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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

April 11, 2004

Development in Lagoon Valley will empty city coffers

Letter to the Editor

I agree with Clif Poole that it is time for Vacaville to set its priorities with regards to public health, safety, transportation and public finances ("Time to make choices on priorities," The Reporter, April 9).

However, Mr. Poole fails to recognize that development in Lagoon Valley will degrade the public health, safety, transportation and public finances of Vacaville.

There is no doubt that Lagoon Valley development will increase traffic along Interstate 80. The Lagoon Valley Draft Environmental Impact Report clearly states that traffic impacts from the project will be "significant and unavoidable." Unfortunately, every resident in the proposed 1,300 home development will be forced to drive on I-80 for their basic needs, which will further congest our highways and pollute our air to the detriment of public health.

Furthermore, the recurring costs of pumping water in and sewage out of Lagoon Valley will drain city coffers. To make matters worse, Vacaville police and fire services will be forced to cover a wider geographic area. Extending and maintaining public services into Lagoon Valley will strain the city's fiscal resources at a time when Mr. Poole points out "individuals are pleading their case not to cut police officers (and) firefighters." Developer's fees may pay for the initial sewage and water pipes to be laid, but they don't keep up with the long-term costs of infrastructure maintenance and service provision.

Development in Lagoon Valley is a painful symptom of Vacaville's chronic addiction to sprawl and a sure-fire recipe for economic disaster. As Vacaville continues to develop further and further away from its downtown, Vacaville citizens are left with more traffic and poorer air quality. Eventually, taxpayers will be forced to subsidize the sprawling developments that degrade their quality of life. Sooner or later the fiscal costs of Vacaville's sprawling pattern of development will become painfully evident.

Brent Schoradt, Fairfield
The author is the Solano-Napa Field Representative for the Greenbelt Alliance - Editor.

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