Mayor Harper supports sale of Roddy property to Regional Park District

Dear Editor:

By now most readers have heard that East Bay Regional Parks is going to acquire the Roddy Ranch property from Jack and Donna Roddy. While some people may lament the loss of more housing subdivisions, I for one am delighted by the preservation of the beautiful ranch lands. The economic realities of the market place have created an opportunity for Jack and Donna to choose to preserve their legacy in the form of parklands. I congratulate them and the park district in being able to forge this monumental agreement.

It has been shown that the theory of building subdivision after subdivision would magically create jobs in the future, is faulty logic. When the voters spoke on the Roddy project to include it in the City’s urban limit line, the superior option of having a regional park was not one of the questions.  In my opinion the residents of the entire Northern California area are better served by a regional park under the stewardship of America’s premier park system (East Bay Regional Park District) than by yet another subdivision.

The purchase of Roddy Ranch by East Bay Regional Parks proves that even lands within the urban limit line can be preserved for future generations to enjoy.  With the experience of the successful preservation of Roddy Ranch, I will be urging the community to support maintaining the integrity of the urban limit line.

Wade Harper, Mayor of Antioch


5 Comments to “Mayor Harper supports sale of Roddy property to Regional Park District”

  1. Pam says:

    So glad to hear Roddy ranch property is being preserved. I too think this is extremely important for us as well as future generations. Thank you to those responsible.

  2. Arne Simonsen says:

    I couldn’t disagree more. The Urban Limit Limit excluded residential development outside the line. And here we have Roddy Ranch outside the URL and inside the Antioch City Limits and people rejoice that they have “saved” more land.

    I guess that means that those rejoicing in the sale of this land to the Park District will be pushing for more high density low income housing in the remaining land in Antioch. Just what we need – another concentration like we have in the Sycamore corridor!

    So the next questions is: When is the Antioch General Plan and Zoning Ordinance going to be amended due to this sale? It also means less property tax for the city, county and state now that it is being taken off the tax roles.

  3. karl says:

    i will stand to my opinions. we should not have any more housing developments, high end or low cost, until antioch has a handle on our problems.
    20 years ago we were promised so more we built, so better it will be.
    yea..just look around. more tax money coming in etc.
    20 years ago people were dreaming about highway 4 and bart. highway 4 is here, bart became a e-bart.
    and again, nothing in place, again we have missed the opportunity.

    @arne
    i can’t follow the logic that people who are against a roddy ranch area development are suddenly for high density developments. ?

  4. Marty Fernandez says:

    It may be unusual for me to agree with Mayor Harper but in this case I do. I know Arne and many elected officials in the past have wanted higher end homes to compliment the rest of Antioch. I have been opposed to the high density homes required in the eBART area also. Karl is correct. We need to clean up this mess we have caused in Antioch and now is the time to get started.

  5. Publisher says:

    I seriously disagree with the Mayor.
    The voters of Antioch voted – through a referendum – to include the Roddy Ranch project inside the Urban Limit Line, within the city limits, and approved the development of the homes, there.
    It’s not just another subdivision.
    Antioch needs this project, with the upscale homes on half-acre lots in a gated community to attract business owners and executives to Antioch who will bring their businesses to our area and employ our people.
    Just like Apple Hill Estates, the four Somerset developments and now Trilogy have done for Brentwood, and as Blackhawk did for the San Ramon Valley in attracting businesses to Bishop Ranch, including both PacBell’s and Chevron’s headquarters, employing thousands of people, Roddy Ranch can do for Antioch.
    We can have both an expanded regional park on the 1,000 or so acres outside the Urban Limit Line, outside the city limits, which includes Jack and Donna Roddy’s 40 acres, as well as the Roddy project.
    If Brentwood can have a private, gated, upscale community, why can’t Antioch?
    The argument that it will take away from any efforts at fighting crime and cleaning up our community is fallacious. It will HELP do both.
    If Antioch’s leaders are serious about the future economic development of our city, plus implementing the will of the voters of Antioch, that’s what they’ll work for and help find a developer who wants to make the Roddy project a reality.

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