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valleysentinel.com
October 2010
VOL 15, NO 10
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
SPOTLIGHT
Michael Krasny visits Walnut Creek Library By Denise Rousset
On Thursday evening, September 30 , t h e Wa l n u t Creek Library Foundation hosted their first Live! From the Library program with Michael Krasny, who since 1993 has been senior editor of KQED-FM radio’s award-winning Forum. The program covers public affairs topics such as culture, politics, the arts, health and technology. A resident of Marin County, he is a professor of English Literature at San Francisco State University where he has taught since 1970. A widely published scholar, he was invited to speak about his new book, Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic’s Quest. Entertaining and funny, he peppered his comments with anecdotes about his life,
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Who could resist a photo like this? This was taken in the Glass Pumpkin Patch that will be a part of Danville’s upcoming 19th annual Fall Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 23 and 24 from 10am to 5pm along Hartz Avenue. Saturday morning at 10 am there will be a children’s Halloween costume parade with safe trick or treating, so save the date and come on out with the entire family. See page 4
Voters in San Ramon should learn about Measure W By Dana Guzzetti
San Ramon’s Measure W is one of the most controversial choices on the upcoming November 2010 election ballot. The consequences of it may not be obvious by simply reading the measure and checking the “Impartial analysis” on the city website. Now is the time for citizens who have not been a part of City workshops to do their homework. Basically the San Ramon City Planning Commission and Council want voters to approve a new 2030 General Plan that would change the urban growth boundary and increase the developable area of the city by about 19 percent. City boundaries would expand to include the Tassajara Valley area to the east, Norris Canyon area on the west and the 15-acre Laborer’s Camp property. The Measure extends most of the Ordinance 197 ridgeline and creek
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protections for five years, and continues the requirement for three public meetings and a 4/5ths Planning Commission and City Council vote to change the General Plan. It is not easy for voters to determine what Measure W may mean for them personally and how it will impact community life in San Ramon. The difficult decision resembles the kinds of choices that U. S. congress members face. Namely, Measure W, including the 2030 General Plan, contains a variety of opposing elements and it is not possible to vote for, or against parts of it separately. An environmentally oriented voter may favor the Ordinance 197 ridgeline and creek five-year extension, but
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Mind & Body Awareness
oppose extending the growth boundaries with the knowledge that developers and planners (Contra Costa County, Danville and San Ramon) are already eyeing Tassajara Valley. Another voter might want to accelerate and guide growth for its economic benefits, potential tax revenue and the long-term continuity of future development. Determining what will happen if it does pass, or does not pass is one way to analyze it. Another is to look at the overarching goals of the planning documents. They clearly state two primary purposes for the Measure: “permit development and growth in the hill areas of the San Ramon planning area” while maintaining the
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quality of life and “enhance City control and management of the planning for the areas described within the Sphere of Influence and the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) shown in the (proposed expansion) General Plan 2030.” Even this has two sides. Few can deny that some cities have been adversely affected by a lack of planning and that “Smart Growth,” transit oriented growth is logical. It is also true that property owners already impacted by redevelopment and government zoning changes may think there is already too much planning and too many rules. The Measure W opposition See page 4
Fall Home & Garden