What is the "New Farm" Proposal? It's No Farm!

San Ramon/Danville Residents

What Is the “New Farm” Proposal?

NEW FARM IS NOT RURAL, AND IT’S NO FARM!

• Voters approved the Contra Costa County Urban Limit Line in 2006, putting Tassajara Valley off-limits to urban or suburban development until at least 2020, with an update of the General Plan
• In opposition, Developers have proposed a 193-unit housing development, called “NEW FARM” on 770 acres of land in the Tassajara Valley and have submitted it to the County for approval –AGAINST THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE!
• Calling this project “rural” is a transparent attempt to get around the law! Go to www.greenbelt.org to get more information.
• The “NEW FARM” proposal blatantly breaks the Urban Growth Boundary Line by extending water and sewage lines across this line. Rural development has always been defined as parcels using septic tanks and wells. This “New Farm” proposal is not rural, it’s urban development, and requires the construction of Public Utilities – such as water and sewage lines!
• In San Ramon/Danville WATER AND SEWER SERVICES and FEES ARE HIGH, AND AT FULL MAXIMUM CAPACITY RIGHT NOW. San Ramon & Danville residents pay EBMUD a premium for the water they use due to the shortage of water!
• THE “NEW FARM PROPOSAL” IS SPRAWL DEVELOPMENT
• In 2007 San Ramon filed a “Sphere of Influence Amendment” for their control of the Tassajara Valley land ultimately, leading to Annexation or development of this land by the City of San Ramon.
• WHAT YOU CAN DO: Go to www.greenbelt.org and read the article “Tassajara Valley Urban Limit Line Threat.” Write a letter to oppose the Developers’ “New Farm Proposal.”
• Ask San Ramon (pro-growth City) & the County to uphold the Contra Costa County Voters’ decision for establishing the Urban Growth Boundary Line to stop sprawl development! Urge them to protect the Tassajara Valley Land, and San Ramon/Danville’s current water supply, and sewer systems that are already seriously impacted! Protect our quality of life and land in this area.
• New Farm will allow massive development on prime agricultural land. Subdivide into 5-acre parcels with the developer requesting “density bonuses” for consolidating development on 40 acres!

More of what you can do:

What You Can Do

• Contact Patrick Roche, lead staff on the projct for Contra Costa County, to get updates and know when the next meetings are: by email or by telephone at (925) 335-1242.

• Sign up to receive email updates about the campaign – email Christina Wong.

• Write a letter in defense of Tassajara Valley:

Write to San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson and Members of the Council, opposing the proposed amendment and the future annexation and development of the Tassajara Valley.

citycouncil@sanramon.ca.gov
2222 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, CA 94583
Phone: (925) 973-2530
Fax: (925) 866-0547

Write to your County Supervisor, or to the Board of Supervisors, to say that you oppose studying the New Farm proposal.

District I (El Cerrito, Richmond, & San Pablo):
Honorable John Gioia
Supervisor, District I
11780 San Pablo Ave. Suite D
El Cerrito, CA 94530
(510) 374-3231
dist1@bos.co.contra-costa.ca.us

District II (Hercules, Lafayette, Moraga, Martinez, Orinda, Pinole, Walnut Creek):
Honorable Gayle B. Uilkema
Supervisor, District II
651 Pine Street, Room 108A
Martinez, CA 94553
(925) 335-1046
gayle@bos.cccounty.us

District III (Alamo, Brentwood, Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Byron, Discovery Bay, Blackhawk, Knightson):
Honorable Marry N. Piepho
Supervisor, District III
309 Diablo Road
Danville, CA 94526
(925) 820-8683
dist3@bos.cccounty.us

District IV (Clayton, Clyde, Concord, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill. Walnut Creek):
Honorable Susan Bonilla
Supervisor, District IV
2151 Salvio Street, Suite R
Concord, CA 94521
(925) 521-7100
dist4@bos.cccounty.us

District V (Pitsburg, Antioch. Oakley, Bay Point, Bethel Island):
Honorable Federal D. Glover
Supervisor, District V
315 E. Leland Rd.
Pittsburg, CA 94565
(925) 634-5915
dist5@bos.cccounty.us

Good Citizen Awards: DAR Chapter Honors San Ramon Students

The Mount Diablo Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented the 2009 Good Citizen Awards to six San Ramon area students at the Awards Recognition Luncheon in December.

This award is given by the Chapter to honor high school seniors who possess good citizenship qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities.

Pictured left to right Kendra Buie (w headband), Andrew Dala, Ryan Hammill, Sebastian DeLuca, Ashley Jensen, Taylor King

The San Ramon area honorees were Kristiana Meyer, Athenian High School; Taylor King, Venture High School; Andrew Dala, Dougherty Valley High School; Ashley Jensen, California High School, Sebastian DeLuca, Monte Vista High School; and Ryan Hammill, San Ramon High School. Ashley Jensen, California High School, won the Essay Contest and received a $100 prize.

The winners of this award are eligible for the chance to compete beyond the chapter level for a cash award of at least $250 and a special state DAR good citizen’s pin and the national winner will be invited to Washington D.C. to attend DAR Continental Congress and be awarded a $3000 scholarship, an inscribed silver bowl, and certificate. The second and third place winners will receive $1000 and $750 respectively.

Pictured below from left to right is Ashley Jensen and Sue Economos.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, www.dar.org, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a volunteer women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education for children. DAR members have traced their lineage back to soldiers of the American Revolution.

The Mt. Diablo Chapter, which was organized January 10, 1961, meets on the second Tuesday of the month October through June. Prospective members are welcome to attend. The meetings begin at 11:45 a.m. in the Vista Room of the Hillside Clubhouse at Rossmoor.

Anyone who has an ancestor who fought in or rendered aid in the American Revolution may be eligible for membership in DAR. For information, contact Regent Gay Scott at 925-820-5720.

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Food Drive Collects Over 28,000 Items

Seventh Annual Youth Food Drive Collects Over 28,000 Items in Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, Sunol, San Ramon, Alamo, Danville and Concord

The Seventh Annual Youth Food Drive, held on Saturday, March 7 in Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, Sunol, San Ramon, Danville, Alamo and Concord collected over 28,000 for local food pantries.

The donations will go to food pantries including Tri-Valley Haven, Junction Avenue site, Livermore; Church of Christ, Livermore; Interfaith Sharing, Tri-Valley; Valley Bible Church, Pleasanton; Showers of Blessings Ministries, Dublin; St Vincent De Paul Society, Livermore and Dublin; and Monument Crisis Center, Concord.

Approximately 1,200 youth volunteers from 75 Girl Scout troops, two 4-H Clubs, and 11 youth ministry groups participated in canvassing approximately 35,000 homes to collect non-perishable items. High school students staffed the four major collection sites.

The Youth Service Council organizes and leads the food drive each year. The Council is a non-profit corporation run by student volunteers and created to assume the leadership role for youth-run community service programs in the Tri-Valley area. It is a coalition of Tri-Valley public and private high school leadership students managing youth service programs.

To contact the food drive, leave a message at (925) 998-6513.
Email: youthfooddrive@comcast.net.

Stimulus Watch "Shovel-Ready" Projects For San Ramon

Projects in San Ramon, California

Below are the "shovel-ready" projects for which this city has requested federal stimulus funding. You can click on a project to read (and add to) its description. You can also discuss the project and vote on whether you believe it is critical or not. Add more details about the projects on the site's wiki.

The total cost of all the projects submitted by San Ramon is $49,578,300



Other cities in the TriValley Area listed on Stimulus Watch website.

The total cost of all the projects submitted by Livermore is $134,705,000
The total cost of all the projects submitted by Pleasanton is $203,099,000

Dublin and Danville were not listed in Stimulus Watch as of the date of this published article. Though, here is an article in the Daville Weekly about Danville requesting 1 million dollars for improvements to Diablo Road.

"At their Feb. 17 meeting, council members unanimously approved the resolution, which will bring nearly $1 million into Danville to help fund a road improvement project on Diablo Road."

It sounds like this is the case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. I guess Pleasanton and Livermore have very squeaky wheels, and then San Ramon just has one squeaky wheel, and Daville has a minor bearing noise. Not sure what happened with Dublin...

Maybe here is the answer:

9. Why is my city not listed?

The data on this site comes from the U.S. Conference of Mayors' MainStreet Economic Recovery Report. If a city did not include its "shovel-ready" projects on that list, you won't find it here. However, this does not mean that cities that are not included here do not have projects they'd like to see funded. Once the stimulus bill passes, cites will make requests for federal grants, and we will likely see grants to projects not listed on this site.

Feel free to post your comments.

More about article submissions to the San Ramon Tribune.

San Ramon Valley High School 25 Year Reunion

Saturday, October 13, 2007 – 6:00 p.m.
The reunion dinner will take place at Piatti Ristorante & Bar in Danville. We will dine under the stars on the outdoor garden patio.
The price is $90.00 including deposit. (This price is per person and is non-refundable. If you previously sent me a deposit, please subtract that amount).
The evening will include passed appetizer platters, your choice of soup or salad, a delicious entrée (4 choices will be available), dessert and coffee. The price also includes wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages.
If you have paid your deposit and pay the remainder of the amount due by September 28, your spot is guaranteed. After that, reservations will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please mail your check ASAP to:
SRVHS Reunion
c/o Sari Zimmerman
sariannd@yahoo.com
637 Wright Street
Santa Rosa, Ca 95404

The deadline is Friday, September 28

Read more about the San Ramon Tribune online newspaper. Feel free to submit your announcements and news articles for consideration for publishing.