Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Initiative topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Riverbank certifies signatures for land-use initiative, council sends measure to next regular municipal election
Summary
City elections staff certified 1,544 sufficient signatures on a petition to require voter approval for urban development west of Riverbank city limits; council voted 5–0 to certify signatures and to place the initiative on the next regular municipal election.
Riverbank — The City Council on Sept. 10 certified a citizen initiative petition and voted to place the measure on the next regular municipal election.
City elections staff described the initiative, "Voter approval required to allow development of urban uses on agricultural or open space lands located west of Riverbank city limits," and outlined exceptions included in the measure: developments required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for fair-share housing, farmworker housing, projects with vested rights, and approvals for wastewater treatment facilities.
Elections staff reported the petition-signature verification results from the Registrar of Voters: "1,918 signatures were filed. 1,918 signatures were verified. 1,544 signatures were found sufficient; 374 signatures were found insufficient; and 4 were found insufficient due to duplicate signatures," the elections official said. Staff advised the council that the number of sufficient signatures met the threshold to qualify the initiative for the ballot.
Staff presented council with options: adopt the ordinance without change, submit the measure to voters at the next regular municipal election, hold a special election, or order a city staff report on fiscal and land-use impacts under Elections Code section 9212. Staff recommended placing the initiative on the next regular municipal election in November 2026 because the November 2024 election window was too short to meet statutory timelines.
Public commenters urged the council to let voters decide; proponents highlighted more than 1,500 validated signatures and raised concerns about large-scale agricultural land conversion and wastewater-treatment impacts tied to development proposals such as the Riverwalk project.
Council voted on two separate resolutions: one certifying the signature verification and a second placing the initiative on the next regular municipal election; both passed on roll-call votes, 5–0.
