By Julia Foote
The Antioch Community to Save Sand Creek — a coalition of Antioch residents and environmental groups, including Save Mount Diablo, California Native Plant Society, Greenbelt Alliance, and the Sierra Club — has been working tirelessly for months to pass an initiative that would protect open space in south Antioch from a major sprawl development. The Protect Sand Creek Area Initiative would zone the area for rural residential uses, agriculture, and open space.
Enough signatures were collected for the initiative to qualify for the November ballot, a major victory for the community-led effort! Unfortunately, at a meeting on July 24, the City Council adopted a dueling developer initiative which approved the 1,200 unit “The Ranch” project, while ordering a 30-day study on the Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative. In a way, an indirect victory came about from these efforts because the developer changed their project to reduce the number of units, provide a wide creek-corridor buffer around Sand Creek, leave the hills open, and buffer Empire Mine Road so their project doesn't lead to more development further west. However, there is still work to be done.
The next step to add increased protection to 1,200 acres of beautiful Antioch scenery, endangered species habitat, and creek corridor in the Sand Creek area is to ask Antioch City Council to adopt the "Let Antioch Voters Decide" Initiative. If this initiative is adopted, Antioch voters will get to decide if they want any more sprawl development west of Deer Valley Road beyond the now approved 1,200 unit “The Ranch” project.
What You Can Do
First, join us for an educational walk to view and learn about this valuable piece of open space on Sunday, August 26. On this walk you can see what's at risk, learn about the ecological value of the Sand Creek area and the impacts of sprawl development, and get involved in the effort to protect open space! Go to tinyurl.com/sandcreekwalk for details and to RSVP.
Then, on Tuesday, August 28 at 7:00 PM, come to the meeting at Antioch City Hall to fill out a speaker card and ask the Council to adopt this initiative. It would add protections to the Sand Creek area and save the City the expense of having to put it on the 2020 ballot.
Here are some important talking points to deliver at the August 28 City Council meeting or by phone or email:
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The city council should adopt the initiative tonight because this initiative was submitted with hundreds more valid signatures of Antioch registered voters than the developer's petition, which the Council has already adopted.
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The development standards in the Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative will provide long-term protection for agriculture and the natural environment — protection that can only be changed by a vote of the people.
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The city can save hundreds of thousand of dollars in avoided election costs by adopting the initiative rather than putting it on the ballot.
If you can't be at City Hall in person, call or email the City Council and ask them to adopt the Let Antioch Voters Decide Initiative.
Antioch City Council contact information:
Mayor Sean Wright
(925) 757-3309 – swright@ci.antioch.ca.us
Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Thorpe
(925) 978-4663 – lthorpe@ci.antioch.ca.us
Council Member Lori Ogorchock
(925) 628-7764 – logorchock@ci.antioch.ca.us
Council Member Monica E. Wilson
(925) 628-0749 – mwilson@ci.antioch.ca.us
Council Member Tony G. Tiscareno
(925) 234-3639 – ttiscareno@ci.antioch.ca.us
More details about the area to be protected, including a gallery of pictures and the threats from development can be found at www.LetAntiochVotersDecide.org.