New initiative OKs auto mall on Staples, but little else

Proponents of a Greenbelt Initiative that would restrict Pleasanton’s planned commercial and residential development of the 124-acre Staples Ranch site east of the city have filed a new measure that would allow an auto mall on the site, but no other businesses or homes.

Matt Morrison, a tax research specialist and Sierra Club activist, said the new initiative–now called the Eastern Gateway Initiative–amends one submitted just two months ago that sought to keep all of Staples as a green belt, limiting the undeveloped parcel’s future use to trails, sports fields and open space.

Both initiatives are co-sponsored by Anne Fox, chairwoman of the Pleasanton Planning Commission and have strong backing from Brian Arkin, a former chairman of the commission.

Although the group had started collecting the 3,500 signatures from registered voters in Pleasanton that would be needed to place the first initiative on the ballot, Morrison said they will start over to gain support for the new one. City Attorney Michael Roush, as he did with the first petition, is now reviewing the language of the new initiative and expects to have the ballot title and summary ready for the group to proceed on collecting signatures by next week.

“Then they will have six months from the time they published the initiative to collect the necessary signatures in order for their measure to qualify for a public ballot,” Roush said.

The main difference in the new one is the willingness to allow 40 acres on the site for the Hendrick Automotive Group a longtime Pleasanton dealership that wants to rex[and. Although Hendrick has talked to Dublin officials about moving there, it prefers a Pleasanton address and told Morrison and Fox the 40-acre site they would allow would meet the dealer’s needs.

Still, the revised initiative is generating opposition from city civic and business leaders who have already signed on to a City Council-backed plan to develop Staples, which is unincorporated land owned by Alameda Cunty6. The plan includes the auto mall, 10-12 acres of additional retail stores, a 600-800-unit apartment and assisted care living complex, an indoor skating rink to be built by a subsidiary of the San Jose Sharks and the extension of Stoneridge Drive, along with the Pleasanton city limits, to El Charro Road and the Livermore city boundary.

“This new initiative caves out 40 acres of the Staples Ranch property for private development, which would allow room for the auto mall,” said Councilman Jerry Thorne.

However, he added, it would still cancel out the Memorandum of Understanding Pleasanton signed with Alameda County to fully develop Staples and build the Stoneridge Road extension.

“It still violates our MOU with the county and would allow annexation into another city,” Thorne added. “The largest violation of the MOU is that there is no assisted living facility and the completion of Stoneridge could be stopped. Also, there would be no ice facility.”

“In short, our objection to the initiative has not changed in that the property would be developed either in the county, Livermore or Dublin, and Pleasanton would have absolutely no control over what is developed on that property and would receive no revenues from it. We would still get all of he negative impacts such as traffic.”

Morrison said the effort his group, the Friends of Pleasanton, is making is to preserve community separators as outlined in the Alameda County East County Area Plan.

“The western gateway of Pleasanton has open space and parks on the Pleasanton Ridge, and the southern gateway of Pleasanton has the Bernal Community Park,” Morrison said. “By placing open space, parkland and sports fields at the eastern gateway of Pleasanton, this will ensure that residents living on the east side of Pleasanton, many who lack backyards enjoy the same public amenities as the rest of Pleasanton.”

“It will also reduce traffic in the most congested part of town,” he added. “Pleasanton’s voters are intelligent, informed citizens and as we live in a democratic society, Pleasanton’s citizens should be given the opportunity to participate directly on how the few remaining undeveloped parcels of land are developed. We should all have the final say on what development is built on the last, large, publicly owned land within our town.”