My views on growth

By Michael Maciel

Tracy's city government must be flexible as it copes with regional growth. With only approximately 12% of Tracy's population still working in agriculture and a cooling housing industry, we must be prepared to take advantage of new and different economic growth opportunities.

When a slow growth initiative was narrowly passed by voters in 2000, its supporters claimed that county government would discourage residential growth beyond Tracy's city limits. Someone forgot to tell this to Linne Estates, River Islands, Mountain House and those others who have been building in the area for the past several years. Tracy area schools, roads and other infrastructure support those homes, but the city was denied the fees that would have been generated had they been within the city limits.

That initiaive has cost Tracy a great deal of money in lost devloper fees and will continue to do so. This money would have paid for public safety and other city services, new recreational facilities and general infrastructure inprovements.

We cannot think only in terms of additional homes when looking to Tracy's future growth. City government has done a good job of expanding its efforts to promote retail and other commercial growth. I strongly support continuing this strategy and seeking ways for Tracy to become even more aggressive when it comes to attracting new businesses and jobs.

The north/west corner of Tracy has enjoyed significant retail growth surrounding the West Valley Mall, the Auto Mall and the WalMart/Costco corridor and a healthy warehouse/distribution industry has emerged in the north/east part of town. Tracy has proven that it can be good for business.

With exciting plans being formulated to revitalize the "Downtown" area and the potential to develop new industries throughout the city, more than ever the city council needs members who are committed to making and keeping Tracy an attractive location for businesses and corporations to investment in. I believe that for the vision of an economically vibrant Tracy to become a reality, we must ensure a business-friendly environment.