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The Livermore City Council is faced with a difficult decision tonight regarding the public Veterans Park planned for downtown Livermore as part of the Eden Housing affordable housing project.
The park could either end up on the November general election ballot or be delayed altogether.
The issue at hand is a referendum petition submitted by community group Move Eden Housing in July 2022 that went through litigation after the city refused to process it. The referendum seeks to overturn the city of Livermore’s May 2022 approval of an amended disposition, development and loan agreement (DDLA) with Eden Housing, Inc. – the developer for the 130-unit apartment complex and accompanying park.
After the city refused to process the referendum petition because it deemed the council’s action approving the DDLA as administrative, not legislative, and therefore not eligible for a challenge by referendum, Move Eden Housing sued the city.
The group filed an appeal after losing in trial court, and the appellate court determined that their petition should be processed as a referendum because the approved DDLA included language that authorized the construction of and improvements to the new Veterans Park, which is considered by the court to be a legislative act.
Upon processing the petition, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office on June 4 certified that the referendum contains sufficient valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Now, the City Council must decide whether to repeal its approval of the DDLA to avoid an election or call for an election to place it on the ballot for the voters to approve or set aside the legislative acts in the resolution for the construction of and improvements to Veterans Park.
According to the agenda report, staff further recommends the council adopt a companion resolution to ratify, reaffirm and readopt the terms and conditions in the amended and restated DDLA with Eden Housing, Inc., other than for construction of and improvements to Veterans Park, and to acknowledge that the agreement remains in effect as of the date it was signed.
The council is set to discuss this issue and make a decision during its regular meeting Monday (June 24) at 7 p.m. The complete agenda is available here.
The majority of Livermore residents have voted multiple times to approve the project, either by their elected officials or through ballot initiatives. On the opposite side of the issue is a small group of well-funded individuals posing as a grass-roots resistance. They operate under several names so as to appear larger than they really are.
After failing over and over again to win at the ballot box, their only move now is to throw money at the issue through legal action. What makes it all the more galling is their populist rhetoric, claiming to stand up for the people of Livermore, when all they’re really doing is using money to go around the democratic process that keeps rejecting their ideas.
You’ll always find people grousing about changes to the city, but voting has shown time and again that the majority of residents recognize the need for more affordable housing and think the Eden project is a good solution. I hope the legal system can recognize stalling tactics when they see them, shut this down, and we can get on with the city plan.