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 a district to the voters of Solano County in a 2018 or 2020 election.
Greenbelt Alliance’s Solano County Regional Representative, Amy Hartman, said, “We are thrilled to see the momentum behind the creation of a Countywide Park and Open Space District in Solano County and are grateful to Senator Bill Dodd and the Solano Board of Supervisors for their work on this important effort. The creation of the district is a long time in the making and this is the most progress ever made. We look forward to the Solano Board of Supervisors putting this question to the voters of Solano on an upcoming ballot.”
Solano is the only county in the nine-county Bay Area that does not have a park and open space district. But together with local residents and organizations, Greenbelt Alliance is looking to change that. With 78% of people polled in support of creating a district and 89% agreeing that the availability of proximate parks, trails, and recreation improves quality of life, it is clear that residents are overwhelmingly supportive of protecting and stewarding their local parks and open space.
Greenbelt Alliance is looking forward to continuing to work closely with the County, each of the seven Solano cities, park district advocates, and residents to make the district a reality. Together with our partners, Greenbelt Alliance will coordinate the upcoming ballot measure campaign which, if successful, will create the district.
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Learn more about Greenbelt Alliance’s Solano County work here.
Greenbelt Alliance addresses a single challenge: how the Bay Area handles growth. They are the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading organization in protecting natural and agricultural landscapes from sprawl development and in ensuring everyone can live in a thriving neighborhood. For nearly 60 years, they have shaped the amazing places of the Bay Area.