Knighton Road Development in Churn Creek Bottom Referendum, Measure A (June 2012)
A Referendum on the Proposed Knighton Road Development in Churn Creek Bottom, Measure A was on the June 5, 2012 ballot in Shasta County, where it was defeated.[1]
The referendum gave the voters of the county an opportunity to weigh in on a development proposal for Knighton Road that was approved by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors in August 2011.[2] The development, if voters approve of it going forward, will be handled by the development firm of Hawkins Cos.[1]
A "yes" vote on Measure A would have allowed the proposed development to move ahead. A "no" vote means that the development will not be allowed to go ahead.[3]
Although opponents of the Knighton Road Development were successful with Measure A in stopping the proposed development, their Measure B attempt to "freeze" all development in Churn Creek until 2036 was decisively defeated.
Election results
| Measure A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 29,248 | 66.11% | ||
| Yes | 14,991 | 33.89% | ||
- These final election results are from the Shasta County elections office.
Proposed development
The proposed shopping center development would have gone on a 92-acre empty lot.[2]
It would have been built by the Hawkins Cos., LLC, a development company based in Boise, Idaho. Jeff Hess, the development company's chief operating officer, indicated that they would spend $130 million on the development and that the development would generate $52 million annually in wages because of the roughly 1,600 permanent jobs it would create.[2] If the development goes ahead, the county is expected to receive about $1.36 million each year from it, in addition to $715,000 for the county's public safety fund.[2]
Hess said, "Where you have a significant amount of unemployment, people are going to be happy to have a job." The unemployment rate in Shasta County stands at close to 14%.[2]
Path to the ballot
The referendum was on the ballot because county residents who opposed the proposed development collected over 11,000 signatures on petitions to force a vote on the development.[1]
The same residents also qualified an initiative, the Shasta County Freeze on Zoning in Churn Creek Bottom, for the June 5, 2012 ballot.
External links
- Knighton and Churn Creek Commons Retail Center development proposal
- Churn Creek Bottom Homeowner's Association
- Website of Hawkins Cos., LLC
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Redding Record Searchlight, "Editorial: County celebrates direct democracy by exercising it," December 31, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Redding Record Searchlight, "Churn Creek Bottom: resisting development; more than 11,000 sign petition against shopping center," October 29, 2011
- ↑ Record-Searchlight, "Measure of uncertainty: Landowners, potential developers try to sort out consequences of ballot issue," April 26, 2012
