City of Livermore

Measure P - Majority Approval Required

Your City Council unanimously urges a "Yes" vote on this measure to maintain the momentum on the downtown improvements currently underway.

The City Council entered into a Development Agreement for a long-desired, upscale wine-country hotel next to the Bankhead. Throughout the months of the outreach and public input process, there was one element that was agreed upon by all. The optimal location for a downtown hotel was South Livermore Avenue. This Development Agreement keeps it there and also protects Blacksmith Square

Don't be confused by a widely circulated drawing of a west side hotel on Railroad Avenue. That drawing has unreasonable housing densities and ignores the complementary elements in the City plan. It actually harms First Street businesses by replacing their parking with housing. Their drawing hasn't been vetted or subject to feasibility analysis.

In contrast, the City Approved Downtown Plan was based on input from thousands of Livermore residents and years of careful planning and analyses.

A "Yes" vote will prevent years of delay allowing us to continue improving the downtown now, and

providing what you want:

More available parking throughout the downtown

More open space, including two large connecting parks, Veterans Park and Stockmen's Park

Less dense housing

Better traffic circulation

More retail

Fiscally responsible

The City Approved Downtown Plan is supported throughout the community. Join with many

organizations, representing thousands of residents, who support the plan:

Livermore Stockmen's Association

Livermore Shakespeare Festival

Livermore Chamber of Commerce

Livermore Downtown Inc.

Unify Livermore

InterFaith Housing

Livermore Science and Society Center

Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association

Innovation Tri-Valley

You've waited years for the downtown improvements that residents requested: more available parking, more open space, more retail, and more amenities. Don't be fooled by a drawing and false claims. The time has come to vote "Yes" to get things done!

7,244 Livermore voters placed this referendum on the ballot because Livermore deserves better. Please join us. Vote NO on the City's deeply flawed downtown plan.

By voting NO, you're rejecting the City's Development Agreement with Presidio for a hotel east of Livermore Avenue. Not only is this the wrong kind of hotel at the wrong location, but also it's a "poison pill" intended to prevent voters from adopting the better Central Park Plan with its westside hotel.

A few of many reasons to vote down the City Plan:

It has no continuous central park. We celebrate our surrounding open space, rolling hills and beautiful wine country. We should have a large, continuous park from Bankhead Park Plaza to L Street, a regional draw. The City's so-called "public open space", encircled by private housing, doesn't deliver.

Far less parking where it's most wanted. We need parking right near Livermore Avenue where most people go. We'll be losing existing parking here. As of October, city plans showed at least 316 fewer spaces in this critical area than the Central Park Plan.

Too much housing in wrong location. The City Plan crowds 130 3-4 story affordable housing units right in the downtown center.

Mediocre hotel not fit for our Wine Country. The City's disappointing hotel is not full-service, has no restaurant, no nearby parking and poor views. Not worthy of our Wine Country, nor our downtown.

Less Livermore tax revenue. A professional financial analysis shows that the City Plan, with only a 125-135 room hotel, lower room rates and less retail, will cost the city $15.04 million in lost revenue over 30 years versus the Central Park Plan.

We get one chance to create something special downtown. Reject the badly flawed City Plan. Vote NO on the referendum.

7,244 Livermore voters placed this referendum on the ballot because Livermore deserves better. Please join us. Vote NO on the City's deeply flawed downtown plan.

By voting NO, you're rejecting the City's Development Agreement with Presidio for a hotel east of Livermore Avenue. Not only is this the wrong kind of hotel at the wrong location, but also it's a "poison pill" intended to prevent voters from adopting the better Central Park Plan with its westside hotel.

A few of many reasons to vote down the City Plan:

It has no continuous central park. We celebrate our surrounding open space, rolling hills and beautiful wine country. We should have a large, continuous park from Bankhead Park Plaza to L Street, a regional draw. The City's so-called "public open space", encircled by private housing, doesn't deliver.

Far less parking where it's most wanted. We need parking right near Livermore Avenue where most people go. We'll be losing existing parking here. As of October, city plans showed at least 316 fewer spaces in this critical area than the Central Park Plan.

Too much housing in wrong location. The City Plan crowds 130 3-4 story affordable housing units right in the downtown center.

Mediocre hotel not fit for our Wine Country. The City's disappointing hotel is not full-service, has no restaurant, no nearby parking and poor views. Not worthy of our Wine Country, nor our downtown.

Less Livermore tax revenue. A professional financial analysis shows that the City Plan, with only a 125-135 room hotel, lower room rates and less retail, will cost the city $15.04 million in lost revenue over 30 years versus the Central Park Plan.

We get one chance to create something special downtown. Reject the badly flawed City Plan. Vote NO on the referendum.

See LivermoreDeservesBetter.com 

In their argument, City Councilmembers state there's "one element that was agreed upon by all. The optimal location for a downtown hotel was South Livermore Avenue."

This and other statements are very misleading.

Participants in city's $500,000 Community Outreach overwhelmingly chose a hotel location west, not east, of Livermore Avenue.

When totals of response categories from those expressing a hotel location preference are combined, a large majority selected the westside. City's Development Agreement is intended to nail down an eastside hotel so that the popular option of a westside hotel cannot be built.

That's not the city's only misleading communication:

Less parking where needed. By saying "more available parking", the city distracts from its real parking issue, lack of parking off Livermore Avenue where needed most. Both plans provide the same number of total spaces.

Less park. Measurement of park areas shows 2.23 acres for City Plan versus 3.01 for Central Park Plan.

More housing, in wrong location. City stacks 130 3-4 story units in the very center of downtown, where a park should be located.

Lesser quality hotel. No restaurant, fewer rooms, no onsite hotel parking, and $15.04 million less tax revenue over 30 years.

No delays necessary. City's hotel agreement doesn't require construction to begin until 2021. Westside hotel can start then or sooner.

There's something we can do about city's misleading information.

Reject city's deeply flawed plan. Vote NO on the referendum. Give Livermore the chance to do something truly special with our downtown.

See www.LivermoreDeservesBetter.com

Your City Council urges you to vote "Yes". The argument that this referendum is about a bigger park is deceptive; it's only about the location of the city-approved hotel.

This referendum was drafted by a few people who want to halt progress in Livermore's downtown by overturning the development agreement with the builder of the long-desired Wine Country Hotel at the Bankhead. Hotel experts and most residents agreed that Livermore Avenue is the preferred location. This is an upscale, destination hotel, not "mediocre" as the opposition falsely claims.

The hotel at the Bankhead Theater allows more open space on the west side of the development area. The sprawling, conference hotel in the opponent's drawing encroaches upon two parks, Stockmen and Veterans, that are integral to the City's Approved Plan. Recent studies confirm the City's Plan has a larger park area. Furthermore, no developer has ever submitted a proposal to the City for a west-side hotel fronting on Railroad Avenue.

The Bankhead's Executive Director, a theater professional, advised Council members that the preferred location for the hotel is next to the Bankhead Theater instead of a third, costly, subsidized parking structure as pictured in the opposition's drawing. The Bankhead location offers the best opportunity for the long term success of a profitable hotel and our beloved theater.

At a well-publicized Council meeting on this development agreement, everyone spoke in favor of the agreement and moving ahead. No one spoke against it.

The time is now. Vote "Yes".