Fremonters draft Patterson Ranch measure

Help gather signatures now to protect land by Coyote Hills!

The Sierra Club, working together with Friends of Coyote Hills and Fremont and other groups, has drafted a ballot measure to limit development at Patterson Ranch in Fremont.

For years developers have been trying to locate a high-density development on this sensitive site immediately adjacent to Coyote Hills Regional Park. The park's extensive wetland area on the Bay, combined with intact uplands, provides unique riparian habitat and excellent restoration opportunities. Adjacent development threatens the health of this environmental treasure, enjoyed by visitors from the entire Bay Area.

The developers have held community meetings and met with a number of environmental groups. The public and the environmental groups have voiced strong disapproval - yet the developer doesn't a ppear to care.

Current zoning would allow about 245 homes on the site, and even this level of development is not desirable. The developer is proposing nearly five times that amount, 1,200 homes. The development would also include 30,000 square feet of retail, an elementary school, a church, and a large sports park. Absurdly the developer touts this as an "eco-village".

The Patterson family has already developed 5,000 homes in the Ardenwood area, the densest part of Fremont. The remaining parcel is a buffer between the park and this existing housing. Another 276 homes have already been approved in an adjacent parcel. These plus the proposed development would generate around 20,000 daily automobile trips in an area almost without transit.

Fremont has rejected the previous efforts to overdevelop the Patterson site, but the developer keeps coming back with new and unacceptable proposals. The new initiative will once and for all restrict the level of development. It could be overturned only by future voter action.

The initiative will require a huge effort, but we've seen that numerous people in Southern Alameda County are willing to make the effort. A recent fundraiser brought out well over 100 people to donate and hear about the latest developments.

WhatYouCanDo

Please help gather signatures. We need to collect 13,000 - 14,000 signatures between March and mid-May. To help, contact Mike Daley at (510) 848-0800, ext. 304, or email mdaley -at- sfbaysc.org

Visit the Friends of Coyote Hills and Fremont web site.

Visit www.mybirdphotos.com/fchf for photos from Coyote Hills (a few from Patterson Ranch).

Vinnie Bacon, Sierra Club Southern Alameda County Group