What's Been Happening as of March 28, 2021

January 7, 14, 21, 28; February 4, 11, 18; March 4, 11, 18, 25, 2021 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had no new information on the project.

August 13, 20, 27; September 3, 10, 17, 24; October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; November 5, 12, 19; December 3, 10, 17, 24, 2020 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had no new information on the project.

August 6, 2020 We asked the Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, the following two questions:
  • Who is the Legal Owner of the site (formerly Sid Corrie, deceased 4/26/18)?
  • Who is the Applicant and Developer (formerly Corrie Development Corporation, dissolved 9/18/19)?
She said that she does not have this information, but will let us know as soon as she does.

November 7, 14, 21; December 5, 19, 26, 2019; January 10, 16, 23, 30; February 6, 13, 20, 27; March 5, 12, 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; May 7, 14, 21, 28; June 4, 11, 18, 25; July 2, 9, 20; August 3, 6, 2020 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had no new information on the project.

September 26; October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2019: The Contra Costa County Planner, Stanley Muraoka, filling in for Telma Moreira while she is out of the office, advised via email that there was no news about the the proposed cemetery.

2018: August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; September 6, 13, 20, 27; October 4, 11, 18, 25; November 8, 15, 29; December 6, 13, 20;
2019: January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; February 7, 14, 21, 28; March 14, 21, 28; April 4, 11, 22, 25; May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30;
2019 continued: June 6, 13, 20, 27; July 3, 11, 18, 25; August 2, 14, 22, 29; September 5, 12, 17:
The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had no new information on the project, nor any information about the impact of Mr. Corrie's death on the project.

August 2, 2018 Jon Kawamoto, East Bay Times, “Tassajara Valley: Memorial park project stalls after key supporter dies,” August 2, 2018

June 28; July 9, 12, 19, 26, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Stanley Muraoka, filling in for Telma Moreira, advised via email that he had no new information on the project, nor any information about the impact of Mr. Corrie's death on the project.

May 14, 24, 31; June 7, 14, 21, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had no new information on the project, nor any information about the impact of Mr. Corrie's death on the project.

May 3, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that there was nothing new to report. She also said that she had "no news about the status of anything that relates to the project" after Mr. Corrie's death on April 26, 2018 (link to obituary), While Mr. Corrie was the legal owner of the site, his company, Corrie Development Corporation, is the applicant and developer of the proposed cemetery.

March 22, 29; April 5, 17, 26, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that there was nothing new to report.

March 22, 2018 Jennifer Billock, Smithsonianmag.com, “From Yoga to Movie Nights: How Cemeteries Are Trying to Attract the Living”, March 22, 2018

March 1, 8, 15, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that there was nothing new to report.

February 22, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that her Department scheduled a meeting with the applicant, Mr. Sid Corrie, and his engineer, for February 21, 2018. She noted the next day that "It was a short meeting for the purpose of discussing the steps of how to move forward and anticipated schedule. There was nothing submitted or received at the meeting. We did discuss that any hearing(s) is pretty much several months away and not before the end of the year. We are not expecting any new documentation at this point but if we have any new documentation or any reports produced for public review we will let you know as soon as they become available.”

January 30, 2018 These two articles have appeared in local papers recently:   
September 21; October 10, 19, 26; November 2, 14, 30; December 7, 15, 21, 2017; January 2, 11, 18, 25, 2018 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that there was nothing new to report.

September 8, 14, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, forwarded an email dated September 8, 2017 from Mr. John Kopchik, Director of the Conservation and Development Department, to Mr. Tim Clancy, the owner of a parcel of land which would be part of the proposed cemetery. This email advised Mr. Clancy that the Department can accept and process a permit application, such as that submitted by Mr. Sid Corrie for the proposed cemetery, even if there are unresolved disputes among those with interests in the subject property. On September 14, she forwarded two emails from Mr. Clancy dated September 12, 2017, in which he strongly disagreed with this decision.

August 31, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had nothing new to report.

August 10, 2017  The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that “We do not have a date for the Planning Commission and there are no current work performed on the project, with the exception of internal review of the Water Efficient Plan."  A link to the "Water Efficient Plan" can be found below (April 6, 2017), as well as a link to the response sent by Bill and Holly Newman.

August 7, 2017 Another article about increasing cremation rates, especially in the western US:   
 August 3, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had nothing new to report.

July 28, 2017 With the steadily increasing cremation rate, large new cemeteries like the proposed Creekside Memorial Park are less and less needed:  
June 8, 15, 26; July 6, 12, 20, 27, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that she had nothing new to report.

June 2, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email that “at this time, it appears that we will not be heading to a public hearing in Summer of 2017,” explaining that “Nothing has been submitted to our Department to date.”

May 22 and 25, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email on May 22 that "I have absolutely no news. Hope later in the summer we will have some progress," and on May 25, "Nothing to report."

May 19, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email,"Another week and nothing new."

May 11, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email,"Very quiet days for this project. Nothing to share."

April 27; May 4, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email, "Nothing new."

April 20, 2017  The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised via email, "Nothing to report. Hope we will in a few weeks."

April 10-11, 2017 The East Bay Times published an article about the proposed cemetery in which the County Planner, Telma Moreira, was interviewed: “We’re reviewing the project as a whole, and it’s a very complex project,” Moreira said. She hopes the cemetery proposal will come before the county Planning Commission for a hearing sometime in late summer or early fall. “I don’t know how much work we have ahead of us.”   
 April 6, 2017 The project applicant submitted a new "Water Efficient Plan" in February 2017, which is currently being reviewed by the County. The plan consists of four documents: A response to this new plan was sent to the County on April 6, 2017 by Bill and Holly Newman, titled "Comments on Creekside Memorial Park (County File LP05-2096) Water Efficient Plan," which described four areas of concern with the new plan (8 pages).

April 6, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said, "Nothing to report yet."

March 30, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said, "Nothing to report. We expected the County review to be very comprehensive and not expecting any final delivery for the next few weeks. I will keep you posted. We do appreciate your upcoming letter so we can have input on how to address your concerns and make the project better."

 March 20, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said, "No new submittal or additional documents. I am in the process of reviewing the new plan submitted back in February and we also have requested our County geologist to review it as well. At this time the County is performing review of the new water plan with no determination.” (Links to the components of the "new plan submitted in February" are in the April 6, 2017 comment above)

February 23; March 2, 9, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Stan Muraoka, filling in for Telma Moreira while she is out of the office, said that there was no news about the the proposed cemetery, and that he does not anticipate any dates (including the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing) to be set before her return on March 13.

December 29, 2016; January 5, 12, 19, 27; February 6, 16, 2017 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

December 16, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing. She noted, "I do not expect any news around the holidays."

December 1, 8, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said on December 1 that "there is a possibility that we may go before the CPC [County Planning Commission] early/late Spring 2017." On December 8, she said "At this point, we are not even certain about a CPC [County Planning Commission] meeting in Spring of 2017."

December 6, 2016 The following articles about the Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery appeared recently:   
November 10, 17, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

November 3, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said "We do not anticipate any date before the County Planning Commission for 2016. Hopefully the project will move on in 2017."

August 22; September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; October 7, 20, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

August 20, 2016 A 15-page letter titled “Additional Comments on Final Environmental Impact Report and Potential Conditional Use Permit for Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery, County File No. LP 052096,” dated August 8, 2016, was sent from Christopher Sproul, Environmental Advocates, to the County Planner, Telma Moreira. It states: “The purpose of this letter is to point out additional reasons why the Final EIR fails to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and to request that the County prepare and circulate for comment a revised draft environmental impact report.”  This letter refers to two earlier letters sent by Mr. Sproul:
  • On May 17, 2016: A 17-page cover letter and a 64-page attachment containing Exhibits 1 through 8, which describe concerns with (1) the Market Feasibility Study that had been prepared by AGI Valuations on August 14, 2015, revised December 29, 2015, and with (2) the associated peer review prepared by EPS (see February 27, 2016 below for copies of these earlier documents).
  • On October 15, 2015: A Cover letter regarding the lack of water of the proposed cemetery with an Attachment titled “Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) – Review of Proposed Mitigation Measures,” prepared by John Fio, Principal Hydrologist, and Steven Deverel, Ph.D., P.G., Principal Hydrologist, Hydrofocus, Inc. and dated October 6, 2015.
    
August 11, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that "We have not [set] dates for a public hearing or if it will take place before the end of this year."

August 4, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that no date has been set for the County Planning Commission public hearing, but that they are "(h)oping to still be able to go before the County Planning Commission before the end of the year."

July 25, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

July 20, 2016 The following article appeared in Yahoo Finance on July 20: “More Americans Are Now Cremating Their Dead Than Burying Them”

July 18, 2016 Several articles about the Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery appeared recently:    
July 7, 14, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

June 25, 2016 Two articles about the Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery appeared recently in the Pleasanton Weekly: on June 17, "Council gives go-ahead for Veterans Memorial at Pioneer Cemetery" and on June 24, "Groundbreaking ceremony set Monday for Veterans Memorial at Pioneer Cemetery"

June 9, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

June 9, 2016 An article about the Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery appeared in The Independent: "Pleasanton to Move Forward with Pioneer Cemetery Plans."

June 7, 2016 A document titled “Additional Comments on Final Environmental Impact Report and Potential Conditional Use Permit for Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery, County File No. LP 052096,” dated June 7, 2016, was sent from Christopher Sproul, Environmental Advocates, to the County Planner, Telma Moreira. This document  consists of two parts: a 4-page cover letter and a 22-page attachment containing Exhibits 1 through 6, "concerning information suggesting that the owner of the Creekside parcels and the prospective operator applicant for Creekside are intending not to comply with County ordinance requirements concerning non-transferability of a cemetery.”

June 3, 2016  A document titled "Comments on Final Environmental Impact Report and Potential Conditional Use Permit for Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery, County File No. LP 052096," dated May 17, 2016, was sent from Christopher Sproul, Environmental Advocates, to the County Planner, Telma Moreira. This document  consists of two parts: a 17-page cover letter, and a 64-page attachment containing Exhibits 1 through 8.  It describes concerns with (1) the Market Feasibility Study that had been prepared by AGI Valuations on August 14, 2015, revised December 29, 2015, and with (2) the associated peer review prepared by EPS (see February 27, 2016 below for copies of these earlier documents).

March 24; April 7, 14, 28; May 6, 12, 19, 26; June 2, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

March 11, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that "we hope to go before the County Planning Commission late Spring/early Summer. No dates yet."

March 3, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was no news about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

February 27, 2016 Two documents were received from the Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, which are  revisions to the documents she provided in November 2015 (see November 20, 2015 below). Ms. Moreira noted that these documents would be used in the preparation of the staff report for the proposed cemetery project:
  • "Market Feasibility Study, Creekside Memorial Park, 7000 Camino Tassajara, Contra Costa County, CA (AGI File No.: 15-06-039)," dated August 14, 2015, revised December 29, 2015, prepared by AGI Valuations. Due to the size of the file, it has been split into four parts: Pages 1-30 (rev), pages 31-60 (rev), pages 61-90 (rev), and pages 91-115 (rev) .
  • "Peer Review of Market Feasibility Study, Creekside Memorial Park (EPS #151124)," dated January 27, 2016, prepared by Walter Keiser, Senior Principal, Economic and Planning Systems, Inc., (2 pages)
  • In addition to these two documents, here is a one-page recap of the changes between the two versions of the Market Feasibility Study, dated February 27, 2016.
    
February 18, 25, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was nothing new to report about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

February 13, 2016 Here are links to two articles that cite the reduction in a house's value if it is near a cemetery (along with other factors that reduce its value)    
February 4, 11, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, said that there was nothing new to report about the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing.

January 14, 2016 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that there is "a slim chance" that the date of the County Planning Commission public hearing would be in the spring; she added that she will know more by the end of February.

December 23, 2015  Here is a map showing the relation of the cemetery to residential developments in the area.  There has been quite a bit of growth in the area since the Cemetery was proposed in 2005.  See the Map and Writeup.

December 4, 17, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the date of the Planning Commission public hearing may be Spring of 2016.

December 1, 2015 The following documents regarding the lack of water for the proposed cemetery were sent to the Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, on October 15, 2015. On October 22, 2015, Ms. Moreira responded, "Thank you for your comments. We will incorporate/respond [to] them once we have the staff report prepared for this project before the County Planning Commission.”
  • Cover letter titled "Comments on Final Environmental Impact Report and Potential Conditional Use Permit for Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery, County File No. LP 052096," from Christopher Sproul, Environmental Advocates, Attorneys at Law, dated October 15, 2015.
  • Attachment titled “Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) – Review of Proposed Mitigation Measures,” from John Fio, Principal Hydrologist, and Steven Deverel, Ph.D., P.G., Principal Hydrologist, Hydrofocus, Inc., dated October 6, 2015.
November 20, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, provided the following documents, which she noted would be used in the preparation of the staff report for the proposed cemetery project:
  • "Market Feasibility Study, Creekside Memorial Park, 7000 Camino Taassajara, Contra Costa County, CA (AGI File No.: 15-06-039)," dated August 14, 2015, prepared by AGI Valuations. Due to the size of the file, it has been split into four parts: Pages 1-30, pages 31-60, pages 61-90, and pages 91-114 (the last page  is blank).
  • "Peer Review of Market Feasibility Study, Creekside Memorial Park (EPS #151124)," dated November 12, 2015, prepared by Walter Keiser, Senior Principal, Economic and Planning Systems, Inc.,
October 22, 29; November 6, 20, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that there was no news about the proposed cemetery or the date for the Planning Commission public hearing.

October 8, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the Planning Commission public hearing would not occur in 2015.

June 19, 25; July 2, 23; August 6, 13, 28; September 3, 11, 17, 24, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

June 5-8, 2015 Two recent articles about a proposed cemetery in Irvine, California:

June 5, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

June 3, 2015 Bill and Holly Newman sent a letter to Telma Moreira, the County Planner, with financial concerns regarding the proposed Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery.  The letter included copies of nine documents from the County Recorder's Office referred to in the letter (first eight documents, ninth document), as well as two earlier letters sent by the Newmans to Demian Hardman, the former County Planner for this project: one dated January 11, 2013 and one dated June 17, 2010. 

May 7, 14, 28, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

April 27, 2015 NPR.org posted an article by Daniel Potter: “California Cemeteries Adapt to Water Restrictions to Avoid Going Dry” dated April 27, 2015.

April 27, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

April 16, 2015 Here are links to three recent articles about the problems Tassajara Valley residents are having due to the drought, and also to an article about the expansion of the Oakland Mountain View Cemetery:

March 12, March 24, April 2, April 16, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

March 1, 2015 Here are four public documents from the Contra Costa County Recorder's office that describe ownership changes for the proposed cemetery that happened back in 2010 and 2011. Although these changes occurred before the Draft EIR was published in September 2011, they are not mentioned anywhere in the Draft EIR or in the Final EIR (published December 2013), or anywhere else in the County documentation for this project:
  • On August 17, 2010, Sidney Corrie, Jr. granted title of the property to 7000 CMP LLC for the larger (188 + /- acre) parcel of the two included in the project. The parcel APN was 223-020-005-3 (now 223-020-022-8).
  • On August 19, 2010,a deed of trust was filed between 7000 CMP LLP and three other entities: Costa Ventures, the Bloch Family Limited Partnership (Chuck Bloch) and E. Greg Kent.
  • On January 28, 2011 (recorded July 15, 2011), 7000 CMP transferred title for 1150 square feet along Camino Tassajara to Contra Costa County, and received $800 from the County. The Grant Deed of Title cites the "Camino Tassajara Shoulder Widening" project
  • On April 18, 2011 (recorded July 15, 2011), the role of trustee was reassigned from Costa Ventures to the Bloch Family Limited Partnership (Chuck Bloch) and E. Greg Kent.

January 15, January 28, February 9, February 19, February 27,  2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

January 13, 2015 The San Ramon City Council approved the minutes for the December 9, 2014 meeting at which they agreed to send a letter to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors stating their opposition to the proposed cemetery. Here is also a link to annotated agenda for that meeting. The letter was sent on December 11, 2014.

January 8, 2015 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

January 1 and 4, 2015 Two articles in DanvilleSanRamon.com by Jeremy Walsh reviewed the events of 2014 and mentioned the fight to stop the proposed cemetery:
  • On January 1, 2015 “San Ramon Valley Year in Review: Part I”:  “June 25: It's standing room only as people crowd into the San Ramon council chambers to discuss the cemetery project proposed for the Tassajara Valley.”
  • On January 4, 2015: “San Ramon Valley Year in Review: Part II":  “Aug. 18: 450+ people participate in a hike to protest against Creekside Memorial Cemetery proposed for the Tassajara Valley.” “Dec. 10: San Ramon council withdraws support for proposed Tassajara Valley cemetery following a two-hour special meeting that drew more than 200 attendees.”

December 12, 2014 Save Mount Diablo prepared an information sheet on Creekside Memorial Park cemetery. It describes the project, explains why Save Mount Diablo opposes it, and includes actions to help stop it with contact info for the Contra Costa County Supervisors and the nearby City Councils.

December 11, 2014 At the San Ramon City Council meeting on December 9, the City Council agreed to send a letter to the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors stating their opposition to the proposed cemetery. A copy of that letter will be posted when it is available. Other information about the outcome of the meeting:
December 9, 2014 Two articles about the proposed cemetery appeared today:

December 5, 2014 The San Ramon City Council will discuss reversing their 2005 resolution that supported the proposed cemetery. The meeting will be held in the Dougherty Valley Community Center, 17011 Bollinger Canyon, 7 P.M., on Tuesday December 9, 2014. Agenda. Staff Report.

December 4, 2014 The Contra Costa County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission, but it is expected in early 2015.

November 27 and 28, 2014 An article about Pleasanton's Pioneer Cemetery appeared in The Independent on November 27 and on Independent.com on November 28 : “Pioneer Cemetery Plan OKed”

November 21, 2014 Two articles by Jeb Bing about Pleasanton's Pioneer Cemetery appeared this week in the PleasantonWeekly.com:

November 14, 2014 An article appeared in this week's The Independent about the proposed Monte Vista Memorial Gardens cemetery in North Livermore: "Alameda County Orders Work to Stop on Proposed [Monte Vista Memorial Gardens] Cemetery"

November 13, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised: "As far as schedule, we would like to make sure the public hearing will be away from holidays so as many people may be able to attend. We are planning for early 2015. Will keep you informed."

November 5, 2014 San Ramon Vice-Mayor Phil O'Loane advised that "On its agenda for December 9th at 7:00 PM, the San Ramon City Council has put a review of the City Council's letter of Support for the Corrie Cemetery project.  . . . Please spread the word, more to come but I wanted to let you know ASAP. An even larger crowd than the June study session should be in order. regards, Phil.” The City Council may reverse their earlier (2005) resolution supporting the proposed cemetery in light of the growing opposition to it.

October 30 and November 7, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that she had nothing new to report on the date of the County Planning Commission hearing since her update on October 16, which was "the chances of having this project before the County Planning Commission before Thanksgiving is slim. There is a chance we may go early December; however, date and time is to be announced. Will let you know if I have any new information."

October 26, 2014 Here are recent articles about Pleasanton's Pioneer Cemetery and the proposed Monte Vista Memorial Gardens cemetery in Livermore:
October 26, 2014 Here are the meeting minutes from the September 24, 2014 meeting of the City of San Ramon Policy Committee, where they discussed whether the City should reconsider the resolution passed in 2005 supporting the proposed cemetery.

October 16, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that "We do not have any updates yet. Now that we are approaching the holidays, the chances of having this project before the County Planning Commission before Thanksgiving is slim. There is a chance we may go early December; however, date and time is to be announced. Will let you know if I have any new information."

October 6, 2014 An article by Jeb Bing in PleasantonWeekly.com: "Pleasanton commission set to approve plan for city's Pioneer Cemetery"

October 2, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that  there was "nothing new to report" regarding the date of the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

October 2, 2014 Two articles about the proposed Monte Vista Memorial Gardens in Livermore appeared recently. This project was last in the news on June 29, 2012: 
  • September 20, 2014, Contra Costa Times, "Lens on the Bay" section, photo with the caption "Consecration for Cemetery"
  • October 2, 2014, Jeremy Thomas, Contra Costa Times (Valley Journal), "Ground broken on Jewish site," page 1 and page 2.
  • June 29, 2012, The Independent published an article titled "Group Wants to Build North Livermore Cemetery," about a group of investors who want to build a 104-acre cemetery just north of Interstate 580 near the Las Colinas Road overpass. The proposed Monte Vista Memorial Gardens is now used as pasture land
September 29, 2014 A debate was held between the candidates for State Assembly District 16, which includes the five Tri-Valley cities (but not the Tassajara Valley--and so not the proposed cemetery--in District 14). The candidates, Catherine Baker and Dublin mayor Tim Sbranti, were asked their position on the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery at time stamp 7:40 on this link. The article in the Contra Costa Times on October 1 about the debate did not mention the proposed cemetery.

September 26, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that  there was "nothing new to report" regarding the date of the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

September 24, 2014 The City of San Ramon Policy Committee discussed whether the City should reconsider the resolution passed in 2005 supporting the proposed cemetery on Agenda Item 5.3 ; meeting minutes (added October 26, 2014).

September 19, 2014 Save Mount Diablo sent a letter to the City of San Ramon asking them to officially oppose the proposed cemetery and to encourage the Town of Danville and the Cities of Dublin and Pleasanton to oppose it as well.

September 18, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that "a date is yet to be determined" for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission

September 9, 2014 Two more cemetery-related articles:

September 8. 2014 A follow-up article by Roz Rogoff in her blog "San Ramon Observer" appeared in PleasantonWeekly.com titled "Answering questions from my last blog on the cemetery"

September 7, 2014 Three articles/blogs about the proposed cemetery have recently appeared:
September 2, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission will not occur in September.

August 28, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date has been set for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission.

August 22, 2014 An article by Cierra Bailey titled “San Ramon residents organize protest against Creekside Memorial Cemetery” appeared in the Pleasantonweekly.com. While the content of this article is the same as in her article with the same title in the DanvilleSanRamon.com Express on August 19, 2014 (see link below), the comments made by readers are different.

August 21, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that “we will inform of a date soon” for  the public hearing before the County Planning Commission. She also sent  the revised upper Garden section and water tank plans and elevations that had been requested by the County. These plans/elevations were prepared by P/A Design Resources, Inc., and were last revised July 18, 2014: Page 1 of 4, Page 2 of 4, Page 3 of 4, and Page 4 of 4.

August 20, 2014 An article by Joyce Tsai titled "“San Ramon: Tassajara cemetery opponents ask City Council to reverse ’05 resolution" dated August 19, 2014 appeared in the ContraCostaTimes.com. Here is the link to video of the San Ramon City Council meeting of August 12, 2014 described in the article; the request to reverse the 2005 resolution was made during Section 6 Public Comment (time stamp 07:05). Additional comments were made during Section 13 Public Comment (time stamp 26:00).

August 19, 2014 Juan Pablo Galván of Save Mount Diablo sent an email titled "Saturday's hike was great! Thank you!” The email had great photos, plus several useful links.

August 19, 2014 An article by Cierra Bailey titled "San Ramon residents organize protest against Creekside Memorial Cemetery” (dated August 18, 2014) appeared in today's DanvilleSanRamon.com Express August 19, 2014. The reader comments following the article are also interesting.

August 15 and 16, 2014 Videos and photos about the proposed cemetery and the August 16 hike:
  • KPIX Channel  5, Allen Martin, “Battle over planned cemetery near San Ramon coming to a head,” August 15, 2014. Link
  • NBC, Bay Area Staff, “Proposed San Ramon cemetery prompts concerns,” August 16, 2014. Link
  • This collection of photos taken at the August 16 hike shows better than the TV article just how many people turned out for it: Link

August 15, 2014 Additional background information about the proposed cemetery is now available on the Contra Costa County website. This information had previously been available only in paper copies:
  •  Preliminary plans/elevations for the proposed cemetery (last revised September 22, 2006) (online link or pdf)
  • Appendices to the FEIR (dated September 2011) (online link) (note that these appendices are very large, at 79.4 MB).

August 8 and 14, 2014 Several notices about the August 16 hike in Hidden Valley Open Space have appeared in local papers:
  • Joyce Tsai, Contra Costa TImes, "Tassajara Valley: Hike planned to protest proposed cemetery,” August 14, 2014 Online link or pdf
  • Joyce Tsai, San Ramon Valley Times, "Our Communities in Brief" section, "San Ramon: Hike Saturday to tour proposed cemetery," August 14, 2014 First half of notice, second half of notice
  • The Independent, "Short Notes" section,  "Hike Offered," August 8, 2014 Link.

August 12, 2014 At the San Ramon City Council meeting on August 12, several people spoke during the two public comment sections of the meeting to request that the City of San Ramon discuss and then adopt a resolution against the proposed cemetery. Links to the video and minutes of the meeting will be added when they are available. The dates of the future City Council meetings at which the resolution will be discussed have not been determined.

July 28, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission will not be held in August and that she will advise of a date.

July 22, 2014 Save Mount Diablo announces a Tassajara Ridge Hike in Hidden Valley Open Space  to be held on Saturday August 16, from 9 AM to 12 noon. For more information (including how to RSVP), click here.  Additional information: on Save Mount Diablo website; a flyer for Windemere residents; a flyer for non-Windemere residents.

July 15, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission is still possible for August and that she will advise by the end of next week if that time frame is still likely.

July 6, 2014 The Contra Costa Times had an article about how more and more families are choosing cremation over traditional burial, thus reducing the need for new cemeteries: "The Final Resting Place: Save or Scatter?  Many options for loved one’s ashes” by Angela Hill ; page 1 and page 2

July 2, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission may happen in late August: “We are anticipating that it may take Place in late August. We would not announce a date until we are certain of a date/time, and location.” .

July 1, 2014 The City of San Ramon has published the official video  of the June 24th “Presentation and Discussion of the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery in the Tassajara Valley.” This is a video of the entire meeting and lasts 116 minutes and 11 seconds. (It is also available from the City of San Ramon website under City Council Meeting Agendas and Minutes)

June 30, 2014 Here is the location of the proposed cemetery on Camino Tassajara; north is to the top and the Windemere development is to the left. The area marked by the heavy red line is an approximation of the proposed cemetery site. The area highlighted in yellow with a red "X" was incorrectly identified as the proposed cemetery site in the June 25, 2014 blog by Roz Rogoff,  "Cemetery Gripe Fest".

June 29, 2014 Here are links to media coverage of the June 24th San Ramon study session on the proposed cemetery:

Here is a link to a related article by Carlos Barria, Shanghai, in Reuters.com on May 15, 2014: "As attitudes change in China, people look to the sea for burial"
Here is a link to a related article by Jason Sweeney in the Contra Costa Times on October 25, 2012: "Census Report: City sees population explosion; San Ramon's Asian population is growing fastest."

June 24, 2014  About 350 people attended the San Ramon study session on the proposed cemetery.  San Ramon's Mayor Bill Clarkson and Vice-Mayor Philip G. O'Loane were there.  San Ramon Planning Services Division Manger Debbie Chamberlain gave an overview of the project which was then followed by public comment.  Videos of the overview and comments are at this link

June 24, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that no date had been set  for the public hearing before the County Planning Commission and that she would inform us of the date.

June 20, 2014 The DanvilleSanRamon.com Express had an article by Jeremy Walsh on June 20, 2014 about the upcoming study session on June 24; the comments after the article are worth reading too. One comment cited an article from USA Today on July 22, 2010 about the weak market for selling cemetery plots.

June 18, 2014 The Contra Costa Times printed a brief article by Joyce Tsai about the upcoming study session on the proposed cemetery to be held by the City of San Ramon on June 24.

June 17, 2014 Here are the resolutions signed by four of the five Tri-Valley cities in the summer of 2005 supporting  the proposed cemetery as requested by the developer. Note that the cemetery as proposed in 2005 is significantly different than the County's "Enhanced Modified Plan Alternative" in the Final Environmental Impact Report (and may also be different from the County's staff  report (which is not yet available): City of San Ramon, Town of Danville, City of Pleasanton, City of Dublin (the City of Livermore refused to sign because they felt cemetery space was adequate and they did not support building structures on ridges).

June 13, 2014 Here is the Agenda for the City of San Ramon's study session on the proposed cemetery to be held Tuesday June 24th at 7 PM at City Hall.

June 11, 2014 Save Mount Diablo asked "San Ramon to oppose a cemetery that destroys rare wildlife habitat at a study session on Tuesday June 24th at 7 PM at City Hall (2222 Camino Ramon)." Here's the email that Juan Pablo Galván of Save Mount Diablo sent out on June 11, 2014, and the attachment he refers to in the email.

June 10, 2014 The City of San Ramon announced that they will be holding a study session on the proposed cemetery on Tuesday June 24 at 7 pm at the San Ramon City Hall, 2222 Camino Ramon, San Ramon. Here’s the email that Phil O’Loane, City of San Ramon Vice Mayor, sent out on June 10, 2014..

May 22, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission "may take place in July."

May 15, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission had "a chance for late June, date to be confirmed. We are not certain if June or July."

May 8, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission would probably not occur in May.

May 1, 2004 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that there was nothing new to report about the proposed cemetery; no date has been set for the public hearing.

April 3-21, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission will be no earlier than May.

March 13, 2014 Save Mount Diablo has joined the fight to stop the proposed cemetery! Their website says:  “We are also fighting the Creekside Memorial Cemetery, another project in the Tassajara Valley that would fragment threatened wildlife habitat and degrade the beauty of the valley. It would also negatively affect existing trails and protected open space. To read more about Creekside Memorial Cemetery and what you can do to stop it, click here.”  Here is a link to their website page about the Tassajara Valley.

March 13 - 24, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission will be no earlier than late April or maybe May.

February 6 - March 6, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission will be no earlier than late March.

January 27, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the public hearing before the County Planning Commission is looking more like March.

January 9, 2014 Regarding the date of the public hearing for the proposed cemetery before the County Planning Commission, the County Planner, Telma Moreira, emailed that “We are hoping late February to early March.”

January 7, 2014 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) "will be finalized shortly and will be part of the County Planning Commission staff report." The MMRP is described in the Final EIR on page 1-3 as "a complete list of mitigation measures applicable to this Enhanced Modified Plan Alternative." We will make this document available as soon as it is made public.

December 30, 2013 The County sent out the Annotated Agenda for the December 16, 2013 Zoning Administrator meeting which "recommended certification of Final Environmental Action Report to County Planning Commission with modifications." The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advised that this public hearing before the County Planning Commission will not happen in January 2014.

December 18, 2013 An article by Joyce Tsai entitled "Cemetery impact report approved" appeared in the Contra Costa Times

December 16, 2013 At the Contra Costa County Zoning Administrator meeting, the Zoning Administrator, Catherine Kutsuris, Director of the Contra Costa Department of Conservation and Development, accepted the Final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed cemetery as adequate and complete after modifications. At the hearing, Tim Clancy, who owns 33 acres immediately adjacent to the proposed cemetery, 24 acres of which would be part of the  proposed cemetery, stressed his opposition to the project. Holly Newman presented a document listing reasons why the Final EIR was not adequate, and the day before (December 15, 2013), Robert Bonavito sent an email to the County Planner, Telma Moreira, pointing out the flawed comparisons in the Final EIR between the water needed for the proposed cemetery and the water used by his nearby olive orchard.

December 12, 2013 The Agenda for the December 16, 2013 Contra Costa County Zoning Administrator meeting was emailed out today. Item number 7 on the agenda (3:30 p.m.) is “a closed hearing to consider the adequacy of the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) for a Land Use Permit prepared for the proposed Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery” (Staff Report). This item was originally scheduled for the December 2nd meeting, but postponed to December 16. Note - this hearing is about the adequacy of the Final EIR only, not about whether the Land Use Permit should be approved or denied. Also, it is a closed hearing, so no public comment will be taken (although the public can attend).

December 5 and 6, 2013 Articles about the proposed Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery by Joyce Tsai of the Bay Area News Group appear in Inside Bay Area and the Contra Costa Times and continued here.

December 5, 2013 Additional information for the Final Environmental Report (errata) has been published and is available on the County website. The County Planner advises that the public hearing before the Contra Costa Planning Commission will likely be held in January 2014; no date set yet.

November 27, 2013 The Contra Costa County Zoning Administrator closed hearing at which the adequacy of the Final EIR will be discussed has been postponed. Instead of December 2, it will be held on December 16. The agenda and staff report will be posted when they become available.

November 25, 2013 The Agenda for the December 2, 2013 Contra Costa County Zoning Administrator meeting was emailed out today.  Item number 7 on the agenda (3:30 p.m.) is “a closed hearing to consider the adequacy of the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) for a Land Use Permit prepared for the proposed Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery” (Staff Report). But this item was postponed to the December 16th meeting.  Note - this hearing is about the adequacy of the Final EIR only, not about whether the Land Use Permit should be approved or denied. Also, it is a closed hearing, so no public comment will be taken (although the public can attend). 

November 21, 2013 According to Telma Moreira, the County Planner, no date has been set for the County Planning Commission public hearing on the proposed cemetery. She thinks that the hearing very likely won’t happen until mid-January at the earliest. She will provide the date and a copy of the staff report (which will also be available online) as soon as they are available.

November 18, 2013 The Final Environmental Impact Report  is now available on the Contra Costa County website (it is a big file--35 MB--so it may take a while to download). We are currently reviewing it and will update the website with our own, and any other, reviews we receive.  It is likely that we will send out more emails about cemetery status until the project is decided.  If you are not on the email list, now is a good time to sign up.  In the near future we will support more interactive idea sharing by maintaining a blog on this site or by stepping up the facebook activity.  

October 31 - November 14, 2013 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advises that she will let us know when the Final EIR is available.

October 24, 2013 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advises that there is no new information about when the Final EIR will be available, so it appears that early November is still the anticipated publication date.

October 11, 2013 The County Planner, Telma Moreira, advises that the Final EIR will likely be available in two weeks, with meetings before the Zoning Administrator and the Planning Commission to follow. She advised in an email on October 11, 2013 that "We have provided our comments to the Final EIR and our consultant will be working in the next two weeks to produce copies of the document. This will include response to all the comments. Once the final document is available I will definitely provide you a copy of it. Before we go to the Planning Commission, we anticipate taking the Final EIR before the Zoning Administrator for recommendation of the document. This ZA meeting will be open to the public, even though it is a closed hearing (no testimony will be taken). I do have a letter from you stating that you like to know of "any" meeting, so I will let you know when it is scheduled before the Zoning Administrator as well. No dates yet; however, I anticipate it for early November."

September 30, 2013 The County Planner for the project is now Telma Moreira, replacing Demian Hardman. Her contact information is: Telma B. Moreira, Principal Planner, phone (925) 674-7783, fax (925) 674-7258, Department of Conservation and Development, Community Development Division, 30 Muir Road, Martinez, CA 94553, email [email protected].

May 13 - September 27, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, advises that the Final Environmental Impact Report is still being reviewed internally, with no date set yet for its publication.

July 29. 2013 Here is an mail exchange between the County Planner, Demain Hardman, and the project applicant regarding "Lawn vs. Lawn Entombment area for Traditional Lawn in the Lower Garden Area": July 29, 2013 

May 3, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, is still working on the Final Environmental Impact Report, advising in an email on May 3, 2013 that "The document is still going through its final internal review/edits, and will be available soon."

May 3, 2013 Here are Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen’s views about the proposed cemetery as she answers questions posed by a local San Ramon resident and Diablo Valley College student in an exchange of emails on April 12, 2013.

April 25, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, is still working on the Final Environmental Impact Report, advising in an email on April 25 that “It’s taking a little longer than expected.  However, we are wrapping things up.  I’m not sure when it will be completed, but hopefully sometime next week.”

April 19, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, advised that the final EIR will be completed soon, but he does not have a firm date.

April 18, 2013 Here's how San Ramon's Old Ranch neighborhood stopped a proposed cemetery back in 1999: In September 1999, the City of San Ramon Planning Commission considered a proposal to include "cemetery" as an approved use for agricultural land in San Ramon, subject to a special use permit. This request was made at the request of Davidon Homes, who had built the Old Ranch development. At the Planning Commission meeting of  September 7, 1999, many people spoke up against the proposal. At the Planning Commission meeting of  October 5, 1999, the Planning Commission postponed discussion to the next meeting, since so many people had come and the hour was so late. At the meeting of October 19, 1999, about 250 people came; at this meeting, Davidon Homes withdrew their proposal due to the negative comments that had been received. At the October 19, 1999 meeting, the Planning Commission was also provided with additional 'Late Communications' 

March 20, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, advised that the final EIR will be completed by mid-April, and that it will likely appear before the County Plannng Commission in June (no date set yet).

March 20, 2013 Here are links to documents about the Tri-Valley Cemetery Committee which were obtained through Public Records requests to Pleasanton and San Ramon:

March 19, 2013 Here are two interesting articles about cemeteries: one from ABC 7 20-20 on March 8, 2003 about living next to a cemetery in Brooklyn (and the cemetery's impact on property values), and one from the Washington Post on December 4, 2012 about the problems caused by funeral processions.

March 18, 2013 Bill and Holly Newman sent a letter to Demian Hardman, the County Planner, summarizing the lack of need for the proposed cemetery. The letter included the following attachments: maps showing available sizable cemeteries within 10-15 miles of Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, and Pleasanton; letters from two cemetery experts (Mr. Tom Gratny and Mr. Ray Young); the Newman's memo dated April 30, 2010 analyzing need; and two memos from P/A Design Resources discussing need (one dated September 30, 2009 and one dated February 5, 2010)

March 10, 2013 An online petition against the proposed cemetery was set up, and a sign against the proposed cemetery was put up on Camino Tassajara:
March 7, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, advised that the final EIR will be completed by the end of March, and that it will likely appear before the County Plannng Commission in May (no date set yet).

March 4, 2013 Jessica Lipsky of the San Ramon Express wrote an article about the proposed cemetery titled "County focuses on water mitigation measures for Tassajara Valley cemetery" (note: this link no longer works; we are working to fix it)

February 28, 2013 Tom Barnidge's column in the Contra Costa Times on February 28  referred to former San Ramon mayor Abram Wilson's support of the proposed cemetery

February 21, 2013 The County Planner, Demian Hardman, advised that the final EIR will likely be completed in mid-March. About 3-4 weeks after that, it would appear before the County Planning Commission.

February 20 and 22, 2013 Articles about the proposed cemetery appeared in the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, as well as spots on TV: KGO channel 7 and KPIX channel 5. (note: while the links to the newspaper articles are good,  the links to the videos are broken; we are working to fix them)

February 18, 2013 Bill and Holly Newman sent a letter to Demian Hardman, the County Planner, summarizing the proposed cemetery's projected water demand. Although the DEIR states that the proposed cemetery would use 43 acre-feet per year (equal to 38,000 gallons per day), the usage s would actually be between 78 and 92 acre-feet per year (equal to 70,000 to 82,000 gallons per day) when all landscape consumption is included.

January 11, 2013 Bill and Holly Newman sent a letter to Demian Hardman, the County Planner, addressing issues outside the scope of the DEIR for the proposed Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery, in particular its violation of Contra Costa County Ordinances and State of California Health and Safety Codes. The letter included three earlier letters sent by the Newmans to Mr. Hardman with additional concerns about this topic: one dated March 2, 2010, one dated June 14, 2010, and one dated June 17, 2010.

January 10, 2013 The date when the project goes before the County Planning Commission may be delayed beyond late February 2013. When the County Planner was asked on January 10th if a date had been set, he advised  "I do not have an expected Planning Commission date at this time. Check back with me the first week in February."

November 15, 2012 The County Planner received a package of five documents dated October 15, 2012 which addressed the biological resource concerns raised in the Draft EIR. These documents were prepared by the consultant Ms. Angie Harbin-Ireland of AMEC Environment and Infrastructure Inc., and consisted of a cover email (which included the County's emailed requests), a History of Regulatory Agency Consultation, a Biological Resource Update, Clarifications Regarding Special-Status Aquatic Invertebrates, and a Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle Survey.

November 5, 2012 The County Planner, in an email to the applicant, noted that the County expects the project to go before the County Planning Commission in February 2013.

November 5, 2012 The County Planner sent an email to the applicant suggesting that he prepare legal findings in areas where the County was having difficulty; these areas include the "significant and unavoidable" impacts that were identified in the Draft EIR, and the variance findings required for the proposed lot line adjustment. The County also attached a template format for the applicant's use.

October 24, 2012 Mr. Tim Clancy, of 7090 Camino Tassajara, sent an email to Ms. Catherine Kutsuris, the Director of the Department of Conservation and Development, stating his concerns with the requested variance and lot lot line adjustment.

August 28, 2012 The Contra Costa County planner and the applicant exchanged several memos regarding the variance for the substandard parcel of 9.2 acres in an A-80 Zoning District. The applicant sent a letter to the County on August 10. The County's response, and the applicant's response to it, were dated August 21 and August 28 respectively.

August 15, 2012 The Contra Costa Times published an article titled "Neighbors fight columbarium," about efforts to stop a proposed columbarium from being built at Peace Lutheran Church, 3201 Camino Tassajara, Danville.

August 14, 2012 The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors approved a contract amendment with Sponamore Associates to extend the term of their contract from August 14, 2012 to August 14, 2013, and increase the payment limit by $136,322 to a new total payment not to exceed $400,422. This contract is to complete the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery.

August 2, 2012 The Contra Costa County planner notified the applicant in a letter dated August 2, 2012 that the additional information requested had been received (ref letters dated April 19, 2012 , May 23, 2012,  June 6, 2012, and July 16, 2012). Based on this information, Mr. Corrie is a qualified applicant. However, before Mr. Corrie can exercise his right to obtain the portion of Mr. Clancy's property through the approval of a lot line adjustment, approval of a variance to allow for a substandard parcel of 9.2 acres in an A-80 Zoning District (Exclusive Agricultural District, minimum 80 acres per parcel allowed) is required.

July 24, 2012 The San Ramon Express published an article titled "Residents protest potential columbarium at local church," (note: this link no longer works; we are working to fix it) about efforts to stop a proposed columbarium (a 6-foot high wall with niches to hold up to 264 cremated remains and memorial plaque) at Peace Lutheran Church, 3201 Camino Tassajara, Danville.

June 29, 2012 The Independent published an article titled "Group Wants to Build North Livermore Cemetery," about a group of investors who want to build a 104-acre cemetery just north of Interstate 580 near the Las Colinas Road overpass. The proposed Monte Vista Memorial Gardens is now used as pasture land.

May 3, 2012 The Independent published an article titled “Wilson Wants Cities to Back Tassajara Cemetery Plan,” written by Ron McNicoll. We have scanned the article and it can be found here. There were two mistakes in the article: the correct address of the proposed cemetery is 7000 Camino Tassajara (not 7200), and although the article states that one of the buildings would be 30 feet tall, actually one of the buildings would be 32 feet tall, with a 42 foot tower, and another would be 36 feet tall. Yes, these buildings would be massive.

May 1, 2012 The San Ramon Express published an article titled “District 2 candidates talk politics, personal beliefs at supervisor debate,” written by Amelia Arvesen. This debate was hosted by the Danville Express and held on April 26. The third question asked by the audience was: “The new supervisor will undoubtedly have to address the proposed Creekside Cemetery and the New Farm project that has 187 houses planned. Both of these will be in the Tassajara Valley. Even though they are in District 3 now, where do you stand on this?”  Danville mayor Candace Andersen answered:  "A cemetery in open space can work if it's done appropriately. It's certainly worth looking at." Tomi Van de Brooke, president of the Contra Costa Community College Governing Board, said she is not inclined to take the open space east of San Ramon and turn it into a cemetery. "As it's proposed today, it appears to be an urban development beyond the urban limit line," she said.  The third candidate, Sean White, was not able to attend. A link to the article can be found here. (note: this link no longer works; we are working to fix it)

May 1, 2012 Holly Newman, representing Friends of Tassajara Valley, spoke at the Pleasanton City Council meeting during the public comment period, explaining why the city should not financially support the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery.  A copy of her comments can be found here. The video link can be found here. Ms. Newman's comments start at time-stamp 27:21.

April 24, 2012 Holly Newman, representing Friends of Tassajara Valley, spoke at the San Ramon City Council meeting during the public comment period, explaining why the city should not financially support the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery.  A copy of her comments can be found here. The video link can be found here. Ms. Newman's comments start at time-stamp 35:50.

April 18, 2012 Roz Rogoff, in a San Ramon Observer blogcast, interviewed the former mayor of San Ramon, Abram Wilson, about the Tassajara Valley, including the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery and the New Farm project.  Our transcription of the interview can be found here. A link to the blogcast interview can be found here.  The comments on San Ramon Express about the interview can be found here.

April 17, 2012 Holly Newman, representing Friends of Tassajara Valley, spoke at the Danville Town Council meeting during the public comment period, explaining why the town should not financially support the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery. A copy of her comments can be found here.

April 17, 2011 Former San Ramon Mayor Abram Wilson spoke at the Pleasanton City Council meeting during the public comment period, requesting that the city consider a request for Pleasanton, along with the other Tri-Valley cities, to financially support the proposed cemetery. Our transcription of his comments can be found here. The video of the Pleasanton City Council meeting can be found here; Mr. Wilson's comments start at time-stamp 36:12.

April 12, 2012  The Contra Costa County planner notified the applicant that the County is unable to move forward with the Creekside Memorial Park Cemetery Project unless one of three things occurs: Mr. Clancy submits a letter advising that he (Mr. Clancy) allows the project to occur on his property, or Mr. Corrie provides evidence that he is the legal owner of Mr. Clancy's property, or the project is modified to only include the subject properties that is (are) owned by Mr. Corrie. In addition, all outstanding fees must be paid for work completed to date. The document can be found here, and the attachments to the document can be found here.

April 12, 2012    The candidates for Contra Costa County supervisor for District 2 (which now includes San Ramon) participated in a forum on environmental issues on April 12. The forum was sponsored by environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, Greenbelt Alliance, Save Mount Diablo and the League of Conservation Voters of the East Bay. The forum was moderated by Bay Area News Group political reporter Lisa Vorderbrueggen. 

Here is our summary of the candidates' responses when asked to state their opinion of the proposed Creekside Memorial Park cemetery:
  • Tomi Van de Brooke (Contra Costa Community College Trustee, of Orinda) said that she had recently walked the "Tassajara Ridge,"  and that she didn't think that a cemetery would be a good use of that open space. She noted that we do have a shortage of cemetery spaces so would need to look at it.
  • Candace Andersen (current Danville Mayor) said that if done correctly a cemetery would be a good way to avoid development, but we need to aware of its water impact:  She also stated that she is against huge mausoleums, but that a cemetery can be in the spirit of open space.
  • Sean White (solar expert, of Lafayette) said that he would need to talk to the neighbors; he supports "green burials" since they're put "nice and deep," and he doesn't want to fill the Tassajara Valley up with embalming fluid. He thinks that it is worth looking into.
We will post a transcript if we can obtain it.

April 10, 2012    Former San Ramon Mayor Abram Wilson spoke at the San Ramon City Council meeting during the public comment period, requesting that the city consider a request by the developer for San Ramon to buy the cemetery property.  He said that he planned to go to all the Tri-Valley cities and make the same request. Our transcription of his comments can be found (note -revised on 4/25/12 to correct a typo, we changed the word "coma" to "Colma") here.  Here is a link to the "video on demand" site for the San Ramon City Council meeting: link. Scroll the time bar to about 16 minutes into the meeting.  Note also that the audio is intermittent for about the first 30 seconds of Mr. Wilson's comments.

February 16, 2012  The Contra Costa County planner notified the applicant that development on 33 acres of the 221 acre site had been suspended, but that the applicant may continue to move forward with a modified project on the remaining 188 acres.  The document can be found here.