GUSTINE – City officials believe they are close to putting the final pieces in place which will enable Gustine to again consider property annexations.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said she believes the last annexation to occur in Gustine was Borrelli Ranch in the early 1990s.

There is some interest among property owners to annex land to the city, Silveira and city planner Jake Raper said Monday, though not the development pressure that the city felt at the peak of the frenetic housing boom a few years ago.

“We have used this down time to get everything ready, so that when developers do come knocking on our door we have everything in place,” Silveira explained. “We want to be ready for well-planned growth.”

The city has completed a number of tasks required to position itself for growth. Local leaders negotiated a tax-sharing agreement with Merced County, adopted a new general plan and have LAFCO approval for a new sphere of influence.

Council members reviewed the terms of the approval of the sphere of influence at a workshop last week.

The city’s interpretation of that approval is that Gustine can begin growing into the first phases of its new sphere; in a letter to LAFCO the city is asking for confirmation of that ability to annex. Several conditions of approval are attached to an outlying ag commercial designation, including a requirement that the city and county agree on policies and goals for future use of that zone.

Several other steps have also been taken to position the city to grow.

A new user fee schedule has been adopted, and a zoning code update was scheduled to go to the council Tuesday night for second reading and adoption.

In September, the council is expected to consider adoption of new developer fees.

“A lot of the impact fees have been on the books since 1984, 1992,” Raper said. “They are totally out of sync.”

Ultimately, having those elements in place will put the city in a position to grow if – and how – it chooses when the housing market rebounds.

“It is important to have that ability, but it all depends on what the city wants,” Silveira reflected. “If they want to see economic development or larger retail come in, there has to be some growth to create that base. We need to get ready for the growth, because you can’t just stand still. You must be ready to move forward.”