The hard work to protect our city and its historic downtown continues :

Former Redlands Mayor Bill Cunningham has developed a new growth management initiative for the city, intending to circulate a petition to the public for signatures.

The initiative ordinance amends sections of the Redlands General Plan that deals with managed development.

Points that summarize the proposed changes to the general plan include:

● The Redlands General Plan prohibits the establishment of new residential land use classifications by the City Council. This initiative ordinance exempts the Transit Village Overlay Zone from the prohibition.

● The Redlands General Plan provides that no undeveloped land that as of March 1, 1997, which is designated within the Redlands General Plan as “Urban Reserve” or “Urban Reserve (Agriculture)” as of June 1, 1987, and/or any land that was in active agricultural production on Nov. 3, 1986, regardless of zoning designation, shall be re-designated or rezoned to permit a residential density greater than that permitted in the Estate Residential (R-E) classification on June 1, 1987, unless certain findings are made by a 4/5ths vote of the City Council.

This initiative ordinance changes the vote requirement to 5/5ths of the City Council.

Provisions would be added to the Redlands General Plan to limit building height within the Downtown Transit Village and the University of Redlands Transit Village to three stories and 40 feet.

Building height within the Alabama Street, California Street and New York Street transit villages would be limited to four stories and 52 feet.

The initiative would prohibit buildings more than two stories high from being constructed next to a single-family residence. Cunningham said he worked with leaders of the No on G campaign to create the initiative.

“With the resounding defeat of Measure G, many of us in the community expected City Council to heed the will of the people,” said Cunningham.

“Instead, the council is proceeding as if Measure G never occurred.

“The initiative is intended to reflect what the people said in voting against it.

“The initiative in no way conflicts with recent state legislation,” continued Cunningham. “Redlands has always met state housing requirements, and this initiative provides for Redlands to meet state mandates for decades to come. Current city planning allows unlimited heights in this area.

“The unlimited height planned by the current council is an unwelcome change.

We studied building heights from a number of sources and took the median of those numbers to come up with ours.”

With that, make sure you sign a petition to get the loopholes closed that will forever prevent the City from pushing ahead with their plan that does not adhere to the protections voted in by residents with the defeat of Measure G.

You can email preserveredlandsnow@yahoo.com for information on how you can help with the petition drive or sign a petition.  Please include an address/phone number with your email so we can follow up with you.  All information is confidential.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP REDLANDS THE ‘JEWEL OF THE INLAND EMPIRE’!