I don't have a strong opinion on this topic but rather a general observation. Annexation efforts usually fail for two reasons:
1) The county has nothing to gain from giving up control of these areas, so it usually demands significant financial concessions that make it a losing proposition for the annexing agency (i.e. the city).
2) Many residents tend to prefer the status quo, despite its drawbacks, because they fear that the alternative will be worse for them (largely a refection of human nature).
Would it make more sense practically and governmentally for these random pockets of land to be merged into the city of Martinez? Yes. Will it ever happen? Probably not.
Ultimately, most residents aren't nearly engaged enough with the inner workings of their local governmental agency, be it city or county, to move an arcane issue like this forward.
perhaps, but again the decision doesn't rest with area residents but area property owners. I don't know what qualifies as engaged enough, how can they be when their local representation is the County Board of Supervisors? I've been fortunate to meet with both Goia and Glover on an issue I wanted to raise but I believe I'm in the minority. Those who wish to seek redress on an issue of concern for them bear the burden of cost of taking time off work vs city council meetings held in the evening hours when most citizens are home for the day.
It may be anecdotal but it seems every election cycle there are confused community members wondering why their ballot does not include local races. I've heard more than one question whether they really were Martinez citizens.
The time when their voices should have been considered was the audacious creation of a zoning overlay denying property owners the right to rezone their parcels without the risk of triggering a ballot measure for the voters of Martinez to decide should their parcels become incorporated.
But that's about as far as I'm willing to engage in this dialogue. The report is pretty damning and I can't see how annexation proponents come back from that. Particularly when we're experiencing critical staffing shortages as it is.
Annex. has been introduced over the years & gone down as many times based on the residents as to the city retreating over this narrative, or LAFCO & the County not approving it after neighbors and City did. Our water bills might rise was from the previous study & as reported here, taxes would move in some ways, (maybe new taxations, maybe not, that isn't very clear by their report). As to sidewalks & gutters, etc. in the past we have been assured that we would be "grandfathered in" and no new issues would come to us. But as to being too expensive for the City, some time ago the City incorporated many additional parts of Shell Oil refinery (& purposefully overlooked the surrounding neighborhoods) which has been bringing huge advantage to City coffers without bringing ANY improvement to the areas directly under the stacks. We gave up our neighborhood fire station (to the interest of the city residents to keep theirs) because City residents refused to raise their property taxes by $25 a year. We gave up our neighborhood elementary school so MUSD could build a new school out at Morello (a smaller residential area than ours). City residents- don't listen to this "it would be too expensive for us" narrative as we (& our children) are not only disenfranchised, we are paying to support the City of Martinez in ways residents and consultants apparently don't realize. Why didn't they study the area of Shell that is in the City limits & paying additional property taxes to support the area that we don't get? Why not make sure to add any areas of the refinery left inside the County & include that tax base when eliciting the old narrative about expense? & many times our streets have been in much better shape than City streets, matter of scheduling. We are served by the same sewer system and yet the replacement of aging insufficient sewer lines have largely gone to streets inside the City limits. It's time to demand answers from our utilities as to why we pay the same but don't get the same support or infrastructure like schools and sewers!! & I wish I didn't have to remind people, we are Martizians too and centuries long volunteers improving the communities for all. We are in this together and there is a long way to go before we feel welcomed, even after all of the sacrifices we have ALREADY made. I say send your consultants back to the design table!! And if City residents stop speeding down our unincorporated streets getting to their schools we would greatly appreciate it.
Hi Chey, The Unincorporated area of Mt. View is served by the Mt. View Sanitary District which just raised the sewer charge 10% and has scheduled a 9% increase for each of the next 5 fiscal years. Please write to the Board Secretary at Mt. View Sanitary DIstrict, Now, at 3800 Arthur Road, Martinez to protest. We need 50% of customers to write a protest letter. If you rent, please ask your property owner to write. Kathy
It adds a lot, depending on several factors. It's almost a third of my total property tax. How can our older residents maintain their homes with these increases?
This astronomical abuse is why we had to vote on Prop 13! We will never GET another prop 13 so we need to vocalize now and loud! They wont budge without an onslaught of letters!
It’s a shame annexation didn’t take place many many years ago. People have to rely on the county for everything instead of the city. Thanks for the report, Craig.
Timing was everything thirteen years ago when the prospects for annexation weren't nearly as bleak as this report suggests. Yes, the residents of many of these areas lack direct representation and absolutely reflect the socioeconomic and demographic disparities the CVRA was supposed to be intended for, but the 'protest vote' mentioned above doesn't necessarily mean area residents, but property owners. At this point I can't see annexation in the cards.
The vote is for property owners who directly pay for services. There is a lot of miss information on the former shell property being already annexed. For the most it is not. Martinez City residents have no real say. They will pay dearly for others services with no benifits. Zip codes do not place people in city limits.
The short term activist has other interest. And is short sighted. The county controls the funds that the special interest asserts . And Federal Glover, the county supervisor, does directly represent those areas. Also look into at least one conflict on the council. Family business interest in the study area. Let’s not bankrupt the city. For philosophical political interest.
I don't have a strong opinion on this topic but rather a general observation. Annexation efforts usually fail for two reasons:
1) The county has nothing to gain from giving up control of these areas, so it usually demands significant financial concessions that make it a losing proposition for the annexing agency (i.e. the city).
2) Many residents tend to prefer the status quo, despite its drawbacks, because they fear that the alternative will be worse for them (largely a refection of human nature).
Would it make more sense practically and governmentally for these random pockets of land to be merged into the city of Martinez? Yes. Will it ever happen? Probably not.
Ultimately, most residents aren't nearly engaged enough with the inner workings of their local governmental agency, be it city or county, to move an arcane issue like this forward.
perhaps, but again the decision doesn't rest with area residents but area property owners. I don't know what qualifies as engaged enough, how can they be when their local representation is the County Board of Supervisors? I've been fortunate to meet with both Goia and Glover on an issue I wanted to raise but I believe I'm in the minority. Those who wish to seek redress on an issue of concern for them bear the burden of cost of taking time off work vs city council meetings held in the evening hours when most citizens are home for the day.
It may be anecdotal but it seems every election cycle there are confused community members wondering why their ballot does not include local races. I've heard more than one question whether they really were Martinez citizens.
The time when their voices should have been considered was the audacious creation of a zoning overlay denying property owners the right to rezone their parcels without the risk of triggering a ballot measure for the voters of Martinez to decide should their parcels become incorporated.
But that's about as far as I'm willing to engage in this dialogue. The report is pretty damning and I can't see how annexation proponents come back from that. Particularly when we're experiencing critical staffing shortages as it is.
Annex. has been introduced over the years & gone down as many times based on the residents as to the city retreating over this narrative, or LAFCO & the County not approving it after neighbors and City did. Our water bills might rise was from the previous study & as reported here, taxes would move in some ways, (maybe new taxations, maybe not, that isn't very clear by their report). As to sidewalks & gutters, etc. in the past we have been assured that we would be "grandfathered in" and no new issues would come to us. But as to being too expensive for the City, some time ago the City incorporated many additional parts of Shell Oil refinery (& purposefully overlooked the surrounding neighborhoods) which has been bringing huge advantage to City coffers without bringing ANY improvement to the areas directly under the stacks. We gave up our neighborhood fire station (to the interest of the city residents to keep theirs) because City residents refused to raise their property taxes by $25 a year. We gave up our neighborhood elementary school so MUSD could build a new school out at Morello (a smaller residential area than ours). City residents- don't listen to this "it would be too expensive for us" narrative as we (& our children) are not only disenfranchised, we are paying to support the City of Martinez in ways residents and consultants apparently don't realize. Why didn't they study the area of Shell that is in the City limits & paying additional property taxes to support the area that we don't get? Why not make sure to add any areas of the refinery left inside the County & include that tax base when eliciting the old narrative about expense? & many times our streets have been in much better shape than City streets, matter of scheduling. We are served by the same sewer system and yet the replacement of aging insufficient sewer lines have largely gone to streets inside the City limits. It's time to demand answers from our utilities as to why we pay the same but don't get the same support or infrastructure like schools and sewers!! & I wish I didn't have to remind people, we are Martizians too and centuries long volunteers improving the communities for all. We are in this together and there is a long way to go before we feel welcomed, even after all of the sacrifices we have ALREADY made. I say send your consultants back to the design table!! And if City residents stop speeding down our unincorporated streets getting to their schools we would greatly appreciate it.
Hi Chey, The Unincorporated area of Mt. View is served by the Mt. View Sanitary District which just raised the sewer charge 10% and has scheduled a 9% increase for each of the next 5 fiscal years. Please write to the Board Secretary at Mt. View Sanitary DIstrict, Now, at 3800 Arthur Road, Martinez to protest. We need 50% of customers to write a protest letter. If you rent, please ask your property owner to write. Kathy
Absolutely! That kind of increase is extreme isn't it? What would that add to our tax burden?
It adds a lot, depending on several factors. It's almost a third of my total property tax. How can our older residents maintain their homes with these increases?
This astronomical abuse is why we had to vote on Prop 13! We will never GET another prop 13 so we need to vocalize now and loud! They wont budge without an onslaught of letters!
It’s a shame annexation didn’t take place many many years ago. People have to rely on the county for everything instead of the city. Thanks for the report, Craig.
Timing was everything thirteen years ago when the prospects for annexation weren't nearly as bleak as this report suggests. Yes, the residents of many of these areas lack direct representation and absolutely reflect the socioeconomic and demographic disparities the CVRA was supposed to be intended for, but the 'protest vote' mentioned above doesn't necessarily mean area residents, but property owners. At this point I can't see annexation in the cards.
The vote is for property owners who directly pay for services. There is a lot of miss information on the former shell property being already annexed. For the most it is not. Martinez City residents have no real say. They will pay dearly for others services with no benifits. Zip codes do not place people in city limits.
The short term activist has other interest. And is short sighted. The county controls the funds that the special interest asserts . And Federal Glover, the county supervisor, does directly represent those areas. Also look into at least one conflict on the council. Family business interest in the study area. Let’s not bankrupt the city. For philosophical political interest.