Last updated
Curt Andre’s mayoral years changed the map of Turlock. He served from 1990 to 2006, a period confirmed by the City’s fall 2009 newsletter. New shopping areas and recreation facilities were part of that change, alongside decisions about what the City could afford and where development should go.
A family farm, an airplane and an optometry practice
Michael R. Shea’s December 2006 Modesto Bee profile identifies Andre Lane and Curt Court, south of Stanislaus State, as his family’s former 20-acre farm. His father, Clarence, was a Foster Farms milkman. As a teenager, Curt cleaned airplanes for flight lessons and became a pilot at 17.
His practice’s biography records studies at UC Davis and UC Berkeley’s School of Optometry, followed by a return to Turlock and private practice in 1977. The profession gave him a working life outside City Hall while he built his civic career.
Planning experience before the mayor’s chair
Representative George Radanovich’s 2007 Congressional Record tribute recalled his chairmanship of the Planning Commission and service with local civic organizations, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and a California State University advisory board. The tribute came after he left office, recognizing a career that reached beyond the council chamber.
The Bee’s profile recalled six city layoffs following the state’s diversion of local revenue in 1992. Andre remembered the workers and their families sitting in the meeting room—a difficult financial reality during an administration often remembered for growth.
Schools, parks and the north side of town
Reporting on his 2009 park nomination credited Andre with starting discussions between the City and school district that led to joint development of Pitman High School and the Turlock Regional Sports Complex. It also credited his administration with adding 85 acres of parkland and updating planning standards for parks, recreation space and bicycle routes.
The connection is easy to see on the ground: the school and the sports complex sit beside one another, with public recreation around the campus. Those shared facilities are a practical part of his legacy for residents who never watched a council meeting during his administration.
Why the Walmart fight was about more than one store
Under Andre, the council adopted restrictions on discount superstores. The published 2006 appellate decision explains the competing arguments. The City sought to preserve neighborhood shopping centers, including the smaller businesses supported by a grocery anchor. Walmart argued that combining groceries and other shopping could reduce vehicle trips and challenged both the zoning restriction and its environmental review.
The court upheld the City’s development policy and its reliance on earlier environmental analysis. The case concerned a defined category of large stores with substantial nontaxable merchandise; it was not a ban on every large retailer. In plain terms, Turlock defended a plan to keep everyday grocery shopping distributed among neighborhoods while concentrating regional retail near Highway 99.
The Bee also recalled a separate Target proposal at Geer Road and Monte Vista Avenue. Andre cast the deciding vote against that location; Target later opened in the regional shopping area at Monte Vista Crossings. Taken together, those episodes show the administration making choices about retail location, rather than rejecting retail development altogether.
Visit the park named for him
Curt Andre Park and Brad Bates Park were dedicated together on October 9, 2009, according to the City newsletter. They recognize consecutive mayoral administrations spanning 1982–2006. Andre followed Bates; John Lazar succeeded him.
Find Curt Andre Park at 4235 N. Kilroy Road, Turlock, on the sports complex’s east side. the City’s park descriptions list swings, two sand-volleyball areas, picnic facilities and walking paths. Our parks guide helps compare it with other places around town.
Related: Turlock mayors timeline.
