If Redlands voters pass Measure G in March, it will relax development restrictions in a 782-acre area around the upcoming rail line. Some say that could lead to a walkable, sustainable future, while others predict it will create a traffic-clogged nightmare that kills the city’s small-town charm.
Lane Schneider, who lives in the area affected by the measure, said she doesn’t want to see four- or five-story buildings, and denser housing in the zone that stretches between Alabama and Judson streets.
“This will be an urban enclave going down the center of town,” Schneider said. “If I wanted to live in an urban environment, I wouldn’t live in Redlands.”
She is a principal officer and treasurer of the Save Redlands No on G committee.
Tracy Wise, a director of Redlands for Progressive Change, meanwhile calls the vote a moment of opportunity for the city.
She has lived all over the world and calls Redlands the place where she would like to grow old.
“To that end, I am looking for ways to increase walkability and have alternatives to driving everywhere, and also want to support local businesses and entrepreneurs,” she said. Measure G, she said, is a big step in that direction.
Voters will start weighing in on the issue Feb. 3, when early voting begins and mail ballots are delivered to the post office. Election Day is March 3.
How Measure G works
If voters approve the measure, it would exempt development in the Transit Villages Planning Area from constraints imposed by voters 1978, 1987 and 1997 with Proposition R, Measure N and Measure U, respectively. Development in the affected area would instead be governed by a Transit Villages Specific Plan that is in the works, subject to Planning Commission and City Council approval.
The affected area is generally within a half-mile radius of the three train stations near New York, Orange and University streets for the Redlands Passenger Rail Project, now under construction and expected to begin operation in 2022.
According to an impartial analysis by City Attorney Daniel McHugh, Measure G, if approved, would:
- Allow up to 27 housing units per acre. Currently, anything above 18 units requires a four-fifths vote of the City Council.
- Eliminate General Plan height limits. Currently, residential buildings may not exceed two stories or 35 feet without a four-fifths vote of the council.
- Eliminate traffic quality requirements.
- Permit new General Plan residential land use designations. Think “urban center” instead of “residential” or “commercial,” thus encouraging mixed-use projects.
- Eliminate socioeconomic‐cost/benefit studies for development projects.
- Allow the council to lessen fees paid by developers that fund infrastructure such as roads and fire stations, if deemed to be in the public interest. Currently, developers must pay 100% of the fees.
- Permanently exempt the area from a limit of 400 residential dwelling units per year. As of Jan. 1, the state’s SB 330 has suspended the city’s enforcement of that limit, though only through 2025.
More information can be found on the city’s website at cityofredlands.org/city-clerk.
Why it’s important
Councilwoman Denise Davis campaigned on smart growth in 2018, and Measure G is a good example of that, she said, “as it is centered around transit-oriented development, which helps in creating more walkable communities, better-paying jobs and entrepreneurship, less pollution, a stronger tax base, and prevents urban sprawl.”
Renter Eric Whedbee, who lives just outside the transit villages, said he knows the measure won’t solve all of the city’s housing woes but thinks it’s a decent first step.
If the measure fails to pass, he said, sprawl will continue.
“We’ve seen recently orange groves torn down, other open spaces that we have eliminated for housing,” he said. “How much housing? Not much, considering the acreage.”
Though he supports the measure, Whedbee said he still has concerns it would lead to gentrification and there’s no guarantee it will increase affordable housing in a city that severely needs it.
The state requires cities to issue a certain number of housing permits. For the period between 2013 and 2021, Redlands is required to issue 579 for very low-income and 396 for low-income housing. As of 2018, it had reported issuing none in either category.
Ardis Beckner lives a mile from the upcoming University rail station. She worries increased housing density will lead to more traffic, increased heights of new construction will block views of the mountains, and that more residents will stretch water supplies and overwhelm schools, fire stations and more.
“It might be the wave of the future, but I don’t see it as a comfortable or healthy wave,” Beckner said.
Schneider, with the No on G committee, echoed those concerns, and more.
“It eliminates the standards that Redlands voters voted for in the past,” Schneider said.
‘Character’ builder?
The debate over Measure G is just as much about the character of Redlands as it is about housing policy.
“To me, it’s a sad thing that much of our leadership will talk about Redlands having a small-town feel, and a small-town charm, and yet they are pursuing something which will take that away at least in these transit village corridors,” Schneider said. “But that’s a big chunk of town.”
Wise, on the other hand, called the transit-oriented development encouraged by the proposed changes “true to the spirit of Redlands.”
The city, she said, is about community.
When she lived in Oak Park, Ill., she walked to the train. Neighbors got to know each other, she said, and looked after each other.
“I don’t see this type of development as faceless or anonymous or transient, I see it as bringing people together who are going to be living here and walking around and shopping and going to restaurants,” Wise said.
Councilwoman Davis said taller buildings are actually a part of the city’s beloved past.
Nathan Gonzales, archivist and historian at the A.K. Smiley Public Library, said historically the norm for downtown was two stories with occasional taller buildings. His 2018 survey of multistory buildings included several with four stories “most often because of an architectural feature like a tower that brought it to that height.”
Those included the original Redlands High School, the Casa Loma Hotel, and the La Posada Hotel, all of which have since been demolished.
“We must remember that historic Redlands had much taller buildings,” Davis said. “The intent is not to build skyscrapers with this proposal, but we will honor the past, in a practical way that reflects our current moment, by having some buildings that will be four stories or less.”
No guarantees
Schneider said she’s concerned even if restrictions are lifted there is no guarantee any of the plans touted by Measure G backers, such as the redevelopment of the Redlands Mall, will be realized.
“I understand the motivation to see the mall area redeveloped,” Schneider said. “I get that. It’s been a long time. I just am not sure that what we are being promised is what we will get.”
Residents will have to stay vigilant, said Brendan Garvey, who owns a home next to the transit villages.
“People who have concerns about building height and density will be able to weigh in after a developer proposes a project,” he said. “Measure G doesn’t automatically approve any projects, so projects will still need to get approval from the City Council and Planning Commission.”
Schneider said the question for voters on March 3 is a simple one:
“The issue is: do you want to inject an urban environment, no matter how vibrant and exciting it is, do you want to inject that into the middle of your small town?”
