ACTION REQUESTED: 
Join us Tuesday, July 23rd Thursday, July 25th at 7 pm 
for the City Council Meeting
where the Council may decide whether to
send this to a special election or a general election

Happy wonderful weather Saturday friends and neighbors.

Just posting a thank you for all of you who wrote the Council or attended the Tuesday evening City Council Meeting to stand up for Brentwood and our Urban Limit Line, and encourage the City Council to order the informational report vetting the required components of the Vineyards @ Deer Creek development as dictated by Election Code Section 9212.

Karen Rarey also added 2 components as allowed under the provision which analyzes the project under a different lens than an EIR – see the list of criteria in the Council agenda packet.

Many concerned residents spoke both under the Public Comments section, and on the agenda item of the ULL expansion project. Thank you to leadership team member Sinziana Todor for preparing the Alliance for a Better Brentwood’s unified 6-page message, and I might add there was not one pro-development speaker! You can view and listen to the entire Council meeting at the City’s website, choose the video from 6/25: http://brentwoodca.iqm2.com/Citizens/default.aspx

Regarding the informational report which stands to cost the City around $60k, the City only has 30 days to hire a company to prepare it, and bring it back to the Council. We can all expect that reveal at the Tuesday, July 23rd Council Meeting – please put that date on your calendars. That evening could be the night Council decides on which election they will send the measure to:

1. a special election Fall of 2019, costing Brentwood a whooping $104k-$173k; or
2. the regularly scheduled General Municipal election on 11/3/2020, only costing $43k-$60k.

The developer can be asked to enter into an agreement with the City for reimbursement of all these costs, but there is no guarantee. The Alliance is advocating for the 2020 General Election because of historically higher voter turnout statistics and because we don’t even have a Draft nor Final Environmental Impact Report yet to make an informed decision on the measure.

We will continue to oppose this ULL expansion project because Brentwood does not need to expand –

1. we have 6,075 housing units of various types in the queue, and 33 commercial projects, and that’s only Brentwood;
2. we have abysmal fire & emergency services for which this development offers the SAME FIRE FEES to the City as any housing project AND adds more service territory;
3. the CHP is extremely concerned about the traffic this project will generate, and has reported that the project’s current configuration appears to not have the capacity to accommodate increased traffic on both Balfour & the Bypass, and will severely hinder their ability to do their job by increasing response times, collision potential, traffic congestion and negatively impacting the safe movement of people & commerce.
4. the initiative will completely take the City Council, Planning Staff, and its residents out of the equation by making all their plans law, over-riding our General Plan and zoning regulations;
5. if we do need to expand at a later date, Brentwood has a plan for the SPA2 area for ranchette estates & very low density housing on the parcel, and will also complete American Avenue AND extend Hillcrest through to Balfour.

Thanks for your time today, and please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns, questions or input regarding this deplorable Project. We have new information to share shortly supporting our opposition – don’t forget to sign-up for our news blasts at our website, or check our site regularly: www.AllianceforaBetterBrentwood.org .

Now get out an enjoy Brentwood’s amazing weather and amenities while you can!

Kathy