Protect Open Space and Halt Sprawl in Novato—Vote Yes on Measure D!
To see what’s at risk, just walk or ride your bike along the green expanse of Bowman Canyon on the edge of the city of Novato’s urban growth boundary (UGB). Heading west on Novato Boulevard, houses end and the oak woodlands and rolling hills begin. Keep going and soon you reach Stafford Lake and farmland stretching for miles toward the coast. The UGB is doing its job. To maintain this open space and… Read More
Senate Bill 365 Signed: Next Step, Creating a Park and Open Space District in Solano County
We’re celebrating a big milestone toward a Countywide Park and Open Space District in Solano County. Senate Bill 365 (Dodd) was signed by Governor Brown, giving the go-ahead for the county Board of Supervisors to pursue creating the district. Add your voice of support for the next step.
Press Release: Governor Jerry Brown Signs Legislation to Move Forward Solano Countywide Park District
Fairfield, CA — Today, Greenbelt Alliance and our partners are celebrating a big milestone in the creation of a Countywide Park and Open Space District in Solano County. Last Friday, SB365 (Dodd) was signed by Governor Brown, giving the go-ahead for the county Board of Supervisors to pursue creating the district. The Board of Supervisors now have the opportunity to authorize a countywide ballot initiative that will put the question of creating… Read More
Defend Sonoma County’s Community Separators
Last year Sonoma County voted by 81% to protect community separators, the green spaces between our towns and cities. Now, a luxury resort with hundreds of events is proposed by an out-of-town developer in the community separator between Santa Rosa and Windsor. This oversized hideout for the 1% will put the community separators we voted to protect to the test! Defend the Windsor-Larkfield-Santa Rosa Community Separator from this oversized development by signing… Read More
Plan Bay Area 2040 Adopted
Late last night, the boards of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC) voted to adopt Plan Bay Area 2040, a smart regional strategy to foster thriving neighborhoods across our nine-county region. We’re excited that the new plan affirms the groundbreaking vision of the original Plan Bay Area, adopted in 2013—guiding growth within our existing cities and towns to creating walkable communities for all close to jobs… Read More
Two Big Victories for Coyote Valley
Coyote Valley, south of San Jose, has experienced many environmental victories and some defeats in the decades-long battle between dooming it to sprawl versus restoring its natural and working landscape. Advocates defended this 7,400-acre valley of farmland, wildlife, and crucial water resources from the sprawl that hit the South Bay in the 1960s, but it could still be lost to unnecessary development radiating from San Jose, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy today. Greenbelt… Read More
Crafting a Vision for Sonoma County
Whether you live here or visit, everyone agrees that Sonoma County is pretty great for its rolling hills, dramatic coast, and everything in between. Yet we face many challenges ahead to conserve and restore these lands and achieve thriving neighborhoods for all in the next 20 years and beyond. Looking forward, Greenbelt Alliance is excited to be working with county supervisors and community partners to launch an update of the General Plan,… Read More
What’s “At Risk” Without Good Growth
The Bay Area is an amazing place to call home. Lots of people think so, and when I say lots I really mean lots. The 2010 census counted 7.1 million people as residents of the nine counties that touch San Francisco Bay. Today’s estimates are that there are over 7.6 million people living in our region. Projections have that number growing to 9 million by 2040, and there are many in the… Read More
Windsor to Vote on Urban Growth Boundary
In the town of Windsor in northern Sonoma County, it is no surprise that recent polling found that 75% of its residents want to renew their urban growth boundary (UGB) before it expires at the end of 2017. Windsor voters passed their first UGB in November 1998 with a 72% majority. Over the past 20 years, Windsor has made huge strides in smart planning and city-centered growth. Town leaders created a town… Read More
Draft of New ‘Plan Bay Area’ Calls for More Sustainable, Inclusive Future
The draft of Plan Bay Area 2040 has just hit the streets. We’re excited that the new plan calls for guiding growth in ways that help our cities and towns become more sustainable, equitable, and economically prosperous and protects our iconic natural and agricultural lands from sprawl development. Now it’s time to make some refinements to the draft and get to work implementing its best components. A Plan Built on a Strong Foundation Plan… Read More