The future of the Valley’s Edge development in the foothills east of Chico appeared headed for a major setback Tuesday night as Chico voters were rejecting a pair of companion ballot measures by a lopsided margin.
Through the latest update as of 9:30 p.m., Chico voters were rejecting Measure P by a count of 8,221-5,211.
The companion measure, Measure O, was also trailing 8,265-5,144.
The first round of results included ballots received before Election Day, according to Butte County Clerk-Recorder Keaton Denlay. He said they could have been received by mail, in-person drop offs or in drop boxes. The counting of all ballots is due to be completed by March 12.
Of the two measures, Measure P was the one that received the bulk of attention from both proponents and opponents of Valley’s Edge. The measure asked voters whether or not to adopt the Valley’s Edge Specific Plan as approved by the Chico City Council at its meeting Jan. 3, 2023. Measure O asked voters whether to approve the General Plan amendment to reflect the adoption of the Specific Plan.
The Chico City Council voted 5-1 to allow the development following a contentious three-and-a-half hour public hearing. Councilor Sean Morgan, who made the motion for approval, called the proposal “as good as it can possibly get.” Bill Brouhard, who has been planning the development for the past 15 years, noted “a decade-long history of refinements, tweaks or changes in response to city staff and community members in the public.”
Those changes weren’t enough to deter some members of the public from continuing in their efforts to halt the project. Just three days after the council’s approval, a group called Smart Growth Advocates announced plans for a referendum to put the project on the ballot, and also said it intended to join forces with the Sierra Club for a lawsuit. The opponents objected to what they called the “sprawl” of the development and said the city needed to focus its future growth efforts on infill, not developments in the foothills.
The referendum drive ended up succeeding. Of the 8,373 signatures on the Specific Plan, 6,372 were deemed to be valid following review by the county clerk-recorder’s office. On the General Plan referendum, 6,444 signatures were valid. Both marks comfortably exceeded the 5,800 needed for success.
This story will be updated as more results are tabulated Tuesday night.
