Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
Dear Editor,
I have lived in Martinez for 21 years and have degrees in Environmental Engineering. I have worked in the industrial sector my entire career. That said, when I became aware that three out of the four City Council members and the mayor passed a resolution Jan 21, 2015, to change the zoning on the Pine Meadow property (at Vine Hill Way and Center Avenue) to allow a 99 unit housing project, I was dumbfounded. Why would Pine Meadows be rezoned for dense housing when it has been zoned Permanent Open Space/Recreation for over 40 years? Pine Meadows is 26 acres of beautiful rolling hills connecting to other trails and open spaces.
For a year now I have spoken to hundreds of Martinez residents. I found overwhelming support to preserve Pine Meadows as Open Space. Those who live closest to Pine Meadows are concerned that dense housing will impact their property values, lead to traffic congestion and deterioration of the surrounding roads. Parents of students at Hidden Valley Elementary informed me that the school is already seriously overcrowded. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) would need to find additional resources in the event of a major emergency. And the adequacy of firefighting capability is in question. What about the drought? Should we be building more dense housing given limited water resources? The additional tax revenue to the city would not offset the impact of the housing project on the community.
Of course Open Space has its own value. It adds to our quality of life and benefits our health and well-being. Many people choose to live in Martinez because of the open spaces. Did this resolution set a precedent that other Open Spaces and parks in Martinez could be changed from Permanent Open Space/Recreation to dense housing? Our city population has grown dramatically but the number of parks has not. Demands for additional recreation areas such as dog parks, picnic areas and pickleball have increased, yet we have not had a new city-owned park in over 20 years.
By February of 2015, a group of concerned citizens, called Friends of Pine Meadows, had gathered over 3,900 signatures to put this issue to a vote of the people. The City Council put the item on the upcoming November ballot.
Public records indicate Pine Meadows was then sold for over $4 million to Civic Martinez LLC, a shell corporation for the housing developer DeNova Homes. The deed is dated May 28, 2015.
In November of 2015, Friends of Pine Meadows submitted a Public Records Request, pursuant to California law, to the city including the mayor and City Council members. With the exception of Councilwoman Laura Delaney, the mayor and other council members failed to respond.
Documents received from Ms. Delaney indicate that the former city manager, the mayor and the City Council have been in discussions with DeNova Homes for some time about revising the city’s General Plan (currently in the process of being updated) to allow dense housing development on Pine Meadow [Golf Course]. In one email dated Oct. 20, 2015, the land use designation being proposed would modify the housing project scope to allow up to 288 homes OR up to seven acres of commercial development with 204 homes. These discussions appear to be an effort to circumvent the public vote of the people scheduled for this November.
At the latest City Council meeting on Jan. 19, 2016, Councilwoman Anamarie Avila Farias explained that the public records were not produced due to an oversight by the City Clerk. Ms. Delaney pointed out however, that she had personally received the Public Records Request (as everyone had) and had responded to it as required by law.
For more information about Pine Meadows go to: www.friendsofpinemeadow.org; Facebook: Friends of Pine Meadow; Email: friendsofpinemeadow@outlook.com.
– Name on File
