

The former mayor of Visalia, Mr. Collins has been a strong advocate of keeping the corridor area in farming and blames the pressure to build a new auto mall for opening the flood gates to other development plans that are outside the city’s current general plan. The city itself comes in for criticism for selling the old sewer farm for development at such a rate that other property owners along the corridor argued persuasively that they too should be allowed to sell their freeway visible land for big bucks too.

In recent months home builders have discovered the corridor with two plans on file at the city to convert ag land to new home subdivisions.

Proponents of the auto mall argue the land on Plaza, where the project is slated, is already urbanized across from the Holiday Inn and next to the busy industrial park. In fact the council relocated the proposed auto plaza away from the heart of the corridor on Shirk because it was considered more appropriate to put the auto mall on Plaza where it would be less controversial.

To date the auto plan signed one dealer, Frank Surroz, to building several new showrooms there for his Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and BMW lines. Giant Automotive also has a contract but according to his realtor has not yet decided to build there for sure.

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Tulare County - The US Army Corps of Engineers is studying tougher regulations of waterways in the Tulare Lake Basin that includes both the Tule and Kaweah rivers in support of its mandate to enforce the Clean Water Act. The purpose of the law is to protect against the dumping of trash and pollution and maintain existing waterways and wetlands.

Regulatory Branch Chief for the Corps’ Central Valley division, Mike Jewell, says they are currently processing an appeal by two local water agencies over the Corps interpretation that the local districts must now get permits when working in the rivers, canals or ditches - a so-called Section 404 permit. A 2001 Supreme Court case “blurred the lines” on whether the Corps has jurisdiction, admits Jewell, a debate that is going on in all parts of the country.

The interpretation depends on what are “waters of the United States” generally interpreted as interstate waters, not intra-state rivers like the Kaweah and Tule that flow down to Tulare Lake. Waters that reach the ocean apparently do qualify, like the San Joaquin River.

But Jewell says there is some question whether the rivers might still qualify as waters of the United States in part because they have an interstate commerce connection, he says.

If a river or waterway is visited by visitors from other states or countries it might be interpreted as water of the United States, says Jewell. Adding this factor could mean visitors fishing in a waterway might draw Corps oversight.

An even more generous interpretation came when in a court case there was a ruling that the Army Corps could regulate any wetland even an isolated one - if it was wet enough to get a duck’s butt wet - or so the lawyers joked. Again the connection was a federal oversight might apply since ducks are migratory.

The ruling has tied up many private property owners from carrying out plans on their land.

But conservationists have argued that the US has lost most of its historical wetlands and stronger federal oversight is needed. The Corps says most requests of alteration of wetlands are granted and just 3% of Section 404 permits are denied.

Four years ago the Tule River Irrigation District was working to clear invasive weeds from the river when the Corps got a complaint from a citizen that set off the current regulatory debate here. Handling the appeal of the two water districts - Lower Tule and Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District. Dick Moss who says the time, regulatory and cost burden on a water district required to get a permit from the Corps every time they want to move around some earth in the ditch bank “would be a major hassle,” says Moss. On top of that, the Corps may require some sort of “mitigation” if they find something wrong. The district’s backlog of maintenance work has built up and is waiting for this issue to be sorted out, complains Moss.

Jewell says the Tulare Lake Basin “may be” an isolated flood basin and therefore not subject to the permitting oversight. But that still leaves the interstate commerce question.

This is affecting a group that want to open a Quaker retreat just east of the Kaweah Oaks Preserve east of Visalia. The Kaweah changes course through the Kaweah Oaks says property owner Bill Lovett who has been working to build a 500 person conference center on his 26 acres for the past few years. Still the land is adjacent the Kaweah Oaks Preserve the fact that the preserve that gets some out of town visitors could trigger the Corps’ oversight. The oak studded preserve also has low lands that might be considered wetlands in places and the Corps has suggested they might have jurisdiction there as well, suggests Lovett.

“They tried to tell us we had a wetland here and we hired our own expert to prove we didn’t. Then they sent their own expert to see the site and he also concluded there was no wetland.” Lovett explains that for the past decade the dwindling water runoff means that the water table is well below the surface. Now the Corps insists he prove it’s not a wetland by paying for a test over the next few months using a sort of dipstick to be monitored to see if there is water at the surface. Lovett says the water table is 20 to 30 ft. below and the dipstick won’t show anything. He figures he will win that battle, but only after months of struggle and considerable expense.

But Lovett says they are also claiming some jurisdiction over the oak woodland on his property possibly because they are considering it low lands and that could limit the Quaker kids camping in the oak woodland.

“Here we are trying to teach conservation and environmental concern and they are making it impossible to plan this place,” he says incredulously. In the oaks woodland an Indian sweathouse is occasionally used by native Yokuts. Is that going to require a permit too?

The fight over wetland protection has hit the state of Washington this month with the change in policy after negotiations with National Wildlife Federation over the filling of 7 acres of wetlands on a site for a future Costco. As a result of a lawsuit and a ruling by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001, the Corps will now treat ditches, irrigation canals and nearby wetlands with a surface water connection to natural streams as “waters of the United States” - a move that is likely to slosh over to California, noted a recent AP story.

Because of all this the Corps could claim authority over waterways in a city like Visalia adding a new layer of bureaucracy to development plans anywhere along the Kaweah or Tule and could effect road work, utility lines, etc.

Congressman Devin Nunes has been made aware of the irrigation district concerns and suggests that “the Corps does lots of good things and should concentrate on areas where they can really make a difference and not mess around with these other issues.”

The Corps Mr. Jewell says they are trying to make a determination on the local water district’s appeal by July.

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Tulare County - The county has grown by about 60% since 1980 when we had 253,000 residents. This year we are approaching 400,000 While we have almost two-thirds more people living here, there appears to be fewer folks participating in the electoral process as measured by voter turnout at our polls.

In the most recent election - March 2004, a primary election - just 58,437 voted. That is 44.4% of the 131,000 registered voters.

Amazingly, back in 1980 in another primary election, 55,462 went to the polls - a 65% turnout.

Later that year during the general election 77% of the 94,067 registered turned out to vote - 72,619. Out of a far smaller pool of Tulare County residents 24 years ago almost three-quarters exercised their civic duty determining who would lead the US on both a local and national level.

Based on the percentage of the population that registered back in 1980 vs 2004, some 40% were registered to vote in 1980 compared to about 32% today. Clearly there appears to be a decline in registration as well as voters.

The figures tell a story of declining participation in local affairs. A look at the turnout in elections of the past two decades shows that the turnout has been dropping even as the number of registered voters goes up, but only slightly from ten years before despite an estimated 18% increase in county population.

Tulare County chief election official Hiley Wallis says in general about one quarter of people who could vote come to the polls with some 50% of people registering and in a general election 50% of those people voting.

She says one way the election department is addressing this is the offering of permanent absentee ballots to local voters. “We are a mobile society,”says Wallis and some people leave for work early and get back late at night.

Add to that the growing number of elderly and disabled people in Tulare County and you see why already 24,000 have signed up to permanently vote by absentee ballot. She says this law was passed in 2003. “Some people like the fact there is less pressure when you vote at home, no time limit.” She thinks “reminding people to vote on election day”would help and also reminds us that if a voter wants to vote on only one issue on a ballot - their ballot still counts.”

No Pressing Issues

Congressman Devin Nunes takes a different tack on decreasing voter turnout noting that a lack of pressing issues may mean voters don’t bother to come to the polls.

“When the electorate is excited about an issue they show up,” says Nunes pointing to the high turnout in Tulare County last fall with the recall of Governor Davis. There was a 57% turnout there, he says.

The recent low voter turnout in the primary in March 2004 could be because both the Democratic and Republican presidential races were settled. “That does make it hard to get voters to pay attention to the local races,” he admits.

Nunes says one reason people are turned off on elections is that most top races in California are in so-called “safe districts” as a result of gerrymandering by the political parties. He says he wants to set up more competitive districts here to reinvigorate the electorate.

The county grew by nearly 10,000 last year reflecting a more rapid pace of growth than has been seen in the early 1990s when the county grew by less than 4000 a year. The increase is due to roughly 3 times as many births as deaths and immigration into the county.

Immigration

One factor in the decrease in registered voters per population is the large number of immigrants who have come to Tulare County since 1980. The 2000 census shows some 83,124 foreign born residents of Tulare County with more than one-third of that number entering the county since 1990, according to one census bureau number. The 2000 census for Tulare County shows a 51% increase in immigrant population here since 1990.

International immigration into Tulare County number nearly 30,000 between 1991 and 2002, according to census figures. That contrasted with a large out migration of people leaving here during those same years - almost a net 20,000 who left the county.

The census report for the Visalia/Tulare/Porterville Metropolitan Statistical Area shows almost 44% speak other than English at home ( age 5 or older). The high incidence of poverty and the language barrier may provide other factors weighing against voter participation despite bilingual ballots.

One huge factor in this immigration wave is that the vast majority of those who came here after 1990 chose not to become naturalized as citizens or could not according to the census. Obviously if you aren’t a citizen - you can’t vote.

Some blame the boob tube for a decline in civic participation across the USA as too many adults won’t get off their couch to schlep over to the voting booth.

Fewer Demos

If many newcomers to Tulare County in the past two decades haven’t registered to vote it could go part of the way toward figuring out why the percentage of Democrats vs Republicans has changed during the same period. During the past 8 years as the county has grown by 15%, the number of Democrats has fallen by 12,000 while the number of Republicans has increased by somewhat less than 5000, Working toward a 20,000 vote spread from what was even numbers in the 1980s.

Democrat Joe Altschule says the alarming trend toward lower voter participation indicates voters “don’t think they can make any difference” in a typical election. “They feel a disconnect between the government and themselves” and the only way to turn that around is to elect leaders who communicate with voters on a district level. Altschule says campaign financing needs force elected officials to spend 50% more of their time raising money and fuels the feeling that voters have that large donations provide access of the few.

Regarding the decrease of Democrats to Republicans here Altschule says there is “growing tradition of conservatism Bush “is spending money like a drunken sailor.”

The central valley appears to contrast itself over values and lifestyles of some in the Bay Area and LA as “too liberal” he says, particularly on hot button issues like homosexuality, abortion and gay rights. Republican consultant Lane Fye says increasing GOP numbers points to the fact that the valley is “the Bible belt” of California and shares more with the Midwest than other parts of California. He says Hispanics too are becoming more conservative in their views.

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Visalia - The newly appointed East Downtown Visalia Task Force will begin their work later this month meeting with a consultant hired by the city to come up with a plan for a large multi block area east of the city's main downtown to Ben Maddox and north to Goshen Ave. Berkeley consultant Bruce Race has been hired to come up with a plan in the next 8 months.

Race will hold several joint city council and planning commission study sessions as well as community meetings besides meeting with the 10 member task force made of community representatives.

Members of the task force are: Jim Armstrong, Planning Commissioner; Bob Cary, member of PBID board; Tom Gaebe, treasurer of PBID and property owner in study area; Philip Laird, chairman of PBID board; Bill Main, business owner in study area; Susan Mangini, member of PBID board; Victor Perez, Planning Commissioner; Jane Shepard, property owner in study area; Colby Wells, manager within study area; and Marty Zeeb, member of PBID board.

The proposed plan would work to come up with a vision for East Main as well as the area north where the new Visalia Civic Center is planned at Burke and Oak St.

Along Santa Fe where the city has been clustering new development at Oak St. and the new transit center is located, new development is side by side with old large and mostly vacant warehouses primarily along Santa Fe north, an old concrete plant and several service commercial type businesses. The area also has the CalTrans maintenance yard that soon will be handed over to the city when the state agency moves to its new location on east 198. It also includes the Gas Company Corp yard that is subject of real estate negotiations with the city at this week's city council closed session.

City councilman Greg Kirkpatrick told the Voice this week he thought the area will soon be ripe for mixed use housing projects - "perhaps condos and other housing alternatives we do not currently have in town." But developers may be hesitant to plunge into such a large project until the city makes its first move to build its new offices nearby, he says. Kirkpatrick cites mixed use development took off in downtown Sacramento and proved very successful.

Race says he hopes to meet with real estate brokers to gauge interest for mixed use projects. He says the city's transit center "sets the tone" for high quality development in the area.

With several hundred acres of mostly vacant or underused land available there is really room for a second city in the target area.

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