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Judge Blocks City of Dublin Measure II from Breaking the Dublin Urban Limit Line and Violating the Greenbelt between Dublin and Livermore

The Successful Legal Challenge Was Filed by Save Mount Diablo and Friends of Livermore

DUBLIN, CA—On October 1, Save Mount Diablo and Friends of Livermore officially won a year-long lawsuit against the City of Dublin.

The lawsuit opposed the City of Dublin’s decision to put Measure II on the November 2024 ballot, without any kind of environmental review. The deceptive measure was the first step in breaking Dublin’s 2014 Urban Limit Line, and it’s now been stopped in its tracks.

Measure II would have allowed for commercial development, like warehouses and semitruck shipping operations, to be built on land on the southern end of Doolan Canyon, violating the greenbelt between Dublin and Livermore.

Southern Doolan Canyon is the only open space between Livermore and Dublin, and for decades, residents have fought to keep it that way. It is located along Highway 580 and is the site of the scenic Crosby property between Fallon Road and Airway Boulevard.

Measure II intended to amend the city’s General Plan to allow commercial development on the beautiful Crosby property once it was annexed into Dublin.

It would’ve overturned open space protection from the 2014 Dublin Open Space Initiative, sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Tri-Valley Conservancy, Friends of Livermore, and others, which had prohibited residential and commercial development in Doolan Canyon.

“The tentative decision was a significant David versus Goliath win for Save Mount Diablo, our partner Friends of Livermore, our wonderful supporters, and everyone who cares about open spaces and following the rules,” said Save Mount Diablo Executive Director, Ted Clement.

“Save Mount Diablo was able to successfully stand up against a giant like the City of Dublin because of our wonderful supporters and partners like Friends of Livermore. We are so grateful for the support we receive because it enables us to advance our time-sensitive land conservation mission,” said Ted Clement.

“We were confident from the beginning we would win. Dublin’s legal arguments were ludicrous, that no environmental review was necessary for what could be a massive project on the Crosby property. We defended the open space between Dublin and Livermore. We saved the Dublin Urban Limit Line that we and Dublin residents created in 2014,” said Save Mount Diablo Conservation Director, Seth Adams.

“Residents deserve full transparency on development projects in their city that affect their quality of life and pocketbooks. Dublin residents were deprived of true transparency of the intent of the city and the environmental and financial impact for the Dublin Boulevard extension to Livermore from the Dublin City Council when they voted to put Measure II on the 2024 November ballot. This favorable tentative court ruling tells the Dublin City Council that truth and transparency matter to residents, resident voices matter, real justice matters and happens,” stated Shirley Lewandowski, 38-year Dublin resident and community advocate.

“Friends of Livermore was very glad to see the tentative decision by the judge that environmental review was required before placing Measure II on the ballot. The judge’s analysis of applicable law was thorough and included a recent California Supreme Court decision that was directly on point. We look forward to the final decision being released in a couple of weeks and for Dublin to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act going forward,” remarked Dick Schneider, Friends of Livermore advocate.

“It was obvious that the City of Dublin needed to do proper environmental review before putting Measure II on the ballot,” said Jean King, Friends of Livermore advocate.

“We would like to thank the many people that continue to support our fight to protect the last open space between Dublin and Livermore and look forward to working towards real solutions to the transportation and development issues facing our area,” Jean King added.

Background: More Than a Decade of Conservation

In 2014, following a successful signature gathering effort from Save Mount Diablo, Tri-Valley Conservancy, Friends of Livermore, and others, the City of Dublin adopted the Dublin Open Space Initiative of 2014.

The initiative covered nearly 4,000 acres of unincorporated land in the Doolan and Collier Canyons between Dublin and Livermore.

However, it did allow for the future construction of the Dublin Boulevard extension, a road intended to connect Dublin Boulevard and North Canyons Parkway.

The planned Dublin Boulevard extension passes through the Crosby property that was the focus of this lawsuit.

The 2014 initiative proponents knew from the start that a significant goal for Dublin was completing the connection of Dublin Boulevard to Livermore and were not opposed to the circulation improvement—it was allowed for in the initiative, crossing the greenbelt.

What was not allowed was additional development, which would require environmental review and a vote of Dublin residents—giving the public time and input on any such plans.

Ten years later, in July 2024, the Dublin City Council, despite strong objections from Save Mount Diablo and Friends of Livermore, voted to put Measure II on the ballot.

But here’s the problem: Dublin did not conduct any environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before putting Measure II before voters.

In November 2024, Measure II only narrowly passed with 53.11 percent of the vote.

It amended Dublin’s General Plan to revoke the portion of the open space initiative that prevented Dublin from approving commercial development on the Crosby property upon annexation.

But we had a backup plan: In August 2024, Save Mount Diablo and Friends of Livermore had filed a lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged that Dublin violated CEQA by putting Measure II on the ballot without conducting environmental review, in case the City of Dublin and developers fooled Dublin voters into supporting Measure II. Our plan was successful.

The Court’s Ruling

The City of Dublin claimed that CEQA did not apply to Measure II because Measure II only authorized the city to designate the Crosby property for commercial development in the future and, therefore, it was not a “project” for the purposes of CEQA.

The city further claimed that even if CEQA applied, Measure II would be exempt under CEQA’s “commonsense exemption,” which applies when there is no possibility of a significant effect on the environment.

Both claims were nonsense. But it took over a year for the court to prove us right.

Under the California Environmental Quality Act, major land use changes, especially those that could result in warehouses and truck traffic, require a study of potential environmental impacts. Measure II would create these exact kinds of major land use changes.

The court found that Measure II is a “project” for the purposes of CEQA and rejected the City of Dublin’s argument that there was no causal connection between Measure II and future environmental impacts of commercial development, pointing to the voluminous evidence we provided to show that Dublin and the owners of Crosby property have demonstrated their intent to develop commercial uses.

Additionally, the court found that Measure II did not qualify for CEQA’s commonsense exemption.

To qualify, the city was required to demonstrate that there was no “eminently reasonable possibility” that commercial development would occur on the Crosby property.

Relying again on the evidence demonstrating Dublin’s intent to approve commercial development on the Crosby property, the court found that the development was likely and, as a result, the commonsense exemption did not apply.

What’s Next?

With Measure II paving the way for the development of the only open space between Dublin and Livermore, the stakes could not have been higher.

With this legal victory, the City of Dublin will have to rescind Measure II’s General Plan amendment, protecting the beautiful Crosby property from development without proper environmental review and a detailed public process.

This is a tentative ruling. Soon, the court will direct Dublin to rescind Measure II’s General Plan amendment. The defendants will then have 60 days to appeal to the court of appeals. If there is no appeal, Dublin will then have to decide how to move forward.

The city has spent thousands of dollars on their legal effort. Likely Dublin will now also have to reimburse our legal expenses, a normal provision for public interest legal challenges.

The best outcome will be renewed discussions by Dublin and Livermore about completing a smaller Dublin Boulevard connection to improve circulation, without the unnecessary development on the Crosby property.

If Dublin wants to put Measure II back on the ballot, they will need to comply with CEQA. They’ll have to conduct a longer public process, including Dublin residents.

Doolan Canyon History

A protracted and complex struggle over development in Doolan Canyon has seen Livermore and Dublin adopt drastically different approaches to open space, with significant milestones reached in 2014 and 2024.

The dispute over the unincorporated greenbelt, located between the two cities in Alameda County, pits Dublin’s desire for growth against Livermore’s prioritization of a natural buffer to urban sprawl.

At the heart of the conservation effort are a diverse coalition of environmental groups, including Save Mount Diablo, Save Dublin’s Open Space, Friends of Livermore, and the Tri-Valley Conservancy (TVC), who have worked with East Bay Regional Park District, the City of Livermore, and other agencies to protect the area’s sensitive ecosystems and species.

The 2014 Open Space Initiatives

The foundational battle over Doolan Canyon’s future occurred in 2014. For decades, Dublin had experienced rapid growth, but a shift toward open space preservation was beginning to take hold.

Developers, including Pacific Union Land Company, proposed a massive 2,000-unit housing project, dubbed “Dublin Preserve,” in Doolan Canyon.

In response, a coalition of environmental organizations sponsored an initiative to establish an Urban Limit Line on Dublin’s eastern boundary, which the city council adopted in June 2014.

“Dublin Preserve” land speculators and developers countered by sponsoring their own initiative, Measure T, on the November 2014 ballot.

It sought to overturn the Urban Limit Line and allow Dublin to annex and develop 2,000 acres of Doolan Canyon, while reserving a percentage for open space.

The effort to defeat Measure T brought together groups like Save Mount Diablo, Friends of Livermore, and the Tri-Valley Conservancy.

In a resounding victory for conservationists, Dublin voters rejected Measure T by a landslide 84 percent. The vote cemented the 2014 Urban Limit Line and halted the “Dublin Preserve” project.

Measure II and the 2024 Ballot Measure

A decade later, the issue resurfaced with Measure II (“eye-eye”), a ballot initiative in Dublin that ultimately passed in November 2024.

Unlike the failed Measure T, this effort was placed on the ballot by the Dublin City Council, which voted 3-2 to put the measure before voters.

Measure II would have amended the 2014 Open Space Initiative to allow Dublin to accept an undefined and speculative land donation for extending Dublin Boulevard east to North Canyons Parkway in Livermore.

Critically, it also granted the city authority to approve up to 80 acres of commercial development on the adjacent Crosby property, outside the Urban Limit Line.

Opponents, including Save Mount Diablo, Friends of Livermore, and the Tri-Valley Conservancy, launched a strong campaign against Measure II.

They argued the measure was misleading and would increase traffic, worsen pollution, and destroy the greenbelt. They also noted that an environmental impact report had not been prepared for voters.

For Livermore, the commercial development was of particular concern, as it would encroach on the buffer zone both cities had long recognized. Despite the opposition, Measure II passed with 53 percent of the vote.

Conservationists had already filed a backup legal challenge in August 2024, which took 14 months for a ruling by the court. That legal challenge has now been successful.

Recent Open Space Protection

While Dublin has most recently pursued development in Doolan Canyon, Livermore has consistently championed the area’s preservation.

The Tri-Valley Conservancy has played a critical role in realizing this vision through strategic land acquisition and conservation easements.

2018 conservation easement: Tri-Valley Conservancy secured a 178-acre conservation easement in Doolan Canyon, protecting sensitive habitats for species like the California tiger salamander and burrowing owls.

August 2025 conservation bank: In a major victory for conservation, the Tri-Valley Conservancy, in partnership with the Natural Resources Group, completed a landmark 1,168-acre conservation easement in Doolan Canyon.

This newly established Doolan Canyon conservation bank permanently protects a vast swath of ecologically sensitive land, home to species like the California red-legged frog and the western burrowing owl.

It is managed with sustainable grazing practices to maintain native grasslands and is the largest conservation easement in the Tri-Valley Conservancy’s history.

The collective efforts of environmental groups and the City of Livermore have resulted in the protection of over 1,300 acres in Doolan Canyon.

That protected land is in addition to a square-mile Doolan Canyon Regional Park, solidifying a wildlife corridor and preserving the greenbelt buffer between Dublin and Livermore.

The path has been contentious, but the ongoing commitment to conservation ensures that a significant portion of this valuable natural landscape will remain wild for future generations.

Doolan Canyon

Doolan Canyon is a beautiful greenbelt situated in Alameda County, California, separating the cities of Dublin and Livermore.

Its natural beauty lies in scenic rolling hills that are home to diverse flora and fauna, seasonal wetlands, and riparian habitats along Cottonwood Creek.

The natural resources and scenic beauty of Doolan Canyon are significant.

The canyon’s varied ecosystems provide critical habitat for many kinds of wildlife including several threatened and endangered species, such as California red-legged frogs and California tiger salamanders.

The hills also support species like golden eagles, Callippe silverspot butterflies, American badgers, and western burrowing owls.

Doolan Canyon’s perennial wetlands, seasonal stock ponds, and seeps create important riparian areas, while managed grazing helps maintain healthy native grassland ecosystems and vernal pools.

The fight for Doolan Canyon’s open space culminated in the 2014 Dublin Open Space Initiative.

This voter-approved measure created a new Urban Limit Line for Dublin, blocking a 2,000-unit housing development and protecting the canyon from annexation and development.

This crucial victory preserved the essential buffer zone between the two cities and affirmed residents’ desire to protect the area’s natural beauty and wildlife.

Since the 2014 initiative, conservation organizations have continued their efforts. The East Bay Regional Park District acquired land in the area to eventually create the Doolan Canyon Regional Preserve.

Save Mount Diablo, which led the 2014 ballot initiative, and Friends of Livermore remain active in protecting the canyon from recent threats of development along the proposed Dublin Boulevard extension.

The Tri-Valley Conservancy has been instrumental by securing additional conservation easements, bringing a significant portion of the canyon under permanent protection.

These collective efforts ensure Doolan Canyon’s enduring role as a vital natural resource and scenic open space in the region.

Read the court order.

Image Captions and Credits

1. Doolan Canyon, part of the last remaining open space between Dublin and Livermore. Photo: Scott Hein
2. Map of the Dublin Open Space Initiative of 2014 with the location of the Crosby property. Map: Courtesy Save Mount Diablo
3. Open space advocates at Doolan Canyon in 2014. Photo: Juan Pablo Galván Martínez
4. Doolan Canyon. Photo: Scott Hein
5. Community advocates with “No on T” signs in 2014. Photo: Courtesy Save Mount Diablo

A high-resolution version of these images are available; please contact lkindsvater@savemountdiablo.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Laura Kindsvater, Senior Communications Manager

C: 925-451-8376, lkindsvater@savemountdiablo.org

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