Urban Sprawl Outside the Voter Approved Urban Limit Line

“Hold the Line”

Proposed high-end housing development in the Tassajara Valley would break the County’s Urban Limit Line

A 125 single family housing high-density development known as Tassajara Parks (“TP”) is proposed for the western edge of the Tassajara Valley (“TV”) and adjacent to Tassajara Hills Elementary School. Because this nominal 30 acre development is outside the voter approved urban limit line (“ULL”), the development must be approved by 4 of the 5 county’s supervisors and a “finding” must be made to allow the development to go forward. Any development that exceeds 30 acres and is outside the ULL must be approved by a majority vote of county voters.

Tassajara Parks is the first development in the county that attempts to break the voter approved ULL for the expressed purpose of converting agricultural zoned land into urban residential development. County residents have continually voted to stop urban sprawl—Measure J in 2004 required the County and all cities within the County to have a voter-approved ULL; Measure L in 2006 required a super majority vote of the Supervisors and for them to cite a “finding” for a development that is 30 acres or less outside the ULL and required voter approval to expand the ULL by more than 30 acres. Clearly the voters of the County have expressed their opposition to urban sprawl outside the ULL. County Supervisors should respect the will of voters and not approve development outside the ULL, thereby preserving open space.

So what is the path for approval for Tassajara Parks if the barrier is quite high? First, an environmental impact report (“EIR”) must be certified by the County’s Department of Conservation and Development. Second, the County’s Planning Commission must approve the EIR and send it forward to the Supervisors for ultimate approval. Finally, approval must come with at least with 4 out of 5 “ayes” from the Supervisors and a “finding”. A careful reading of the seven allowed “findings” specified in Measure L concludes that only one would qualify as a “finding” to approve Tassajara Parks. That finding is that a “majority of the cities that are a party to a preservation agreement and the county have approved a change to the ULL….”

The EIR for the development contains Appendix L which is a Memorandum of Understanding that is intended to be a Preservation Agreement (“PA”) and to be certified as a “finding” by the Supervisors. It is proposed to be executed by the cities of San Ramon and Danville, East Bay Regional Parks and the County. At a meeting held at the Tassajara School House on November 9th and chaired by the County’s Director of Conservation and Development, John Kopchik and District 3’s then Supervisor, Mary Piepho, the attendees who are residents of TV strongly objected to the so called PA. It added nothing to preserving TV as it is already protected by its agricultural zoning and the ULL! In fact, the proposed agreement would have the opposite effect by opening the TV to urban sprawl and simultaneously limiting the existing rights of valley residents!

How could this proposed PA lead to increased urban development? A skillfully and cleverly worded section of the PA allows any developer who a) dedicates at least 500 acres for non-urban use and b) writes a check for $4 million to the county, would be able to place 30 acre developments in TV that are outside but next to the ULL. In essence, it would rain houses in Tassajara Valley. In a letter to the Department of Conservation & Development, Danville’s City Manager, Joseph Calabrigo, stated that “the Draft EIR appears to improperly rely on a yet to be created preservation agreement that is designed to provide the Board with a flimsy justification for approving the extension of the ULL……”

On December 20th, 2016 the Board of Supervisors approved the 2016 ULL Mid-Term Review conclusion provided by the county’s Conservation and Development Department which stated that the ULL analysis demonstrates that sufficient capacity exist county-wide inside the ULL to accommodate housing and job growth through 2036! Clearly there is no reason to approve TP and break the ULL.

Tassajara Parks is not a done deal. Shortly TP will be coming before the Board of Supervisors. If you want to keep the remaining part of Tassajara Valley free of urban sprawl, if you are concerned about increased traffic congestion, wildlife preservation, greenhouse gas emissions, then let’s send a message to would-be developers and our County Supervisors that urban development must not take place outside our ULL. TV is one of the last, most beautiful and largely unspoiled valleys in the County. If you object to this brazen attempt of the developer to break the ULL, please write or e-mail our Supervisors--stat. All email addresses are available at http://www.tassajaravalleypa.o... for easy copy and paste.

Together we can Hold the Line!

Gretchen Logue

Richard Fischer

Tassajara Valley Preservation Association

www.Tassajaravalleypa.org