Wheatland annexation plan one step closer

The Wheatland City Council on Tuesday approved a new tax-sharing agreement with Yuba County that brings an annexation plan one step closer to fruition.

Completion of the annexation would make Wheatland more than five times its current size.

City leaders made concessions, said Wheatland Administrator Stephen Wright, in order to move the plan forward.

"Getting a mutually acceptable tax agreement is a big deal," Wright said.

City and county officials have been negotiating for about a year and a half. They settled on a 50-50 split for future property tax revenue increases on the 4,400 acres slated to be brought into Wheatland.

"The city will be responsible for maintenance of Spenceville Road, and will initially not be getting revenue," Wright said.

Sales tax will have the city taking 87.5 cents of every dollar and the county taking the remaining 12.5.

A special Yuba County Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for Tuesday morning during which the agreement could be approved.

Should it pass muster there, only consideration of the annexation plan by the Local Agency Formation Commission remains before the move can be completed.

The city's new boundaries would mostly include uninhabited agricultural land owned by ranchers and developers.

"There's a lot of history, and a lot of acreage will likely be preserved for environmental reasons as well as historical reasons," Wright said.

The land includes several vernal pool habitats, he said.

The two largest tracts in the annexation plan are the Johnson Rancho property where developers are hoping to eventually carve out 12,481 low to medium-density residential lots on 3,461 acres, and 1,265 low-to-high density residential lots on 529 acres of the Bear River Hop Farm.

Most of that land lies to the east and northeast of Wheatland's city limits.

The city's General Plan and visioning documents call for more than 200 acres of annexed property to be reserved for open space, trails and parks.

"There's a huge amount of planning work that still needs to be done before any nails can be hammered," Wright said.

CONTACT Nancy Pasternack at npasternack@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4781. Find her on Facebook at /ADnpasternack or on Twitter at @ADnpasternack.