Fact Sheet: No on Brentwood’s Measure L

On By Alliance for a Better BrentwoodIn Measure L Documents

Download the printable Fact Sheet here

If building homes could solve Brentwood’s problems, we’d have no problems. We know that developers always promise us the moon, but you have to think what is really motivating them to build this 2,400-housing unit Project – pure profit. Their claims of improvements are only overshadowed by all the negative impacts this Project will have. Please read our concerns summarized by topic:

  • Housing
  • Fire/Emergency Services
  • Environmental Impact and Antioch Threat
  • Traffic
  • School Information and Tax Revenue
  • Environmental

Housing

  • The project has 1,920 adult age 55+ housing units we don’t need. Brentwood already has Summerset I, II, III & IV, and Trilogy = 3,113 over age 55 housing units, 299 MORE over age 55 housing are approved in Brentwood.
  • Richland Communities is set to break ground in the Sand Creek Focus Area with Antioch’s first large-scale 55+ housing development.  Also, the Albers development by Kaiser adds another 300!
  • Brentwood has over 2,700 houses and 5,300 multi-unit housing left to build from the 10,000 designated in the General Plan through 2035; this includes the 2,041 in our economic area below Home Depot.
  • There are 480 family homes in this project adding to the myriad of housing already on our plate.
  • The Association of Bay Area Governments or ABAG has dictated that Brentwood only had to build 760 homes through 2023.  Brentwood OVERBUILT housing causing severe service problems, building 1,845 housing units! 
  • We have over 16,000 housing units upcoming throughout East CC County, Oakley, Antioch, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island and us; and another 10,000 housing units to be built as part of the Concord Naval Weapons Station land.
  • This project contains assisted living facilities that can be built anywhere in the Project and they are NOT counted in the housing numbers as they are considered commercial. 

Fire/Emergency Services

  • The ECCFPD has stated that their 249-square mile service area requires 9 operating fire stations, we have 3.
  • Response times to emergencies have increased 29% over the 2nd quarter of 2019, April-June, which resulted in a total of 31 hours of time in which they could answer NO emergency calls!
  • Here is a quote from the 9212 Report: “The addition of additional service population, as well as the addition of vehicle traffic to the City’s roadways could increase city-wide emergency response times, further exacerbating an existing deficiency.”  Response time is up to 8:07 minutes to west Brentwood, and almost 14 minutes to Bethel Island.  A person can be brain-dead in just 8 minutes and a fire doubles in size every 30 seconds!
  • We have developer fees to build a new fire station, $6.5M but no money to staff stations. It takes $16M/year to run our 3 fire stations.
  • The $11M they just donated funds Fire Station #10 needed because of their development.  We still can’t re-open Stations 4, 5, & 6, nor fund to build or run the necessary Stations, 7, 8, and 9.
  • The CC County Grand Jury and ECCFPD admitted our insurance rates have increased 198.2% since 2014.
  • This development ADDS 11.6% to Brentwood’s footprint, and on page 1, Section 5 of their initiative, they only agree to pay fire facilities fees based on the current fee schedule, that’s only $2M over the entire 20-year project.  Now, they want those fees waived because they have an MOU with the ECCFPD.
  • Any additional percent of property tax from this Project is only an estimate.

Environmental Impact and Antioch Threat

  • This Project will create smothering construction noise and poor air quality for 20-25 years; bulldozing of 550+ acres of active dry-farmed and grazing land for a massive development not in Brentwood’s plans.
  • Of the 1,700 acres of land they claim to “save”, only 225 are in Brentwood.  The land in Clayton is just a trade-off for decimating this property and a donation from the Ginochio Family to the Save Mount Diablo organization, leaving Brentwood with nothing in the deal. Save Mount Diablo should not be allowed to bargain on our behalf. 
  • 10,000 Antioch’s voters passed the Let Antioch Voters Decide Initiative in 2018; the Antioch City Council adopted it, holding their ULL. They will vote 11/3/20 to make that ULL permanent and all development subject to voter approval.  Their Initiative also scaled back housing near Kaiser Hospital to 1,127 housing units.
  • Two Antioch City Council members have told us they have no interest in this parcel; by adopting their residents Initiative last year, this supports this statement.  Antioch’s General Plan states they will NOT PURSUE land outside their Urban Limit Line.  Antioch told us they are more interested in cooperation with getting Sand Creek Road extended to Deer Valley Road/Kaiser Hospital. 
  • Both the Brentwood and Antioch General Plans have very low-density housing planned for this property; ours 583 housing units, theirs 428 housing units; certainly NOT 2,400!  This developer’s plan is just too big.

Traffic

  • The project exponentially adds traffic on Vasco Road and Highway 4/Bypass, impedes commutes to jobs and has a negative impact on family life. Many age 55+ are still working and very active. The traffic study states 7 – 11 intersections are made unacceptable if this is built, meaning traffic impacts throughout Brentwood. 
  • The Project adds 14,970 DAILY car trips: 6,990 from the Seniors, 4,530 by families and 3,450 by business. 
  • Construction/utility work for the project will tear up and clog Balfour Road for years to come with lane closures.
  • This development dangerously obstructs the flow of traffic along Balfour and through the Deer Valley corridor used by hundreds of commuters, residents, students, as well as blocks routes to local recreational opportunities and emergency vehicles routes. We all recognize that the Deer Valley corridor was never meant for this many houses and this type of buildout, and this Project does NOT improve Deer Valley Road without other agencies. 
  • The development has only ONE exit, onto already choked Balfour Road; Hillcrest on the north side will be gated for their community.  They propose 3 round-a-bouts to miraculously move traffic down Balfour Road. 
  • The project only partially widens Balfour Road and make only sight improvements to Deer Valley Road near their Project.  It says finding ways to improve Deer Valley Road will be encouraged.  Here is the exact statement from the Initiative about improvements to Deer Valley Road: “The funding of these improvements will be subject to priorities established by the City Council and other agencies, but this Specific Plan recognizes the considerable benefits that may be provided by those improvements and encourages their construction.”
  • The CHP has major concerns about the project, stating that “the development would have a negative impact on their operations due to congestion, may lead to an increase in traffic collisions, increase emergency response times, delay emergency services and have a negative impact on the safe movement of people, services & commerce.” The Brentwood Police Captain says traffic is their #1 complaint.

School Information and Tax Revenue

  • The Liberty High School Superintendent stated that the extension of American Avenue will not help the schools.  Whether there’s a loop road or not, you still have the same number of cars coming to and leaving the schools each day onto Balfour.
  • 85% of cars leaving the 2 schools travel away either East or North of the schools.  To place them farther west on Balfour Road only lengthens their travel, and causes MORE congestion on Balfour Road! 
  • Emergency services to the schools would be hampered by regular school traffic, parents trying to go to the school in an emergency and/or emergency personnel response.  Heritage High’s back access road that leads to Balfour Road is available in emergencies. 
  • The 480 common market homes in this development are estimated to put both school districts further over capacity: the high schools are over 1,313 and K-5 over capacity by 790 students. Antioch kids off Heidorn will also be coming to Brentwood schools.
  • All 3 high schools will add 16 new portable classrooms in 2019-2020, and Heritage High already has portables in its upper parking lot.
  • A 2014 study indicated Brentwood needs to add 1 middle school & 4 elementary schools; we only have 1 school site in the works.
  • The State makes up any deficit in property tax funding for schools, so whether you build this Project or not, the schools will not get any additional money; school funding is based on student attendance and the State always makes school funding whole as mandated.