This is the second segment of a summary about the Community Forum on Municipal Incorporation and Local Governance, held on October 16, 2017 at the Conzelman Community Center in Howe Park. This segment covers Guest Speaker Katherine Borges, who spoke about the experiences her unincorporated community of Salida, in Stanislaus County, have had trying to protect against annexations--and how that has lead to a renewal of interest in incorporation there. She also discussed the new statewide coalition of unincorporated areas that is beginning to work together to address mutual concerns.

Salida is the largest unincorporated community in Stanislaus County. It has been around since the Gold Rush days, first as the southern side of a ferry across the Stanislaus River from Ripon in San Joaquin County and later as an important railroad depot. Incorporation of Salida was considered in 1989, and again in 2002, by when the population had boomed from 3,000 to 13,000. The City of Modesto has been chipping away at Salida's developable land and, most recently, been determined to annex the whole area. Annexation is fiercely resisted by Salida, which seeks to retain its own identity and sense of community--see slides below, use mouse or arrow keys to change slides.