By Jim Blickenstaff
The Sierra Club has been firm in its long-standing opposition to the Tassajara Parks “mitigated development plan,” which would move Contra Costa County’s Urban Limit Line (ULL) in order to build 125 homes across 30 acres east of Blackhawk. Unfortunately, this summer the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted to overturn their own Planning Commission’s rejection of this ill-advised sprawl plan, and instead approve it with no changes. On August 12th, the Sierra Club joined with Greenbelt Alliance, former Supervisor Donna Gerber, and 30-year Sierra Club activist Jim Blickenstaff to file suit against the County. This suit was in conjunction with Court filings by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), and the Town of Danville.
The Supervisors were swayed to approve the development due to the landowner agreeing to dedicate 727 acres of their undeveloped land for open space. These “mitigations” are an attempt to distract from the basic fact that this development plan represents a classic sprawl development in almost every aspect. Along with a weak and incomplete California Environmental Quality Act evaluation, the Supervisors’ decision relied on legally dubious “agreements” and interpretations of County statutes governing exceptions to their ULL.
The Tassajara development is on the protected side of the County’s ULL, outside San Ramon’s own voter-approved Urban Growth Boundary, outside both Danville and San Ramon’s city limits, and outside EBMUD’s service area. EBMUD has repeatedly said it will not supply any water to the project, and yet the plan has failed to identify a secure, long-term, water source. It should be noted that the “mitigation” acreage that would be further protected from a development threat is already very well protected by the fact it is also outside all these service and jurisdictional growth boundaries.
Tassajara Parks would only include expensive, market-rate houses, and as an edge development, would be heavily car-dependent, increasing unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion — primarily in the Town of Danville. This city will bear the brunt of the negative impacts of this development, and yet is inexplicably and specifically excluded from a mitigated development agreement, with only one city participating — San Ramon. This “lead” and only city in the agreement is over five miles from the development site with open space between its city growth boundaries and Tassajara Parks. While the primary — and unrepresented — stakeholder, Danville, is just two miles away, has the main direct road access, and already has developed land next to the site.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, sprawl into open spaces destroys wildlife corridors and natural spaces, increases greenhouse gas emissions, and puts communities in the path of climate disasters like wildfires. While the region is in dire need of new housing, the Sierra Club supports transit-oriented infill development.
Typical of sprawl projects, the negative impacts of this plan will be amplified by inducing and encouraging other similar plans that will, as in this case, open up more of the protected side of the County’s growth boundary to incremental development. This is witnessed by the number of development companies holding or otherwise controlling property on the protected side of the ULL — and waiting patiently to have the opportunity to go forward with their own line-busting development plan.
In 2006, Contra Costa voters strongly reinforced the ULL until at least 2026. In 2016, the Board of Supervisors confirmed there was plenty of buildable space within the boundary until 2036. The County’s own Planning Commission rejected the Tassajara Parks proposal in a 4-2 vote. But, in spite of all of this, the Board of Supervisors voted to approve a classic sprawl project that presents a direct open-door threat to the ULL.
It’s worth repeating because it is as true today as when this plan was first proposed a decade ago: incentivizing sprawl is inherently a bad idea. It’s time to reinforce the sanctity of the Urban Limit Line — the best tool the County has ever had to contain sprawl, induce smart growth, and protect agricultural and open space. If you’d like to get involved in this effort, contact Jim Blickenstaff at jpblick@comcast.net.
Jim Blickenstaff is a member of the Sierra Club Mount Diablo Group.
Photo credit: Tassajara Parks site provided by Gretchen Logue.