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Home Your RegionEast Bay Urban Limit Lines |
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Urban Limit Line ThreatsRecently, developers have made several attempts to break through voter-approved urban limit lines in Contra Costa and Alameda counties and build on protected open space. The voters approved these urban limit lines to define where growth should and should not occur, but now sprawl developers are attempting to use loopholes to build in rural areas outside the lines. Greenbelt Alliance is actively working on several campaigns to defend urban limit lines that protect natural areas and working farms. Find out more about each campaign below. Livermore Vineyard Memorial Cemetery Tassajara Valley “New Farm” Development Proposal/San Ramon Sphere of Influence change Camino Tassajara/Highland Road Subdivision Near San Ramon, 1,035 acres of agricultural lands outside the Contra Costa County urban limit line are being threatened by a proposed 11-unit subdivision. The land is comprised of four parcels, and although the owners of three of the parcels are related, they have all submitted separate development applications. By submitting this project as four smaller developments rather than one large development, the landowners are betting the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will be more likely to approve their applications. This means that the cumulative environmental impacts of subdividing all 1,035 acres of land will not be evaluated. While 11 units does not sound like much, it is a problem for two reasons. First, it sets a dangerous precedent for allowing subdivision and development of land outside the urban limit line. Second, it is likely to stop wildlife from moving between the surrounding nature preserves. Disrupting these wildlife corridors could have a significant negative impact on threatened species. Greenbelt Alliance is asking the County to review all of these project proposals together instead of separately so that an Environmental Impact Report will be conducted. Greenbelt Alliance is monitoring this project. El Sobrante “Golden Oaks” Project The Golden Oaks project in El Sobrante called for 75 single-family homes on 29.5 acres outside the urban limit line, just north of the San Pablo Reservoir. Since the development was (barely) less than 30 acres, the Urban Limit Line can legally be expanded with the approval of four out of five Contra Costa County Supervisors. This expansion loophole used in the Golden Oaks project is only meant to be utilized under extreme circumstances, like a public emergency necessitating more housing immediately. Allowing developers to abuse this loophole for personal gain goes against practical application and implied purpose. Greenbelt Alliance partnered with several other environmental organizations to oppose this project, and in August 2007, Greenbelt Alliance successfully stopped this attempt to break the urban limit line. What's at StakeThe urban limit line is one of the most important laws that keep open space protected and pressures city's to create smart growth development. Unfortunately, all of these proposals listed above all use different mechanisms to get development approved outside the Urban Limit Line. Even though voters approved these boundaries overwhelmingly, interested parties will always continue to find loopholes to bust the Urban Limit Line. Greenbelt Alliance and the public need to continue to vigilantly monitor any development proposal outside the line. What You Can Do
You can help stop this development outside the urban limit line.
District I (El Cerrito, Richmond, & San Pablo): District II (Hercules, Lafayette, Moraga, Martinez, Orinda, Pinole, Walnut Creek): District III (Alamo, Brentwood, Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Byron, Discovery Bay, Blackhawk, Knightson): District IV (Clayton, Clyde, Concord, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill. Walnut Creek): District V (Pitsburg, Antioch. Oakley, Bay Point, Bethel Island):
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