On August 15, Mayor Darryl Clare, and Councilmembers Barbara Payne and Randy Shelton approved a plan to include growth areas outside the City limits for an expanded City footprint. FOSH and other environmental groups as well as local citizens have opposed Galt expanding its urban footprint. In classic sprawl fashion councilmembers defended their decision as needed to expand the tax base to pay for infrastructure, and to defend their turf from other governments in the area. Planning consultants have told the city that they have plenty of land within their current boundaries to accomodate twenty years of population growth.

The Council last year rejected alternatives prepared by planning consultants that were consistent with infill policies, LAFCO law and policy, In particular, Area G, adjacent to the Cosumnes River Preserve, is a proposed growth area inconsistent with sound growth policies. It is proposed for active adult housing by Del Webb. Mayor Clare said that including Area G would allow the City to study the environmental impacts of including that area into the City, ignoring the fact that those impacts were well studied in the mid nineties when LAFCO did not approve the City's request to include that area in the City's sphere of influence.

Fifty-three percent of the citizens responding to a poll about growth alternatives strongly opposed Area G (the Del Webb site) for future growth.

For more information about Galt's General Plan process and the growth alternatives, go to: http://www.jlmintier.com/galt.ht

Learn more about FOSH and Sierra Club's view of a proposal to develop a key habitat

area north and west of the City of Galt