Did The Bee underplay ag-land decision?
I would like to compliment the article Wednesday regarding the county decision to preserve ag land. As you know, ag is a $ 4 billion dollar industry and it is well documented that if we continue to allow cities to expand their spheres, we will consume all or most of this land into cities spheres within the next 5 yrs. On Tuesday, the board put a hold on sphere expansions for the next 6 months to allow staff the time to designate prime ag land belts that we can designate as preserves for the next 100 years.As you can imagine, the ag and building industries and small cities will spend the next 6 months trying to stop this effort.
My question: With this being one of the most significant issues facing this county and the direction the board gave on Tuesday, how did this story end up on B-2? This should have been top of the fold A-1 sending a signal to the public to engage on the most important subject that will face this community in the next year. If we allow our ag base to be destroyed by development, what other economic development engine do we have ready to replace the $4 billion ag economy.
Thanks
Henry Perea
The Bee's Marc Benjamin wrote a front-page story last month that forecast Tuesday's vote and explained its potential significance, but you raise a good point. Arguably news of the vote deserved to be at least on the cover of the Local section.
But there was a lot of news that day, and the board's action was only a first small step in what will be a long process. Once action is taken that commits the county to a new course, the news will certainly merit more prominent display.
Comments
I think I agree with the Bee on this one. The Fresno and Clovis spheres of influence have already increased significantly in recent years, and vast areas on the east side of the metropolitan area are already being converted from agricultural to urban use. The action taken by the BOS was an interim measure, and only puts off further urban expansion for 6 months while the issue is being studied.
This is an important issue, but I hope the BOS and other local and regional leaders will take a bigger-picture approach. Eg.: how do we preserve ag land while maintaining affordable housing? How do we balance maintaining our ag economic base while attracting better-paying jobs to the area? How will we handle the loss of contruction-related jobs as the housing market slows? Turning farms into subdivisions is just one part of a much larger picture.
Posted by: Mike D. | December 8, 2006 1:50 PM