The incorporation debate raises quite a dilemma for the South
Valley hamlet of San Martin.
The incorporation debate raises quite a dilemma for the South Valley hamlet of San Martin.
The 5,800 residents of the small, unincorporated community are tired of having little elected representation: Their only local representative is District 1 County Supervisor Don Gage.
They’re tired of having little control over the zoning of land and decisions about what projects are approved: Their only say is with a purely advisory planning commission.
They’re tired of businesses that they perceive as not locally serving, that is not directly serving San Martin residents, being allowed to set up shop in their midst: Proposals for expansion of the waste transfer center or the development of a fish distribution facility exemplify their concerns.
And so, the residents of San Martin have begun the expensive process of becoming an incorporated municipality. So far, residents of the rural community have raised the $25,000 needed to pay for a financial feasibility study that showed the town could be self-sufficient, at least initially, without raising taxes.
But the community’s tiny current tax base and desire for only locally serving businesses means that increasing the tax base to pay for increase costs a town must cover – road and sewer maintenance, city staff, town council meetings and elections, and on and on – mean that covering costs in the long term without raising taxes will be a difficult, if not impossible, challenge for an incorporated San Martin.
The group spearheading the effort to pay for the initial incorporation costs, the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance, has about $13,000 left in the bank. But they face a daunting litany of expenses in the incorporation process: Legal and land use consulting fees that might rise to $20,000; incorporation application and further financial studies that will cost around $30,000; and the big ticket item, an Environmental Impact Report that will carry a price tag of up to $150,000.
That’s a lot of money to raise from 5,800 residents.
We believe that in the long run, incorporation will be good for San Martin residents. But it looks like gaining their independence is a stiff challenge that will require some creative thinking to achieve.
We wish them the best of luck.
