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Pleasanton Hacienda Business Park
The Hacienda Business Park is an 854-acre development in Pleasanton
near the junction of I-680 and I-580, about halfway between San Francisco
and Silicon Valley. The park—portions of which are still under
construction—offers over 10 million square feet of rentable space
and is currently home to some 475 companies that locally employ approximately
19,500 people (with the capacity for an addition 8,500 at build-out).
What's at Stake
Housing Element law requires a city to plan for its fair share of the
regional housing need, identifying sufficient sites at adequate densities
to accommodate the need for homes as issued by the State of California.
The sites and relative densities are allocated locally through a cooperative
process coordinated by the Association of Bay Area Governments.
The Hacienda Business Park is one of those locations.
The northern-most region of the park is adjacent to the Pleasanton BART
station, which makes it perfect for homes, jobs and stores to be near
transit. The City’s draft Land Use Element reinforces this idea,
as it is designed to look at locations for higher density housing.
The initial housing proposal for the Hacienda Business Park received
a ‘Preferred Plan’ allocation of 333 units. Due to the size
and scope of the business park—coupled with bourgeoning housing
needs throughout the East Bay—333 units is not nearly enough for
the site to be considered transit-oriented development. There are, however,
policies within the draft Land Use Element that would allow the City
to allocate more units to Hacienda when a more definitive proposal or ‘Specific
Plan’ is brought forward.
The City of Pleasanton does have policies about limiting the annual production
of housing. however, these policies could be in conflict with state law,
as they are creating a barrier to the City meeting its fair-share housing
obligations.
The Hacienda Business Park has potential to brighten and redefine the
character of northern Pleasanton. The failure to develop this area in
a smart and thoughtful manner would be a grave loss of opportunity for
the City and for the greater East Bay community.
What You Can Do
Email Christina Wong, Greenbelt
Alliance's Field Representative, to receive updates on the project's
progress and
upcoming meetings.
Campaign Update
May 2008
The City of Pleasanton agreed to have a joint City Council and Planning
Commission meeting to discuss the best process for the Hacienda Business
Park to move forward. Tentatively the meeting is set to occur in late
May or early June but details are yet to be determined.
April 2008
The Hacienda Business Park Association is working closely with City officials
to streamline the project and get it on the fast track to approval by
the City Council. Currently, the Business Park Association will determine
with city officials if going through a specific plan process is the best
means. Greenbelt Alliance will remain in contact with the project’s
supporters and chief engineers. We will continue to advocate for additional
homes and a vibrant community near the BART station.
October 2007
The Pleasanton City Council decided not to allocate the additional homes
to the business park but decided to keep their authority to allocate
these additional homes in the future. Greenbelt Alliance will
continue to work closely with the local and regional organizations, including
community representatives, interested in promoting a viable project at
Hacienda.
September 2007
The Hacienda Business Park has been relying on getting additional homes
allocated from the general plan Land Use Element. At the same time, the
Pleasanton
City Council has additional homes that they can
allocate to projects. Greenbelt Alliance wrote a letter to Pleasanton’s
City Council asking the Council to allocate those extra homes
to the business park. Additionally, Greenbelt Alliance is forming alliances
through meetings with local and regional organization and community representatives.
Greenbelt Alliance will continue to work with the Hacienda Business Park
proponents to strategize on the best next steps, continue to participate
in the public hearing process, and try to meet with Pleasanton City Councilmembers.
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