Why West Sacramento's "Measure L" Is Bad for Yolo County
By Dave Rosenberg, Yolo County Supervisor,
4th District and Chairman of the Yolo County Economic Development Council
"Measure L" will appear on the November 5, 2002, ballot in West Sacramento,
subject to a decision by the registered voters of that city. However, Measure
L should and does concern all of us in Yolo County, as it has profound effects
on business and agriculture in this region.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors and the Yolo County Economic Development Council recently joined business groups and farm groups in urging the voters of West Sacramento to vote no on Measure L. What would Measure L do if passed? Why should voters vote "no" on L? Those are the questions this piece will answer.
First of all, a little background. Measure L was placed on the West Sacramento Ballot by a group called "QUAD" (West Sacramento Quality Urbanization and Development). Measure L would rezone major portions of the Southport Area of West Sacramento from "industrial" to "residential" and "commercial" zones and place restrictions on future industrial development of the existing Port of Sacramento. Although it is called the "Port of Sacramento", it is actually located in the midst of West Sacramento.
The Port opened in 1963 and specializes in bulk and break-bulk (bagged commodities) freight. About 60% of the Port's business are outbound freight of rice, wood chips, and wheat. Freight in bound to the Port is primarily dry bulk fertilizer, raw logs, stones, sand and other aggregates. The Port has a value of $100 million, has annual revenues in the $11-12 million range, and employs about 150 men and women.
When the Port opened in the 1960's, it was surrounded by undeveloped land. In the next two decades, most of the development around the Port was industrial in nature, with some commercial development. However, in the last decade, the area south of the Port (called, of course "Southport") has been the scene of active residential development. In fact, the mix of uses around the Port has changed from industrial-commercial, to industrial-commercial-residential. The increasing numbers of residential users surrounding the Port has prompted the effort called Measure L.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors and the Yolo County Economic Development Council took positions opposed to Measure L because they felt that Measure L's passage would slowly strangle, and eventually kill, the Port of Sacramento. Yolo County and regional farmers and businesses would be hit hard with such a closure.
Measure L, if passed, would dramatically restrict the ability of the Port of Sacramento to improve and adjust to meet demands. That is because Measure L would, effectively, freeze existing Port operations in place and allow no changes unless the Port jumps through a number of legal hoops. Currently, the Port of Sacramento competes directly with the Port of Stockton. Measure L would ensure that the Port of Sacramento could no longer be competitive with the Port of Stockton. The former would stagnate and wither, the latter would flourish and prosper.
How important is the Port of Sacramento to farmers and businesses in Yolo County and the region? Let's look at just one example: rice. California produces almost 2 million metric tons of rice each year. One quarter of all that rice is shipped through the Port of Sacramento. Rice farmers and the leading rice counties of Colusa, Glenn, Butte, Sutter and Yolo would be severely impacted by a closure of the convenient Port of Sacramento. That's why the Yolo County Farm Bureau, and other farm organizations, have come out opposed to Measure L.
While Measure L would be voted on only by West Sacramento citizens, its reach goes far beyond the boundaries of that city. The rest of us in Yolo County can only urge our friends in West Sacramento to view the Measure L issue not just as an issue within the municipal city limits, but also as an issue that affects the very livelihood -agriculture - that makes Yolo County so unique.