LWV League of Women Voters of California
Smart Voter
Alameda County, CA November 5, 2002 Election
Measure V
Bernal Property Initiative Adoption
County of Alameda

11537 / 60.5% Yes votes ...... 7545 / 39.5% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Nov 15 4:54pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (47/47)
Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | Full Text

Shall the Bernal Property Initiative, which would (1) prohibit housing of any type on the city owned land within the Bernal Specific Plan area, (b) prohibit the city from selling any of the land, and (c) mandate that all uses on the city owned land be accessible to the public, be adopted?

Impartial Analysis from Michael H. Roush, Pleasanton City Attorney
CITY ATTORNEY'S IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE V
The Pleasanton City Council adopted the Bernal Property Specific Plan (the Specific Plan) in August 2000. The Specific Plan area is about 516 acres located south of Bernal Avenue and on both sides of Interstate 680. The purpose of the Specific Plan is to provide for the orderly development of the site and to establish the future development potential of the property.
The Specific Plan sets forth a number of land use policies that govern the development of the site. Of the 516 acres, about 198 acres are being developed by private developers (primarily housing and commercial uses). The remaining 318 acres will be owned by the City of Pleasanton (city owned land) and the Specific Plan contemplates that "community facilities" to serve the entire Pleasanton community will be developed on the city owned land.
Currently, the Specific Plan provides that the land uses to be included in the community facilities land use plan shall be approved by the voters before the plan may be implemented. A City Council appointed Task Force has been developing a land use plan and a list of potential uses for the city owned land. The Task Force has suggested senior housing and general affordable housing as potential uses, but at this time there has been no final decision made as to the potential uses on the city owned land.
This Initiative would amend the Bernal Property Specific Plan by (1) prohibiting the transfer, sale or trade of any of the city owned land; (2) providing that all land uses on the city owned land be accessible by the public (such as open space, parks, schools, daycare centers, transit centers, youth organizations, and art facilities); and (3) prohibiting housing of any type on the city owned land. This Initiative, if adopted, could only be amended by a vote of the people.
Dated: August 16, 2002
s/MICHAEL H. ROUSH
City Attorney
City of Pleasanton

  Events

League of Women Voters, Livermore Amador Valley Forum
September 26, 7p.m.
Pleasanton City Council Chambers
200 Old Bernal Avenue, Pleasanton
News and Analysis

Valley Times 10/17/02: Building curb on Bernal land divides politicians
Partisan Information

Yes on Measure V

No on Measure V
Suggest a link related to Measure V
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Arguments For Measure V Arguments Against Measure V
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE V
We urge you to vote YES on Measure V to ensure the opportunity to plan the development of the Bernal Property as our central park. The park would incorporate public uses such as an art center, youth facilities, community and botanical gardens, sport fields and open space.
Vote YES because this is the ONLY remaining property in Pleasanton of this size available for public uses; this is the ONLY location where we can provide our community with special public amenities in a single location; it is the ONLY location for our central park.
Vote YES to ensure that no additional housing will be built on this public land. Pleasanton acquired this property after years of negotiations as a compromise for residential and commercial development rights. The City has already approved 581 homes (including 89 affordable) and 750,000 square feet of commercial space on the Bernal Property in exchange for 318 acres of land for public facilities of which fewer than 180 acres are usable. Proposals to build a significant amount of additional housing units on the parkland already exist. Year after year could bring more housing proposals and erode the possibility of a Central Park. There are other locations, some already planned, to accommodate housing for those in need.
Vote YES to guarantee that none of the public land will be sold or transferred and to ensure that a future City Council can't sell some or all of the 318 acres to private developers without a vote of the citizens.
Vote YES to tell our City Council that you want a showpiece Central Park where families, children, and seniors can gather as a community.
Please protect our irreplaceable public land on the Bernal Property by voting YES on Measure V.
s/STEVE BROZOSKY Pleasanton Parks & Recreation Commission, and Bernal Property Task Force Member
s/TOM PICO Pleasanton Mayor
s/MARGENE GERTON RIVARA Pleasanton Civic Arts Commission Vice-Chairperson
s/BRIAN ARKIN Pleasanton Planning Commission, and Liaison to Pleasanton Housing Commission
s/JENNIFER HOSTERMAN Bernal Property Task Force Chairperson

Rebuttal to Arguments For
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE V
Please vote NO on Measure V because:
MEASURE V IS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY AND COSTLY.
Read the City Attorney's Impartial Analysis.
Measure V's proponents make arguments that are misleading and simply not true.
• The Specific Plan Guidelines for the Bernal Property currently require voter approval.
• Pleasanton is currently prohibited from selling any portion of Bernal for private housing development.
• There's no other City-owned land available for future senior housing.
• Replacing Bernal acreage will cost Pleasanton millions of dollars.
MEASURE V HURTS PLEASANTON RESIDENTS.
Measure V's proponents want your vote to grab a small plot of land at the expense of Pleasanton's most vulnerable citizens. Please protect our community. Vote NO! Measure V will have devastating impacts, particularly to Pleasanton's long-time seniors on fixed incomes and will force many to leave their hometown.
We all want a park on Bernal, an art center, farm, gardens, sports fields, and youth facilities. These land uses, along with housing for seniors and others with special needs, were recommended by the Bernal Task Force. Senior housing received their UNANIMOUS SUPPORT. Furthermore, senior and community housing were expressly limited to a tiny fraction of the property, leaving more than 300 acres for open space and community uses.
Over the years, Pleasanton has created hundreds of acres of parks, and permanently protected thousands more acres of open space. We've never before victimized seniors. Let's not start now!
Pleasanton residents DO CARE. Protect our ENTIRE community. Please vote NO!
s/SHARRELL MICHELOTTI Councilmember, Pleasanton City Council
s/PAT KERNAN Managing Partner, Hogue, Fenton, Jones and Appel, Inc.
s/JERRY THORNE Vice Chairman, Parks and Recreation Commission
s/DOLORES BENGTSON Former Director, Pleasanton Parks and Community Services Department, Trails Council of the Livermore-Amador-Valley
s/MATT CAMPBELL Councilmember, Pleasanton City Council
ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE V
Beware! Measure V is deceptive and harmful. It hurts
• Seniors on fixed incomes
• Children and families in need
• Disabled residents
Measure V's unprecedented restrictions on the community's use of public land could mean:
• Additional financial burdens on Pleasanton residents because of State-imposed sanctions for land use policies contrary to State law!
• Increased densities in new developments on the remaining vacant land in the City, in order to keep Pleasanton's General Plan in compliance with State law.
• Possible exclusion of non-profit service and recreational facilities.
Though extremely short on details, Measure V would have many negative consequences that Pleasanton voters would never knowingly support.
The most damaging part of Measure V's hidden agenda is to block the construction of affordable SENIOR HOUSING on 5 acres (less than 2%) of the Bernal property.
Pleasanton voters have always supported senior housing on City-owned land.
The Bernal Task Force unanimously endorsed senior housing on this property. Measure V avoids disclosing its total prohibition of needed senior housing.
Don't be misled!
This measure could easily have protected seniors and vulnerable Pleasanton residents while limiting acreage available for community-sponsored housing, but instead, this measure prohibits meeting any portion of these critical needs. With 300+ acres available for a park, this is extreme and unethical. Please - vote NO! Let's preserve Pleasanton's small town family-oriented character, and keep Pleasanton a place where families can stay together through all stages of life, weathering the good times and the bad together.
Don't be misled into hurting your parents, children and neighbors. Don't vote yourself out of town when you retire, or become disabled, or lose your job, or your spouse.
Vote NO on Measure V!
For more information see http://www.cfacc.org

s/CHRISTINE STEINER Chairperson, Housing Commission, City of Pleasanton
s/PATRICIA BELDING Chairperson, Citizens for a Caring Community (CFACC), Member, Tri-Valley Interfaith Poverty Forum
s/DAVID WRIGHT President Elect of Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council
s/RICK PICKERING Member, Bernal Property Task Force
s/BECKY DENNIS Vice-Mayor, Pleasanton

Rebuttal to Arguments Against
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE V
Pleasanton cares for our seniors and families in need!
• Adding to over 400 subsidized senior units. Pleasanton is planning an assisted living facility of 105 units. Also recently approved are 172 senior apartments on the Busch property, of which 86 units will be affordable to low and very-low income seniors.
• Supplementing nearly 800 subsidized family homes citywide, Pleasanton has recently approved 89 subsidized units and up to 182 "granny flats" on the Bernal property alone.
• Pleasanton cares for children and families using inclusionary affordable housing as the way to maintain the family's privacy. We do not support the project-type housing our opponents propose here as it stigmatizes children and their families.
• Read the impartial analysis for the truth. This measure specifically allows recreational facilities such as YMCA, 4H or day care programs.
• Contrary to our opponents' statements, the State is NOT imposing any fines. We do not support the approximately 5000 units the State is asking Pleasanton to build. This is an unfunded mandate.
• Our opponents chose not to put a measure with specific, limited housing numbers on this ballot.
Measure V protects this valuable parkland and open space for all Pleasanton residents including seniors, children and families in need.
Vote Yes on V, our Vision for Pleasanton's Central Park.
Get the facts: http://www.PleasantonFieldOfDreams.com

s/KAY AYALA Pleasanton City Council Member
s/KEVIN DOYEN Division Director Pleasanton Girls Softball
s/CINDY McGOVERN Measure I Committee Member
s/MARY ROBERTS Pleasanton Housing Element Task Force Member, and Pleasanton Planning Commissioner
s/JULIE TESTA Pleasanton Human Services Commissioner

Full Text of Measure V
FULL TEXT OF MEASURE V
Pleasanton Bernal Initiative
Site Description
The Bernal Property Specific Plan consists of an approximately 516 acre site located in the southern portion of Pleasanton south of Bernal Avenue. Approximately 198 acres are being developed into homes and office space. Approximately 318 acres of the site is owned by the City of Pleasanton and is not developed.
Purpose
The city owned section of the Bernal site is the "Crown Jewel" of our city. We, the citizens of Pleasanton, want to protect this city owned land for current and future generations. We want to use this land for the enjoyment of all the citizens of our great community.
I. Bernal Property Specific Plan Amendments
The following policy is added after guideline 3.5 on page 3-9 of the August 21, 2000 Bernal Property Specific Plan.
Comprehensive Land Use Policy 4: City Owned Lands.
There shall be no transfer (with or without consideration), sale or trade of any City of Pleasanton owned land within the boundaries of this Specific Plan ("city owned land"). All land uses on or of city owned land within the Specific Plan boundaries must be accessible by and to the public. Housing of any type is prohibited on city owned land within the Specific Plan boundaries.
II. If any portion of this initiative is declared invalid by a court, the remaining portions are to be considered valid.
III. The provision of this initiative may be amended or repealed only by the voters of the City of Pleasanton at a City general election.


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