Thursday, June 1, 2017 VOLUME LIV, NUMBER 22 Your Local News Source Since 1963 SERVING DUBLIN, LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON, SUNOL Split Vote Rejects Campus Site For 2nd Dublin High School By Ron McNicoll averages to about $3.6 million per On the vote, board president Many in the audience cheered Dublin Unified School District acre, which consultants have said Megan Rouse and trustee Dan when trustees made statements that Trustees rejected a staff recom- is the going price for raw land in Cunningham supported the recom- argued against the recommenda- See Inside Section A mendation to locate a new high Dublin. mendation. Vice-president Amy tion, and booed when other trustees Section A is filled with school campus in an existing Some savings would have been Miller voted against it, as did trust- backed it. information about arts, people, office building located at the in- possible compared to buying raw ees Dan Cherrier and Joe Giannini. Many audience members cited entertainment and special events. tersection of Hacienda Drive and land, because a building and park- Some 600 people attended, what they said was the potential There are education stories, a Gleason Road. ing lot already stand on the land. with an estimated 100 occupying danger to students and faculty, variety of features, and the arts The vote at the meeting May There are utility connections. standing room in the Dublin High because Santa Rita Jail is about six and entertainment and 23 was 3-2 against buying a However, the entire inside of the School Sports Complex Center. blocks away. A gun range and the bulletin board. 13-acre site that would cost the building would have to be gutted Some 81 people spoke, with most future East County Court Building district $47 million. That cost to convert it to a high school. opposed to the staff recommenda- tion. (See DUBLIN HIGH, page 2) Proposal Would Split Hotel from Rest of Downtown Planning Councilmember Bob Woerner, of November 2017. Vice Chairman of the Livermore On Thursday, the committee Downtown Steering Committee, heard from three consultants re- proposed to change the council's garding the feasibility of a hotel direction to the Steering Com- in the downtown. munity regarding the development Russ Branson from Public of the 8-acre downtown site. He Financial Management (PFM) pre- stated during the committee's sented information on finances. He May 25 meeting that a hotel and noted that the average daily room its parking should be bifurcated rates from 2011 to 2016 grew by from the planning of the rest of the 65%. "This is very strong growth development. The committee un- indicating a very strong market." derstood that he would ask the city The year to date growth rate is council to have the hotel go first to 78.3%. Breakeven is considered the council and public. Planning 65% occupancy, he stated. Occu- for the remaining area would be pancy rate above 70% will attract presented to the council and the additional hotel development. public for their consideration at a There will be continued high de- later time. mand and cost. Photo - Doug Jorgensen There were those who agreed The average daily room rate as Each year, the Boy Scouts place American flags on the graves of veterans at Livermore cemeteries: that the planning for a hotel move of March 2017 was $174. Roselawn, St. Michael’s and Memory Gardens. Ceremonies were held on Memorial Day to honor those forward as a separate project as He said that the high occupancy who served. soon as possible. Others said that a rates have led to construction of 5 hotel should continue to be part of hotels with 599 rooms in Liver- the committee's discussions as the more. Some replace current hotels group prepares a number of devel- for a net of 443 new rooms. All are County Wants To Hear from Public opment concepts to be presented to extended stay options located on the public for the 8-acre site. the freeway. Dublin has one hotel Jeff Kaskey stated that if the under construction. There is the po- Concerning New In-law Unit Rules hotel were not included in the tential for a hotel in Pleasanton in Alameda County staff planners tial use, or units contained within designated for potentially becom- planning for the overall concept, the Johnson Drive Planning Area. want to hear the public’s comments the residence, or its garage, but are ing a Secondary Unit (SU) district. the steering committee might as Branson noted that a downtown about what they would like to see separate households from the main Two of the areas are west of Sunol, well go home. hotel can offer a different set of in rule changes regarding in-law household. and north of Niles Canyon Road. The committee is looking at amenities and experience that units. California state law was An ADU can be built in any The third is west of Foothill Road development on two sites in the provides a unique position in the revised to ease local permitting re- residentially zoned district in the near Pleasanton. downtown belonging to the city, market, even among a growing strictions and parking requirements unincorporated areas of the county, Two state bills passed last year, the former Lucky shopping center number of hotel competitors in when new in-law units are created. either single family or multifamily. AB 2299 and SB 1069, created the west of Livermore Avenue and the city. A meeting to take public input The potential in the Valley applies new rules governing in-law units, land to the west of the Bankhead He concluded that a 100 to will be held at 6 p.m. June 20 in to any place where residential zon- known formally as Accessory Theater on the eastside of Liver- 135 room downtown hotel would the County Public Works Building, ing exists. Dwelling Units (ADU). An ADU more Avenue. be feasible in the current market. 4825 Gleason Drive, Dublin. There are also three small areas consists of either new structures Woerner wanted to look at the However, the city may need to In-law units, or ADU. are either of unzoned, undeveloped land, added to a residential use, or pros and cons of bifurcating the be willing to partner with a hotel new structures added to a residen- with just a few parcels, that are (See IN-LAW, page 3) hotel from other proposed uses. developer to make the overall eco- He noted that it will take awhile to nomics work. Cost factors such as complete the whole development land and parking may need to be Pleasanton Board Told to Wait 3 years for plan. He suggested that staff set up addressed with a hotel developer. a process to hear from the public Architect Burton Miller talked on bifurcation, looking at the hotel about planning and design. He said Brown’s Promised One-time Revenue as a stand-alone project. the committee should consider sev- The Livermore City Council eral issues when discussing a hotel. By Ron McNicoll ise the May revision addressed. to $1 billion statewide in the May The Pleasanton Unified School When Brown unveiled his bud- revise, or $170 per ADA, which voted at its May 22 meeting to They include what type of hotel District Board were given a quick get in January, that figure stood at would give Pleasanton $2.5 mil- extend the Exclusive Negotiating would address community goals look at implications of revenue $48 per Average Daily Attendance lion. Rights Agreement (ENRA) with and objectives. The product needs changes in Gov. Jerry Brown’s (ADA). That works out to a state- However, the governor said he Presidio Companies until the end May Revision of the state’s 2017- wide total of $287 million. In the won’t allocate the one-time money (See DOWNTOWN, page 10) 18 budget. There won’t be a school Pleasanton district it would amount until the 2019-20 budget, when budget for the board to consider to $700,000, explained Interim Brown projects that the statewide until the June 13 meeting. Superintendent Micaela Ochoa, fund will grow to $2.5 billion. The board discussed the prom- who made the presentation. Brown believes the money will ise of some one-time money that The governor had been optimis- be there if the economy remains would come to the district, a prom- tic about revenue, and elevated it (See REVENUE, page 4) Accident on Dublin Waterpark’s First Day By Ron McNicoll area of the 48-foot-tall ride known sions to his body.” A 10-year-old boy was slightly as the Emerald Plunge, and had She added that the boy’s par- injured when he fell from a water entered the run-out area, designed ents decided to take him to seek slide at The Wave, the new aquatic to slow down ride-takers. further medical evaluation. Based park in Dublin's Emerald Glen Assistant City Manager Linda on a discussion with the parents, Park. Smith, who happened to be nearby he was treated and released. The The accident happened on May when the accident occured, said boy, according to his parents, was 29, the first day that six water slides that when the boy hit the run-out at home recovering. were opened as part of the park’s area, he was carried by the water The city immediately shut water features. up and off the side of the run-out, down the Emerald Plunge. Cal An indoor lap-swimming pool, which is approximately 2 feet high.