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The Livermore City Council offered direction last week on proposed policy for the city’s draft General Plan 2045, including its land use, economic development and mobility elements.
Other elements on the table included community identity, infrastructure, public services, open space and conservation, safety and noise.
The update is intended to carry forward aspects of the current General Plan that are “working well” as well as update the plan to address current-day issues and recent state law, according to the staff report prepared by the city’s principal planner Andy Ross.
The proposed policies before council were prepared by the General Plan team, following input from the General Plan Advisory Committee, Livermore Planning Commission and the community.
Given the council’s direction at its April 28 regular meeting, staff are set to revise policy language and prepare a draft General Plan for future review by the GPAC, planning commission and city council. The public will also have a chance to give input on the draft this fall. Following the community feedback, adoption hearings are set to take place during spring of 2026.
Regarding the land use element, the council did not consider policy to change the designation of the open space area East of Greenville. Instead, the proposed update outlines the conditions for future study of the area for commercial and industrial land use, job creation and increased revenue generation, according to the drafted goal.
In the future, changes to the city’s urban growth boundary and land use designation for the area could be considered and evaluated if there is an inability to provide services and maintain infrastructure, an imbalance of land use types, the emergence of new opportunities to achieve strategic goals or land use inconsistent with the city’s goals and policies, according to Ross.
As for Midtown in northeast Livermore, the proposed policy presents it as a complete, mixed-use neighborhood with 5,000 to 6,400 new residential units and job opportunities through industrial and office uses. The area would also prioritize pedestrians and bicycle safety and support a future transit station without reliance on it.
Consideration of the railway in the general plan will be a powerful tool to gain funding, Vice Mayor Evan Branning said.
Livermore Mayor John Marchand agreed that recognition of Valley Link’s importance in the General plan was a positive sign.
Looking towards the future, the city projects an ongoing need for additional commercial and industrial sites. Meanwhile, there are a limited amount of sites suitable for this kind of development or redevelopment, Ross said at the meeting.
Currently, there are between 130 and 211 acres of “high potential, commercial industrial land” in Livermore, Ross said.
The 20-year trend of annually converting 35 to 40 acres from available industrial or commercial land to development is expected to continue through the next two decades, according to the city’s innovation and economic development director Brandon Cardwell.
This development allows local companies selling nationwide or worldwide to import money into the community, which contributes to the city’s economic diversity, Cardwell added.
“It’s very important for us to have a diverse economy,” Cardwell said. “A diverse economy is a resilient economy.”
The development is also important for retaining high-quality job creation, Cardwell added.
The industrial spaces wouldn’t just be distribution centers, Branning said. The city is looking for sites that would offer a broad economic impact at multiple education levels.
“I want to make sure we can continue to have meaningful input as industrial development and commercial development goes in,” Marchand added.
During public comment, Sblend Sblendorio suggested the city capitalize on development around freeway interchanges for acquiring tax income.
Alan Marling offered another suggestion, supporting policy for more non-vehicular corridors throughout the city.
“The more you can make walkable communities and biking corridors, the healthier the community will be,” Marling said.
Councilmember Steven Dunbar and Branning were also interested in improving mobility across the city, especially in the north-south direction.
To accomplish circulation-related projects, Dunbar suggested improving coordination with ACE and Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, the operator of Wheels.
Dunbar added that he wants to see teenager-specific policies regarding mobility and their engagement with the city.
On the economic front, Branning said he was glad to see tourism and experiential economy included in the proposed updates.
Branning also suggested that the Livermore considers how the city helps local businesses.
“It’s not our place as a city necessarily to bail everyone out and to fix every economic problem, but there are things we can do to try to make that a smoother process for them — make sure that they have a landing pad. They might not always land on it, but there’s something there,” Branning said.
Branning also recommended additional policies to support the growing of edible plants and pollinator plants.
“Right now our policies are so focused on water that we sometimes lose sight — it is a net positive for us to grow our own plants,” Branning said.
