In November 2000, Alameda County voters approved the Save Agriculture and Open Space Lands Initiative, known as Measure D, establishing one of California’s strongest open space protections.
The measure created an Urban Growth Boundary to contain sprawl, protected prime agricultural lands in the Tri-Valley and East County from fragmentation, and safeguarded wildlife habitat, watersheds and the scenic landscapes above Sunol, Livermore and Pleasanton. Most importantly, it required a countywide vote before any future weakening of those protections.
Twenty-five years later, the results speak for themselves. Despite the county growing by nearly 70,000 people and adding over 22,000 housing units, virtually all of that growth occurred inside city boundaries. The Livermore Valley wine region has become a nationally recognized destination. The greenbelt buffering the Bay Area’s suburban edge from open grasslands and ranchlands remains intact.
Measure D has never lacked for critics. Landowners off Sheridan and Morrison Canyon Roads have sought to subdivide their properties and add non-agricultural businesses like event centers and wedding facilities.
In 2022, the county placed a modest set of amendments on the ballot allowing increases in Floor Area Ratios for agricultural buildings and covered equestrian arenas. Those limited, voter-approved changes reflected a genuine community consensus, but restrictions on non-agricultural uses remained.
What is happening now is different. The county’s Community Development Agency, funded directly from the county supervisor’s District 1 discretionary budget, has retained a political consulting firm to explore what the agency itself describes as potentially “re-establishing the Board of Supervisors as the legislative body to amend the General Plan.”
This means removing the voter approval requirement that is the heart of Measure D’s protection. The contract contemplates expanded entertainment facilities, commercial hospitality uses and subdividing rural agricultural lands for estate housing that critics argue would benefit private landowners at the expense of the open-space values Measure D was designed to protect.
The procurement process that produced this contract has been marked by competitive bidding violations, conflicts of interest and a Board of Supervisors vote that may have fallen short of the legally required supermajority.
Environmental organizations across Alameda County are closing ranks to defend these open spaces. The message is clear: Measure D’s protections are not available for weakening through procurement irregularities, budget maneuvers or polling contracts designed to reach a predetermined conclusion.
Measure D belongs to the voters of Alameda County. Any effort to change it must go through them.
William Yragui
Co-founder, Mission Peak Conservancy
