Watsonville Council Approves Certification Of Measure U Petition

WATSONVILLE, CA — The Watsonville City Council Tuesday accepted the city clerk’s certification of petition advocating an extension of Measure U city boundaries. The Council could vote to approve the petition themselves, but they will likely put the question in a referendum on the November ballot.

Voters would choose whether to extend Measure U, a 2002 ballot measure that set urban boundaries for the city, and dictated where developers can build. The ballot was approved by 60% of Watsonville voters at the time, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The boundaries were set to expire this year, but an effort by farmworkers launched in July and obtained 2,170 signatures, more than the 2,170 required by the Watsonville city charter, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. If the measure is approved, the city boundaries will continue until 2040.

Supporters of Measure U argue that it protects farmlands and wetlands. Opponents argue that it stops the city from addressing its housing crisis by limiting where developers can build. On Tuesday, Watsonville Councilmember Rebecca Garcia asked about claims by proponents that Measure U would protect the wetlands from development.

City Manager Pro-Tem Tamara Vides told Garcia that the city general plan already protects wetlands, regardless of Measure U. A member of the Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland Protection, a coalition group that filed the petition, told The Pajaronian that members were not claiming the measure would “save the wetlands,” as Garcia had claimed.

Proponent Yesenia Jimenez told the Sentinel that Measure U provides additional protection to wetlands.