Locking In Contra Costa County Urban Limit Line: Measure A

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Contra Costa County voters will decide next month whether to renew the Urban Limit Line, a boundary that restricts urban development to 35% of the total county area until 2051.

Measure A, which the Board of Supervisors placed on the ballot, proposes to retain the remaining 65% of the county's area for non-urban and agricultural use.

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If passed, it would restrict urban development in areas like the hillsides to the east of Walnut Creek, Tassajara Valley, and swathes of land east of Mount Diablo State Park. The measure requires a majority vote to pass.

Passage of Measure A would uphold the 65/35 Contra Costa County Land Preservation Plan Ordinance that voters approved in 1990, according to the impartial analysis of the measure written by County Counsel Thomas Geiger.

That ordinance established that 65% of the county area be restricted from urban development through the Urban Limit Line, which delineates the urban and non-urban areas.

In 2004, voters approved Measure J, which extended a local transportation sales tax and allowed the county to receive a share of the tax revenue only if it had a ULL in place.

Then, in 2006, voters approved Measure L, which extended the ULL until the end of 2026.

Now, the Board of Supervisors is urging voters to approve Measure A and extend the term by another 25 years, until the end of 2051. The extension would also qualify the county to keep receiving a share of the Measure J tax revenue as established.

In their argument in favor of the measure, Contra Costa County Supervisors John Gioia, Candace Andersen, Diane Burgis, Ken Carlson, and Shanelle Scales-Preston said that the passing of Measure A is crucial to protect and preserve the county's open spaces and agricultural lands.

"A 'yes' vote," the argument reads, "will ensure that urban development occurs only in unincorporated communities with public services, such as roads and utilities, that are adequate to accommodate future growth."

But in the argument against the measure, the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association and Patricia Bristow, a director with the Byron Sanitary District, said that Measure A will worsen the housing crisis in the county by cordoning off areas that could be used for housing development over the next 25 years.

The argument reads, "Housing needs shift, economic opportunities emerge, and infrastructure plans evolve. Under Measure A, elected officials are powerless to respond to the needs of the people."

By Tanay Gokhale, Bay City News
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