Downtown Livermore BART Station Foes Strive to Take Down City’s Political Machine
Livermore City Council recently reversed course on its vision to have BART stations in Downtown Livermore and at Vasco Road, bowing to legal and political pressure from the Keep BART on 580 group. Heeding the call from residents who signed a petition to keep BART on I-580, Livermore City Council voted 3-2 instead to approve stations at Isabel Avenue and Greenville Road. The new course into practically undeveloped lands is now much riskier than the originally approved route through Livermore’s Downtown area, surrounded by existing housing, bustling restaurants and retail, festivals and fairs, and the burgeoning theater district.
Having successfully persuaded three of Livermore’s Council members to change their minds on how BART should extend its tracks from Dublin into Livermore, Keep BART on 580 has announced that it will leverage its recent victory to support a slate of City Council candidates in Livermore’s upcoming elections. “Keep BART on 580 believes there are new candidates planning to run in November who have strongly supported keeping BART on 580 and can be relied upon to work hard to make that a reality,” shared group founder and Livermore resident Peggy McClain. “Our organization is set up to be able to support these candidates with such things as distributing political literature.” If successful, McClain’s organization could topple a Livermore establishment that has dominated the City’s political landscape since the 1960s.
According to a study commissioned by the City of Livermore, having the BART stations built along I-580 will cost Livermore more for services than the city will be able to bring in through related revenues, leading to a deficit that will need to be made up by cutting services to other parts of the city or raising taxes on all Livermore residents. As reported by the Independent, “in year 20, the freeway alignment would generate $2.5 to $3.1 million in revenues each year with the cost of police and fire services at $4.2 to $4.5 million.” The study noted that building the stations in Livermore Downtown and at Vasco Road would actually generate more revenues than the cost of providing fire and police services.
The deciding vote that reversed Livermore City Council’s decision on the proposed BART route was cast by outgoing Livermore Mayor Marshall Kamena. “The (study) has provided vital information that tells us that if the Greenville station were moved south, unresolved environmental issues would go away,” said Kamena. “The Greenville south site can take all of the transit oriented development. No additional housing would be required at a west station (Isabel Avenue).” This approach will likely result in a transit-oriented-district (TOD) surrounding the Greenville Road station that will have roughly 50 condos per acre in three to five story tall buildings, much like the transit-oriented development surrounding the East Dublin BART Station.
The Keep BART on 580 faction should be proud of what it has accomplished; however, by keeping BART along I-580 and away from the Downtown area, the group has effectively made extending BART to Livermore even less likely. If BART cannot extend its tracks into Livermore, riders who currently board the train at the East Dublin station may continue to get first dibs on the best seats for years to come.
The anticipated lack of strong demand from developers to build at Isabel and Greenville will reduce funding for the stations to a trickle over the next five to ten years, the most critical phase of the project’s financing. In addition, the absence of a BART station in the Downtown area seriously jeopardizes the success of Livermore’s future 2,000-seat regional theater. Given the City’s recent decision to co-sign on the loans to finance a 2,000-seat regional theater next to the Bankhead theater, the failure of this new 2,000-seat regional theater could cost Livermore residents tens of millions of dollars. Without a BART station, Livermore’s leadership must step up to find another catalyst to help the City fully realize the dream of a truly magnificent downtown.
1:47 AM on August 2nd, 2011
It is a shame that the actions of the Keep BART on 580 group may have fundamentally sent the message to the BART Board and other entities that Livermore does not want to seriously compete for the outside funding required to ever bring BART to Livermore. The 580 BART alignment would bring commuters to Livermore sites such as the Residence Inn, Black Angus Steakhouse, and strip of car dealerships along 580, rather than the thriving Livermore downtown location that would have been attractive to federal and local funding.
It is a shame the Downtown Livermore alignment would have cost so much—but that is really the only site that would have been worth bringing BART to at all. Now I fear have Peggy McClain’s organization, however well meaning their aims, may have driven away any hope of Livermore ever becoming a vitally connected member of the greater Bay Area via BART. The only ones who will profit by these moves are the developers who have sought for years to violate the will of the people of Livermore by expanding sprawl into North Livermore by enforcing policies that call for high growth goals in undeveloped areas, exactly as a BART station on 580 would require.
It is frankly absurd for this organization to now claim they will rout the City Council. Although the candidates McClain supports are not mentioned in this article, I can only surmise she supports former council member John Stein and former Dublin mayor Linda Jeffery Sailors. Livermore voters have already rejected Stein in the past, and in principle seem to reject the building boom espoused by Dublin mayors (although Dublin is a wonderful community as well—just fundamentally different in vision than Livermore). Therefore, while I respect the work Sailors has done for Dublin, I remain confident the Livermore voters will reject the taint of sprawl, as they have always done in the past.
The current Livermore City Council has transformed the downtown Livermore area from a row of dusty furniture stores and poorly thought-out 60′s suburbia into a flourishing area of restaurants, wine bars, theaters, and festivals (as mentioned in the above article), have aided in the beautiful preservation of the South Livermore area as hills and vineyards, and have also strived for a massive open-campus near LLNL to bring high tech science jobs to Livermore. What better commendation of their hard and thoughtful work? I hope this coming Election Day will serve as a referendum in support of those policies and a rejection of the fiasco that Keep BART on 580 has caused. Keep Peggy McClain and her associates on 580 and out of Livermore politics.
9:21 AM on August 2nd, 2011
Well said.
4:19 PM on August 2nd, 2011
As a North Livermore resident, I would say the current UGB was set by people from south side of the city, and does not represent the best interest of north Livermore residents. For those of us in live on north side of 580, we are forced to drive a long distance to south Livermore, Dublin, or Pleasanton for our basic needs. There are so few shops and restaurants on our side of the city.
Those city officials were mostly elected by people from the south, and clearly they don’t care about North Livermore. There is no reason to limit all the houses on North Livermore to be small houses, townhouses, and condos while all the large houses must be build on the south side. It’s not like we don’t have enough land on the north side to have a complete community here.
The UGB was set by south Livermore residents and their elected officials to prevent north Livermore to becoming a better community. Just look at Dublin, the east Dublin now developed to be a wonderful community with nice parks, shops, and a mix type of houses. North Livermore on the other hand only has low end houses and nothing else. All because the people from west Dublin are kind enough to support the development of east Dublin, but the people from south Livermore only want to keep the best to themselves and don’t want to see a better community been formed on the other side of the town.
The sad reality is that we are a minority group in term of registered voters, and likely get voted down on any chance to improvement our community.
8:23 AM on August 2nd, 2011
A BART station in downtown Livermore presents a unique opportunity to create a wonderful walkable community around downtown setting a textbook example for sustainable transit oriented planning in America. I already love what the City has done during the redevelopment efforts of the past few years that have converted downtown from a four-lane freeway to a welcoming and cute destination. But there is no sustainable traffic throughout the day to support the kind of business you expect to find in a healthy downtown: produce stalls, a delicatessen, a small grocery store, a bakery, a cheese store, or a butcher. Try to buy a carton of eggs or a loaf of bread in downtown. Impossible.
Although a pure I-580 alignment may be the cheapest and fastest option to build and disturb the fewest homeowners … but we really have to take a step back and realize that our decisions now will influence development for the next 50 to 100 years. Our decision making should be driven by the objective of a long-term sustainable future for the East Bay – not by pleasing a short-term financial bottom-line or our own financial advantage. Generations to come will thank us if we can get it right this time.
A BART station in downtown Livermore is an incredible once in a lifetime chance. America had let too many such chances like this by. This time let us take this opportunity and get it right. It’s okay to spend some extra time or money now because the what it will create for the next 100 years are priceless.
Pleasanton had the same potential. But BART by-passed their downtown and now sits pretty and empty on the sidelines. Don’t let them bypass us as well.
9:41 AM on August 2nd, 2011
That’s too bad. I think many people would take BART to Livermore to enjoy the downtown restaurants and bars. This would remove the need of having a designated driver and allow everyone to have a good time
11:18 AM on August 2nd, 2011
BART is bad news for everyone, except the money and power-hungry politicians and BART management, who benefit from BART extending its tentacles deeper into the Bay Area. BART brings nothing but bad elements and crime into a previously good area. One only needs to look at Oakland to see what BART brings to a downtown area. BART’s management is severely inept and corrupt. Don’t reward them with more funding.
11:48 AM on August 2nd, 2011
Mel, are you smoking something? I thought BART brought convenient public transportation option to Dublin commuters, not a crime. BART has nothing to do with crime rates in Oakland downtown.
12:39 PM on August 2nd, 2011
@Anonymous 11:48, You sound like a BART administrator: “Gee, BART only brings convenient public transportation…we don’t encourage crime!” And yet, BART stations and trains are notorious for criminal activity. And for bringing Oakland-type gang activity to the whole Bay Area. As usual, the politicians only tell you how much money this will bring to the area. What they forget to tell you is all the misery that will come also. But what do they care? They get their money, and that’s all that matters to them. I know you have no sensible argument, because you rely on personal attacks from the get-go. So I will ask you, What are YOU smoking?
3:05 PM on August 2nd, 2011
MEL, you have nothing to back up to story. If you read the report mentioned in the article, you will see study shows there is no relation between BART and crime rate. On the other hand, Bart can reduce the traffic, clean air, bring jobs to Livermore.
4:02 PM on August 2nd, 2011
The story doesn’t say anything about BART and crime. That’s my point. The author isn’t telling the whole truth about the situation. And neither are you. Exactly how is BART going to “clean the air?” What do you think BART runs on? Solar power? And how is BART going to add jobs? With temporary, limited construction jobs? Where is the tax revenue going to come from to pay for them? BART is public tax money, or have you forgotten that? And what jobs is BART going to bring to Livermore? Don’t the jobs have to be here first, so commuters will have a need to take BART? I don’t mind discussing BART with you, but it is you who have nothing to back up your beliefs. Try telling the whole truth next time. I, like the dissidents in the story, am tired of being lied to by liberal politicians.
4:34 PM on August 2nd, 2011
MEL, go read the report, ok? All your questions can be answered in that 1/4 million dollar report the city of Livermore recently purchased. If you want to make a point, it better to be based on facts, not imaginations.
4:43 PM on August 2nd, 2011
I agree with Mel. If you can’t afford to drive to downtown Livermore, we probably don’t want your business anyway. I don’t get why we enabled people to bart to stoneridge. The crowd coming from bart to the mall is not desirable.
4:52 PM on August 2nd, 2011
Have you ever ride the Bart? The last time I took BART was from Dublin to SFO with my father. One way ticket was $10.55 per person, which means for 2 of us have a round trip by BART, it would cost us $42.2 dollars. It’s much cheaper to drive there by car than take the BART.
5:11 PM on August 2nd, 2011
Oakland had crime way before BART. There are lots of BART stations that bring people to shopping areas and work that really stimulate the economy. I think you are using an erroneous connection for your argument against BART in downtown Livermore. We need good public transportation and dense housing with reasonable services in walking distance. That creates neighborhoods. If we all stay in our cars and on the freeway, we create an isolated environment that will be polluted by car exhausts.
11:59 AM on August 2nd, 2011
Much of the commentary above is about creating a Livermore based on making money for a few (or not – as the regional theater is no sure money maker) , or as entertainment for outsiders. The quality of life issues for many that would be impacted by thousands of multistory, high density housing units both downtown and at Vasco close to east side established neighborhoods, commuters filling our city streets that are already impacted, neighborhood track noise and vibration (that BART’s EIR said could not be mitigated) are not discussed. Well guess what – those were issues for many in Livermore who have given their time, energy and money to this town for decades; and they spoke up. I say thank you to them – there were many major negative issues that were ignored in an effort to portray this as a simple regional transportation that would only generate money.
12:42 PM on August 2nd, 2011
@Anonymous 11:59, Right on! Thanks for the sensible comment.
4:50 PM on August 2nd, 2011
Maybe we could learn from Peggy n find a way topple one by one the current old guard regime of government in Dublin. In 2000 we had vision on Dublin becoming the crown jewel of not only the Tri Valley but of the entire Bay Area. Two star projects (Promenade n The Green ” WholeFoods” dead. Bail Bond offices, casinos, more BMR than any other community in the Tri Valley n 680 corridor, 1 High School on the far end of town hurting home value in the East compared to our neighbors, mega freeway signs, RV dealer after RV dealers line 580 are in. Corporate campuses never came, just low end homes. Sorry to be off subject but Livermore is in much better position than Dublin regardless where BART goes.
5:07 PM on August 2nd, 2011
Even with all the problems you mentioned, Dublin is still a much desirable community than Livermore. Just compare the average home valve between the two cities, you will see Dublin is way above Livermore. Only those cannot afford a home in Dublin will have no choice but move to Livermore.
9:38 PM on August 2nd, 2011
Thanks for your response, don’t get me wrong as I love Dublin. That is the reason I am so fed up with the ill conceived planning for east Dublin. It was to be a master planned community rivaling Irvine or Newport Beach. Instead we r starting to look like any bedroom community in the Central Valley. Dublin could be saved but I do not see that we have the right leadership. It hurts to see bad planning followed by more bad planning. We will never have a downtown, the corporate offices like our neighbors. We only have them beat with big box retail and high density housing. When it comes to upscale retail, restaurants, housing we lag way behind in the Tri Valley. we could have done better given that we had a clean canvas to work with when East Dublin was conceived.
1:36 PM on August 18th, 2011
BART is mass transit, not a tool for generating more business in downtown Livermore. The 580 alignment makes the most to this long time Livermore resident.
However, let’s face the hard, unpleasant fact that either way its not going to materialize in the next 20-30 years. We’ve already been paying taxes for nearly 50 years with little progress to show for it, except 2 stations 20-30 minutes away in rush hour traffic.