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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

October 6, 2004

Urban limits will be honored

Contra Costa supervisors vote to move urban limit line to respect boundaries

MARTINEZ -- Contra Costa's urban-limit line no longer will intrude on the boundaries of 15 of the county's 19 cities, the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously to move the boundary to ensure it honors the city limits of the jurisdictions, including Danville and San Ramon.

That decision will take effect in 30 days.

About 20,000 acres will be moved to the inside of the line, a boundary established to protect open space outside the line and contain development within.

While the board's decision clears up confusion, its impact will be largely symbolic. Nothing will change the fact that the land in question has always been under the authority of the cities in which it was located.

"This will reflect reality," said Pat Roche of the county's community development department.

Nonetheless, it's a gesture much appreciated by the cities.

"As the member of the board with the most recent city experience, I know how irritating the inaccurate line has been," said Supervisor Millie Greenberg of Danville.

About 474 acres of Danville land and 45 acres in the city of San Ramon will now be officially moved to the inside of the county's line.

Back when the line was drawn, the decision was made to place parks and certain other lands outside the boudnary even if those acres fell within a city, Roche said.

The urban boundary originally was approved by voters in 1990 and tightened by the

Board of Supervisors in 2000 to protect more land. The boundary precludes the board from converting open space to urban land without first moving the line -- a decision that would require a four-fifths approval by the supervisors. Meanwhile, the county supervisors and city representatives are working to develop a new urban-limit line they plan to put before voters in November.

Measure J, the continuation of the half-cent transportation tax, calls for a new voter-approved urban growth boundary.

That new line would have to be approved by 2009 for all the cities to claim their share of the street and road maintenance funding that would be made available by the transportation measure.

Tuesday's decision showed the board's good faith and willingness to work on the new line, Greenberg said.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about future changes to the line, however.

David Reid of Greenbelt Alliance believes the current urban-limit line provides enough land to accommodate development.

"We don't foresee a need to move the line, at least not in the next 20 years," Reid said. "We need to be careful to make sure that if development happens, it happens at the right time, in the right place in the right way."

Tamara Grippi covers Contra Costa County. She can be reached at (925) 416-4882 or at tgrippi@angnewspapers.com

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