Today, we are ecstatic to share with you two monumental wins for open space in the Bay Area from last night:
The City of Dublin has adopted an urban limit line, which will protect vital open space in Alameda County—such as Doolan Canyon—from sprawl development.
Measure AA—a $300 million bond measure that will fund the preservation of and improvements to open space in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties—appears to have passed in a close vote.
These two victories show that there is strong support for safeguarding our natural landscapes among both the general public and elected officials throughout the Bay Area.
According to SFGate, Measure AA appears to have passed with the required two-thirds vote by the slimmest of margins: 0.1% (results won’t be confirmed until election officials certify the vote). Thank you to everyone who voted yesterday and to those of you who volunteered with us on this campaign—Measure AA would not have passed without your support. Read more about Measure AA.
At last night’s Dublin City Council meeting, the urban limit line initiative—which designates where the city can and cannot grow—was unanimously approved by a count of 5-0. There was a huge outpouring of support for the initiative from Dublin residents and local environmental leaders. This win is the culmination of their hard work with support from the Sierra Club, Save Mount Diablo, Greenbelt Alliance, Tri-Valley Conservancy, Friends of the Vineyards, Ohlone Audubon Society, Alameda Creek Alliance, California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter, and Center for Biological Diversity.
We also applaud the City Council for unanimously opposing a deceptive initiative backed by sprawl developers that would have opened the floodgates for development in Doolan Canyon. If this initiative appears on the November ballot, we’ll be ready.
Today, the Bay Area has taken a big step toward fully protecting its 3.6 million-acre greenbelt, and in doing so, has also encouraged reinvesting in our cities and towns to grow in a way that benefits everyone.
