Annexation Proposal Gathers Required Signatures

A controversial petition effort to annex 80 acres of actively farmed land on the outskirts of Watsonville appears to have enough signatures to be placed on a ballot in 2013.

Watsonville City Councilman Daniel Dodge and a volunteer staff that gathered the local support delivered 2,206 signatures of Watsonville registered voters to the City Clerk on Tuesday, according to the Register Pajaronian.

Dodge has said annexing what's known as the Sakata Kett parcel into the city's reserves could create a hub of economic activity. He envisions a commercial center with anchor stores such as Costco that could provide jobs and tax revenue.

The citizen-driven proposal to annex the land south of West Beach Street and east of Highway 1 began earlier this year but fell out of the public eye in the summer when organizers missed a deadline to turn in the required 1,500 signatures for the November ballot. 

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that City Clerk Beatriz Flores will have 30 days to verify the signatures so the initiative can be placed on a ballot next year.

The county Farm Bureau has come out in opposition of the annexation proposal.