For a Price, Taxpayers Gain Control Over Development

DANVILLE, CA-Many voters here can afford upscale cars and impressive homes. But can they collectively spring for $50,000 each time a special election arises? They’ll have to, according to Measure S. The law, which went into effect Wednesday, says that each time development involving parklands, agricultural space, or open space is proposed, there must be an election on the matter. And each of those elections carries the $50,000 price tag.

Measure S, which will stay in effect for 20 years, passed with nearly three-quarters of the vote. Danville – one of the few towns in this area to remain relatively unscarred by high-tech development – is located on the eastern edge of Silicon Valley off Interstate 680.