Mayor Jennifer Hosterman has joined mayors in four neighboring cities to urge voters to reject Proposition 90, a measure on the Nov. 7 ballot that would affect eminent domain actions by state and local governments.
Speaking at the recent Tri-Valley Mayors Summit at Wente Bros. Winery, Hosterman said Prop. 90 was drafted “with absolutely no regard for its impact on cities, counties and others.”
Prop. 90 would amend the state constitution to limit government authority to take ownership of private property. Cities such as Pleasanton already are required to compensate property owners at a fair market value set by independent appraisers for any land acquired for community improvements.
Prop. 90, however, would increase those requirements, adding to those eligible for compensation any nearby property owners who believe they have incurred economic losses as a result of the acquisition.
“We know that there are issues with eminent domain and its use and sometimes misuse,” Hosterman said. “But there’s another portion of this proposition that is very serious for every single municipality. And that is that it would essentially allow for a developer to make a claim to a city that if developable properties that the city would not allow to be developed would then have to be paid for directly to that developer.”
“That would result in all land use ordinances being set aside and property owners would then be able to develop their properties in any way they saw fit,” she added.
Hosterman agreed with Livermore Mayor Marshall Kamena, who warned that “if Prop. 90 passes, virtually all development will stop.”
“That’s because cities would have to pay outlandish sums to adjacent property owners who could claim that their property values would be reduced,” he added. “No matter what your perception is of this proposition, it would be a bad law.”
The mayors’ forum drew a luncheon crowd of more than 200, who peppered the mayors with questions about their cities and the region as a whole. Besides Hosterman and Kamena, the other mayors attending the summit were Janet Lockhart of Dublin, H. Abram Wilson of San Ramon and Karen Stepper of Danville. It was Stepper’s first appearance at the annual event, which Danville has occasionally ignored.
Stepper, however, said that Danville has joined the Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), which sponsored this year’s summit, and has become a more active participant in Tri-Valley meetings and deliberations.
That prompted Kamena to jokingly suggest that perhaps the area should be renamed the “Penta-Valley.”
In addition to their unified stance against Prop. 90, the mayors were united in working together to seek federal, state and other funds for needed roadway improvements in the area. Kamena said that because of this strong Tri-Valley partnership, funds already have been allocated for major projects, including $8 million in traffic monitoring, motorist message signs and more ramp metering on Interstate 580 later this year.
Next year, a $110 million construction project will get under way to add a carpool lane to eastbound I-580 from Hacienda Drive to Greenville Road with completion scheduled by 2010. Westbound I-580 improvements, including a carpool lane, also will start next year, and Kamena said $26 million is available to fund these projects, including the acquisition of a right-of-way for a future transit corridor along I-580 for a future extension of the BART rapid transit line.
Other developments announced by the mayors included:
* New and expanded bus service to serve Bishop Ranch, Dougherty Valley and other sections of Danville and San Ramon and the BART station in Dublin and Pleasanton.
* New carpool lanes on Interstate 680 through San Ramon and Danville.
* A new Business Resource Center available through the Pleasanton city Web site at www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us.
* A new 500-seat performing arts center under construction n Livermore, with a new 12-screen movie theater scheduled to open Thanksgiving weekend.
* Gateway Medical Center in Dublin, a 178,000-square-foot facility whose first tenant will be the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
* A new Lowe’s Home Improvement store in east Dublin
* Free Wi-Fi to be offered free of charge throughout downtown Pleasanton by the end of the year.
* Two new restaurants–Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang’s–to open later this year at Stoneridge Shopping Center.
Asked about her participation in outside organizations and forums on issues such as global warming, Hosterman said she would continue those activities if she is re-elected as mayor.
“We’re residents of Pleasanton first, we’re also residents of the Tri-Valley, we’re Californians and Americans and also citizens of the world,” she said. “Sure, I’ve taken some criticism, but I’ve mostly enjoyed a good deal of support from my community for speaking out.”
Hosterman said she believes that the effort to reduce the country’s carbon emission footprint starts at home, and she will be asking the City Council to support that direction in the coming months.
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