Not all owners of property just outside of Ceres’ southern city limits are wild about plans to be swept up into a 535-acre acre annexation. They explained their opposition at Monday’s Ceres Planning Commission scoping meeting on the environmental studies that need to take place as the precursor to the annexation and development of a Copper Trails master plan.
Copper Trails has been conceptualized for over longer than 15 years. After years of being shelved, environmental studies are taking place for a master plan. A year ago the Ceres City Council awarded the contract to the professional firm of Wood Rogers, Inc. to do the Environmental Impact Report. The work is being funded by project proponents Stewart S. Fahmy and Nav Athwal, who contacted the city about initiating the Specific Plan.
Vance Jones of Wood Rogers and Tim Chamberlain, the primary consultants on the work, gave the commission an overview of the environmental process.
The proposed annexation area is generally bordered by Service Road to the north, the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, Highway 99 and Mitchell Road to the east, the TID Lower Lateral No. 2 canal to the south, and Blaker Road to the west. The planned annexation brings into the city limits three schools –Central Valley High School, Hanline Elementary School and Hidahl Elementary School – as well as small ranches, rural homes, orchards and farmland.
The master plan area was expanded to take in 146 acres of county island properties both east and the Collins and Industrial Way neighborhoods west of Highway 99.
Besides regional commercial, single-family homes and apartments, parks and park strips would be spaced throughout the new development.
The city estimates that the Copper Trails Specific Plan area could result in the construction of approximately 2,392 dwelling units and 1.1 million square feet of regional commercial development. Additional development may also occur within an adjacent 146 acres of unincorporated county land that would be annexed to the city together with the CTSP area.
Rural Ceres resident and farmer Robert Conway expressed his dismay that Ceres is looking to expand the size of city for development.
“You guys keep pushing out and pushing out and affecting how we operate out there because of certain chemicals that we use, things that are just affecting the environment out there,” Conway told the commission. “I understand growth but there’s a certain point to where enough is enough to be honest with you. They put the schools out there …and my first thought was yeah, here comes the development.”
Conway farms small acreage near Central Valley High School and bemoaned the loss of his black-eye pea crops to the geese which populate the nearby wastewater treatment plant. He also complained about traffic conflicts he routinely meets with those traveling to and from the schools.
Conway complained that development should not by be initiated by Bay Area interests.
Ceres resident John Warren asked that the EIR needs to address how the city will fund the additional police officers and firefighters needed when the new homes are built as well as how to fund new parks. He said the parks need to be built before the houses go up – not after the families come in.
He also questioned how the city can afford to deal with the deficiencies of the incorporated neighborhood north of Service Road.
“The streets are dilapidated … all that infrastructure needs to be brought up to date before the city should annex that 146 acres and how are we going to provide services for those people who live there?,” asked Warren. He suggested the Copper Trails project needs to bear the financial burden “because they’re causing that.”
“If you want one thing you’re going to have to pay for the whole thing and it all needs to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Report,” Warren said.
Hoem said the affected property owners who don’t want the annexation to take place will be able to protest “and if a certain number of them do then it does go to an election process within that area.”
Annexation likely wouldn’t occur for another two years, said Christopher Hoem, director of Community Development for the city of Ceres.
Commissioner Bob Kachel said he is concerned that areas labeled parks “looks to me more like it’s landscape strips along the roads which are not parks.” He said while they look nice, he wants to see more in the way of “usable park space,” noting that Ceres presently has two undeveloped park sites.
Kachel said he favors the idea of annexing the county islands to the north.
One woman who did not identify herself balked when she heard City Engineer Kevin Waugh suggest that the new Service Road interchange likely will not completed until 2028.
“You got to be kidding me,” she said, “because right now it’s backed up all the way to the high school, the traffic trying to get over that.”
Those who would like to submit comments on the environmental review process should address to emailing Christopher.Hoem@ci.ceres.ca.us.