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The Pleasanton City Council is set to weigh an agreement with the Zone 7 Water Agency on Tuesday that would allow both agencies to move forward with the design and construction phases of their joint regional groundwater development project.
If approved, the agreement will establish a framework for the city and the water agency to design, construct and operate the new groundwater facilities, which aim to provide the city with clean water.
“The project includes construction of new groundwater production wells at Tennis Park and Hansen Park, installation of raw groundwater pipelines connecting the wells to Zone 7’s Hopyard Chloramination Facility, and improvements to the Hopyard Chloramination Facility to increase treatment capacity,” according to the city staff report.
The regional project first came up as a response to PFAS — also known as forever chemicals — being discovered in the city’s groundwater basin.
In response to the PFAS detection, the council approved the start of a PFAS treatment and wells rehabilitation project in 2020 but later suspended the project in 2022 due to escalating costs. That same year, the council approved the start of a “Water Supply Alternatives Study”, which analyzed multiple options for the city, including the development of new groundwater wells.
The study ultimately identified the development of the new groundwater wells in Pleasanton as the most economical and reliable long-term path forward. At the time, Zone 7 also expressed interest in new groundwater wells in the basin to help expand its groundwater sources for drought conditions, which is why both agencies decided to work together on the project.
According to staff, the new facilities in the Bernal sub-basin will help restore Pleasanton’s use of its 3,500 acre-feet per year groundwater production quota after the city had to shut down several of its groundwater wells several years ago after staff discovered the PFAS chemicals in the basin.
“Zone 7 would operate the new groundwater supply facilities as part of its overall water supply system and deliver the City’s (groundwater production quota) through turnouts to the city distribution system,” the report further states. “Improvements to the City’s distribution system required to convey the GPQ under future demand conditions are solely funded by the City, and are excluded from the proposed agreement with Zone 7.”
If approved, Tuesday’s council item will authorize Pleasanton’s interim city manager, Joe Calabrigo, to negotiate and execute the agreement with Zone 7 and allow both agencies to “advance project delivery toward the target operational date of December 2029.”
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 1). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business
* City staff will be asking the council to vote on a proposal to change the land use designations and rezone two properties located at 1225 Hopyard Road and 4100 First St. in order to allow for up to 10 residential units on each site.
Both of the sites were considered in order to meet the city’s sixth cycle Housing Element’s requirement to “to identify properties for rezoning to allow up to 10 units per parcel”.
“Several potential sites were considered in locations throughout the city and a shortlist of five sites was developed based upon various criteria,” according to Tuesday’s staff report.
“Subsequently, a recommendation was made to the Planning Commission to move forward with rezoning two sites, located at 1225 Hopyard Road and 4100 First Street,” the report continues. “On June 24, 2026, the Planning Commission adopted a resolution recommending the City Council adopt the necessary General Plan, Specific Plan and Zoning Amendments for the two sites.”
According to the staff report, any new development on either of the sites would require separate review and approval of a Planned Unit Development plan.
* The council will also be receiving information and providing feedback on a draft community special event support policy which would establish a “transparent and equitable framework for how the City of Pleasanton evaluates and provides support to community organizations presenting special events that benefit Pleasanton residents”.
“The Policy formalizes existing practices, introduces tiered support categories, and strengthens accountability through application requirements, written agreements, and post-event reporting,” according to Tuesday’s staff report.
* Prior to the regularly scheduled meeting, the council will meet at 6 p.m. for a closed-session meeting to discuss the public employment of a permanent city manager.
