Fairfield proposes tweaking long-time greenbelt

Fairfield proposes tweaking long-time greenbelt
By Barry Eberling

DAILY REPUBLIC
FAIRFIELD - A one-mile-wide swath of open space separating Fairfield and Vacaville seems to be the Solano County greenbelt that's taken for granted -- at least until now.

There's no sign telling freeway drivers they are entering the greenbelt, as is the case with the Vacaville-Dixon greenbelt. There's been no rush to buy up land or development rights to guarantee the land remains open space, as is the case with buffers between Fairfield, Benicia and Vallejo, between Vacaville and Dixon and between Dixon and Davis.

But the greenbelt is returning to the limelight. Fairfield wants to modify the buffer's borders near Travis Air Force Base, cutting the width of one area from a half-mile to a quarter-mile and adding land near the base that is not between the two cities.

Whether this is Solano County's neglected, expendable greenbelt or the greenbelt that's so firmly accepted its continued existence is virtually guaranteed remains to be seen.

'My sense is no one is any hurry to do away with it,' Fairfield Mayor Harry Price said. 'It does serve as a barrier between the cities and it has big value from an environmental point of view.'

Plus, both cities have voter-approved growth boundaries that keep them from merging together, assuring that visitors -- and residents -- can tell them apart. Solano County's voter-approved General Plan calls for the land to remain rural.

'If the county was still booming, there might be development pressures,' Price said. 'But each city still has room to grow. That's why masterplanning that area east of Peabody Road is so important.'

The Vacaville-Fairfield greenbelt starts at Interstate 80 and extends eastward past Travis Air Force Base. It includes the Cement Hill range and the small, rolling hills near Peabody Road.

This 2,352-acre open space buffer is overseen by the Vacaville-Fairfield-Solano Greenbelt Authority, which has representatives from the two city councils and the county Board of Supervisors. But the authority hasn't met in about a decade.

Initially, the authority was to oversee special zoning in the greenbelt, deciding if such things as golf courses, riding academies and nurseries might be allowed. Property owners objected, saying they preferred to remain under county zoning and control. The authority downgraded its role to advisory and has virtually faded from existence.

Former City Councilman Jack Batson represented Fairfield on the authority for about eight years and never saw a meeting convened during that span. He thinks it was because the greenbelt faced no threats.

'I think both cities respect it and agree we need a space between the cities, not to Los Angelize that area,' Batson said.

Vacaville City Councilwoman Pauline Clancy sees no development threats from Vacaville to the greenbelt. Still, she sees reason for the greenbelt authority to meet periodically. Clancy distrusts what the county might do and thinks the authority should keep track of any potential growth.

As it turns out, the authority may soon meet to discuss Fairfield proposals for changing the greenbelt boundaries to match the city's northeast area development ideas.

The original idea for the Fairfield-Vacaville greenbelt was to buy up the land or development rights to ensure the area remained as permanent open space, though for the most part this never happened.

Fairfield in the mid-1990s imposed a special developer fee for growth in its northeast area near Peabody Road. A city report at the time said the fee could raise $11 million. Part of the fee was designed to go toward buying greenbelt land from willing sellers.

But Fairfield jettisoned thousands of planned homes with the stated goal of protecting Travis Air Force Base from encroachment. The remaining planned growth has yet to materialize. That's left the amount of money in the greenbelt fund at zero.

'I don't think the idea is dead,' city Finance Director Robert Leland said. 'But at the present time, there isn't any development going on out there.'

Still, the northeast area is to eventually become a growth hot spot. Besides the homes already approved, Fairfield is making plans for a sizable community to be built around its proposed train station at Peabody and Vanden roads.

The city presented a budget a year ago that estimated the greenbelt account would contain $3 million by 2015. A revised budget in light of the bad economy lowered this amount to $1.4 million.

Even so, not all of the greenbelt is privately owned. Vacaville owns 330 acres of open space near Lagoon Valley. Another 300 acres near Peabody Road has been set aside to someday become the Noonan Reservoir, though Fairfield might pull the plug on the reservoir idea. The federal government owns the 204-acre Cypress Lakes golf course.

The idea of creating community separators is hardly new. For example, Marin County has pursued the idea since at least 1973. But, in general, California suburbs since World War II have tended to grow together and merge, such as most communities in Southern California.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.