Community Corner
“Dublin Open Space Initiative of 2014” Amazingly Successful in Its 5th Week of Qualification
Dublin, CA – Long-time Dublin, CA residents Morgan King and Dave Bewley have drafted an initiative to protect open space on both the west and east sides of Dublin. King, Bewley and other volunteers, including from community groups such as Save Mount Diablo, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Vineyards, Tri-Valley Conservancy, and Greenbelt Alliance are in their 5th week of signature gathering. 2,281 valid signatures are needed to place the open space measure on the ballot.
“Our measure will give Dublin voters the final say on whether Doolan Canyon will be developed into 2,000 more houses” said King. "The initiative would reduce traffic, limit development, and protect the beautiful scenic views of Doolan and Collier Canyons. The East Bay Regional Park District wants to create a new regional park there with hiking and biking trails. It is the only open space left between Dublin and Livermore and it is home to lots of wildlife."
“Without our initiative, more traffic will snarl Highway 580 and Dublin Boulevard,” said Bewley, “Our measure will allow Doolan and Collier Canyons to continue as agricultural lands and open space.”
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“We’re having amazing success,” said Bewley. “We’ve been collecting signatures the past five weekends and Dublin residents are eager to sign. We hope to finish gathering signatures early, in the next two to three weeks.” “People really respond positively,” said King, “They’re fed up with over-development and traffic.”
Volunteers will be at the Dublin library the next few weekends collecting signatures.
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The initiative is in response to Pacific Union’s proposal for 2,000 more residential units in Doolan Canyon, even though thousands of houses have already been approved in East Dublin, but not yet built.
“If the developers’ plans are approved,” said Bewley, “it will destroy Doolan Canyon forever, further reduce the quality of life for all of us in the Tri-Valley area, destroy more beautiful hills, and burden the City with the cost and responsibility to provide infrastructure as well as fire, police, and medical services.”
The measure would create an Urban Limit Line on the eastern boundary of the city, requiring a vote of the people of Dublin before development of Doolan and Collier Canyons could occur. Dublin had previously pledged with Livermore to leave this area alone as an open space buffer between the two cities.
Alameda County, Livermore and Pleasanton all have urban limit lines, as do all of the cities in Contra Costa County. Bewley and King were behind Dublin’s Measure M which established an urban limit line on Dublin’s westside. That measure will sunset in a few years. The new initiative would bring East Dublin in line with the county and neighboring cities, and remove the sunset provision of Measure M, helping to protect open space and agricultural lands on both the east and west sides of Dublin.
