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The city’s new East Pleasanton Specific Plan Task Force has started the process of determining how best to develop a 1,000-acre tract of land east of Valley Avenue along Stanley Boulevard, a largely empty parcel that is mostly out of sight to the general public.
Called by some Pleasanton’s “last frontier,” the property has had multiple owners over the years as it was used for light industrial purposes, excavated for gravel and for the garbage company’s recycling plant.
The task force, whose 18 members were appointed by the City Council, was told last Thursday at its organizational meeting that the land use study, planning and eventual decision-making process could stretch well into 2013, and possibly beyond.
Its members are locked into place since all of the public reviews over their credentials and capacity to serve for the long period ahead are over. If anyone on the task force finds that they cannot continue, it will be up to that individual to nominate a replacement, whose appointment must then be ratified by the City Council.
Only two members failed to attend the inaugural meeting, which was led by Brian Dolan, director of community development, and Janice Stern, the city’s planning manager. Wayne Rasmussen, a former principal planner and now an outside consultant, also talked about requirements for the task force members.
These included instructions about abiding by California’s Brown Act, which restricts members from discussing development plans under consideration with more than one other member and also requires full public disclosure and open meetings in the planning process.
It’s unclear, or actually for the task force to ultimately decide, just how the east side property should or will be developed. Although the property under study measures 1,000 acres, more than half of it is water, including Cope Lake and several sites owned by Zone 7.
Still, the available property is envisioned as a last major opportunity for Pleasanton to add light industry, businesses and high density housing in an area still free of neighboring activities that could be objectionable.
The East Side Task Force has a liberal deadline for reaching its decision on land development compared to the urgent planning processes for high density housing before the City Council in the last two years. It’s likely that a plan must be in place by 2014 when the state and the Association of Bay Area Governments are expected to add more housing requirements for Pleasanton.
The members of the task force and their interests are: Jennifer Pearce and Kathy Narum from the Pleasanton Planning Commission; John Casey, Housing Commission; Brad Hottle, Parks and Recreation Commission; Colleen Winey, Zone 7 Water Agency; Pat Costanza, Kiewit and Steve Dunn, Legacy Partners.
Neighborhood representatives are Erin Kvistad, Ironwood; Robert Russman, the Village at Ironwood; Nancy Allen, Danbury Park; Heidi Massie, Autumn Glen and Heritage Valley; and Kellene Cousins, Mohr-Martin. A representative from the Stoneridge Park neighborhood has yet to be chosen.
At-large representatives and the elected representative who appointed them are: Bob Shapiro, appointed by Mayor Jennifer Hosterman; Mark Emerson, by Councilman Matt Sullivan; Ken Mercer, by Councilwoman Cheryl Cook-Kallio; Karla Brown, by Councilwoman Cindy McGovern; and Brock Roby, by Councilman Jerry Thorne.
Task Force meetings are open to the public and are held at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursdays of every month in the Mohr Elementary School multipurpose room. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 6.
Undoubtedly Pleasanton’s “Last Frontier” will be low-cost housing, thanks to the left-wing loons and their poster-boy loon, Gov. Moonbeam Brown. The latter-day Moonbeam is proving to be just as loony as the earlier-day Moonbeam, age has brought now wisdom.
… because undeveloped land is evil! Build build build, and do it in a hurry!
Personally, I would like to see “affordable” housing built in Pleasanton. And the people who don’t strike me as the kind of kids in the playground who would rather break their toys than share them.
John, just confirming that you want subsidized housing build in Pleasanton.
Politicians throw the word “affordable” out there but it is a a sneaky way to say subsidized. “affordable” means below market, in perpetuity (i.e., subsidized).
Is it lost on anyone that this is next to the city dump?
The liberals won’t be happy until every inch of this state
looks exactly the same all over. We’re not “allowed” to
be unique. They call it diversity. I call it socialism.
Thanks Jerry Brown you ignorant swine. Jennifer Hosterman
is one of them. High density low income housing.
It’s the worst thing to ever happen to this valley. When I was
a kid, you could stand outside and turn all the way around and
see the continuous hills and mountain range without a break
in them. That was worth so much more to us back then. This
generation doesn’t seem to care about the earth as they all claim
to…being Sooooo Green. We were much greener without having
a name for it. Bunch of ignorant, self involved phonies anymore.
So sad to see it in my lifetime.
Nice post, ptown native. You certainly nailed the typical mindset that has taken over this valley like a plague. It’s sad to see what some people refer to as progress being forced down our throats……take that ‘progress’ back to s.f. and berserkely..
and Dublin has never met a piece of dirt they couldn’t and won’t develop all led by their, at the time, developer in chief, Guy Huston- who if I’m not mistaken was the 60 watt bulb of the…wait for it… Republican party in CA…it cuts both ways guys.
Yes, this tract of land is by the dump. I love to needle some of the folks I know at Ponderosa Homes with the question, “so, how are things going with your Ponderosa at the Dump development?”
There was a time back in the 60’s when the White residents of Oakland and surrounding cities, fled to the Pleasanton, Dublin, Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville and other suburban cities to avoid desegretated housing and to get away from “others”. Massive housing development was not welcomed here in the Tri-Valley at that time. Long-time residents wanted to keep the area free of primarily working class new residents, i.e., “others”.
Here in Avila, a relatively new neighborhood, its multicultural, clean, quiet and crime-free. We expect that it will remain the same as the new developments are completed within one to three blocks of our homes. In fact, we plan to make sure that it remains so as we welcome our new neighbors. We see that its the introduction of new people and new business and new developments that keep this town alive.
For those who miss the old Pleasanton, you can surely see that change has been occurring since the time this City was primarily dependent on agriculture product production and ranching. There was a time when the building of your own home site was not welcomed by some the town folks. Read up on the history of housing development in this area.
The City cannot survive without changes in its economic base, its demographics and its housing mix. Until those, who insist that change not occur, are willing to pick up the tab to keep Pleasanton in a bubble, we have to keep moving forward.
Remember, in the end, this land belongs to God. Man (woman) did not create it and we are all just tenants here, regardless of the documents we hold signifying ownership.
The affordable housing requirement is not being created by left wingers folks. Its being created by the NIMBYs like those posting here. Since objecting to ANY housing that would sell for less than your own (god save my equity and greed is good mantra), we now have a legal mandate to cram a bunch of new high density affordable housing in one or two areas, one of which is industrial.
To P-Town Native. Get over yourself. Im a native too AND a 5th generation Northern Californian. Our State has been growing since the 1849 gold rush and this has not been Kansas Toto for a long time. Wake up, cause you are not in Mayberry. Or better yet, move to Utah, Wyoming, or wherever and enjoy no theatres, decent restaurants, and where you wont have to be bothered by any other people any more. Enjoy boredom and living in the past.
The goal of “affordable housing” is to make all of California look like Los Angeles, where you cannot tell where one city ends and and the other begins. Dublin is the first city in the suburbs in the East Bay to do this and we have some City Council members and candidates who want Pleasanton to follow Dublin’s footsteps.
When I bought my house in Pleasanton many years ago, the reasons were because of the proximity to the Silicon Valley (so I could earn a living), no traffic congestion, and an area where the natural beauty was not overshadowed by tons of housing. Getting further and further away from that now I fear. I miss some of the “small town” atmosphere. Some people call filling up all land with housing as “progress”. I am not in that camp.
If I look at a mistake of Pleasanton’s housing is that for the last 10-20 years or so, the city council has approved very few smaller homes that younger families can afford and instead has approved large mansions. The “affordable” housing of today is subsidized and you have to qualify. My kids will have a tough time because they cannot afford the huge houses here plus they don’t qualify as low-income. Plus I taught my kids that they are not entitled to anything, they have to work for it. They are not going to be able to afford their dreamhouse right away. They might have to purchase smaller, less-desirable houses, and not necessarily in the community they want, and move up; like many of us did. The suit that removed our housing cap was just ridiculous. A woman claimed she wanted to purchase a home in Pleasanton but could not afford it, and she was entitled to purchase a home in the city of her choosing, only costing what she could afford. So Pleasanton has to build subsidized housing so this woman and others like her can have a a house in the city they are entitled to.
I just love the comments like “when I moved here there wasn’t all this development.” Well, they had to develop because people JUST LIKE YOU kept wanting to move in. It is always that, I was here earlier than you and I want it to stay exactly how it was. Well, I’m guessing nobody posting here was the FIRST human to live in side the boundaries of what we now call Pleasanton.
June,
You could not be more wrong in your assertion that the low-cost housing requirement was not foisted upon us by left-wingers. Pleasanton got two lawsuits filed against us, one by a left-wing wacko group from Bezerkley, and the other by the left-wing-loon-in-chief, Moonbeam Brown.
You are barking up the wrong tree as well about Utah. People are fleeing California in droves to states such as Utah, because California has been overrun with left-wing loons, it is bankrupt, and through its loon policies are driving business out. Now we have to start sending our college students out of state because UC and CSU campuses are locking-out in-state students in preference to out-of-state students and, best-of-all, illegal aliens. It just doesn’t get any more looney than that.
The California loons think eventually the Federal government will bail them out. Too bad, the Federal government is also going broke and their days of printing money are going to come to a screaching halt as our creditors pull the plug.
P. S. If you think life on the other side of the hills, such as Oakland with it’s murder-a-day lifestyle, please move there.
I hope they put in more banks.
Clarisa, Do you think Pleasanton has been the ONLY City slapped with a lawsuit in California over not providing its share of affordable housing?? Hardly, and to think P-Town would be immune to another costly legal battle is naive. Its a legal requirement and whether you like it or not, its the law. Its money that could have been spent on parks, streets, and yes, affordable housing spread out in different neighborhoods and integrated within the community instead of lawyers. If you think California is so looney, then obviously you are the one who should move out-of-state and take your judgemental and holier than everyone else view with you. PS. How long have you lived here I wonder out of curiosity.