The Rancho San Juan Referendum

On Tuesday, December 14th, the Board of Supervisors voted by a 3-2 vote, with Supervisors Potter and Calcagno voting “no,” to approve the proposed Rancho San Juan Specific Plan and the “Butterfly Village” subdivision. Previously, the Monterey County Planning Commission had recommended by a 10-0 vote that this project be denied.

The Rancho San Juan development is the largest development project ever proposed in the history of Monterey County. It would have major traffic, groundwater, and fiscal impacts. The “referendum” effort, if successful, will allow county voters to have the last say.

To be successful, the Rancho San Juan Opposition Coalition must gather something like 13,000 signatures of registered voters by January 10th. (Yes, during the holiday season!) Only about 9,000 signatures are actually required to qualify the referendum for the ballot, but it’s always necessary to collect more signatures than needed, to make sure that enough valid signatures are obtained.

If you’d like to help in the referendum effort (and we hope you will), please contact David Smith or Elizabeth Panetta. David can be reached at 831-759-2824, Ext. 11. His email address is: . Elizabeth can be reached at 831-904-1811. Her email is .

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posted 12.19.04