Questions and Answers about Growth

Q: Don't we need to annex and develop more land to meet the needs of a growing population?

A: Not as much land as some people think. According to the consultant who helped prepare the Grass Valley General Plan, retail/commercial land availability within the existing city limits is sufficient to meet the 20-year demand. And although the existing supply of available vacant land within the current city limits for office/professional and manufacturing/industrial land uses won't quite meet the projected demand, the projected shortfalls may be alleviated (or even eliminated) by the availability of vacant land in planned Employment Centers (business parks).

Q: How can we create more affordable housing?

A: Partnerships among local government, non-profit housing developers, community leaders, and private financial institutions can create attractive, successful affordable housing developments. Such partnerships allow fee waivers and other ways of reducing costs, as well as deed restrictions that ensure the affordable units remain affordable. We don't need Faustian deals with developers, who offer us some affordable units in exchange for approving their large developments!

Q: How does population growth affect traffic?

A: According to the standard traffic engineering estimates, each new household generates about 10 vehicle trips per day.

Q: Doesn't Grass Valley have to expand to meet the demand for new housing?

A: There is enough developable land within the current city limits to allow the city to grow at the historical rate of 2% per year for many more years.

Q: Is Grass Valley Neighbors anti-development? Does the organization believe developers are the enemy?

A: No! We agree with Sierra Club anti-sprawl director Melody Flowers, who says, "The future of smart growth lies in actually supporting developers who are doing it right."

Q: How do Grass Valley citizens feel about growth?

A: In the survey of citizen attitudes about growth conducted by Grass Valley Neighbors at the Friday Night Markets in 2003, 85% of respondents said they oppose the new shopping center that would be part of the proposed SouthHill Village development south of Grass Valley, and 95% said they support the managed-growth goals of Grass Valley Neighbors. See how people responded to the other survey questions.