Dispute Centers on Bing Crosby's Land in California's Most Rapidly Expanding City
The site under consideration for warehouses and distribution centers is located on rolling pastures that are part of Crosby's trust.
TroibNews 
Hollywood stars seldom seek annexation of their property by small towns, but a land-use initiative set to be voted on in November by residents of California’s fastest-growing city carries the posthumous endorsement of a legendary figure in entertainment: Bing Crosby.
The issue revolves around an 80-acre parcel in Dublin, a city pushing the boundaries of its rapid growth within the Bay Area megaregion that lies between San Francisco and Sacramento. Dublin's advantageous location and its development-oriented policies have transformed it from a rural ranching community into a bustling urban center filled with new townhouses in just a few decades.
This summer, the Dublin City Council approved Measure II, which proposes an amendment to a decade-old open-space initiative that established an urban-growth boundary. This amendment would allow the city to extend Dublin Boulevard—an important thoroughfare—eastward into Livermore with plans for constructing warehouses and possibly Amazon-style distribution centers in the future.
The land in question for these warehouses and distribution centers encompasses rolling pastures owned by Crosby’s trust. The iconic musician and actor was a resident of Hillsborough, located just south of San Francisco, and he remained a prominent figure in the Bay Area until his death in 1977. Since then, Crosby’s trust has made extensive investments in land across California.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that Dublin's population nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, driven largely by a burgeoning Asian American community and the approval of thousands of new housing units.
However, by 2014, opposition to continued development began to grow amid an increasingly dense landscape of tan apartment complexes encroaching on the green hills surrounding Dublin. In response, environmental advocates qualified a ballot initiative that established a boundary of open space on the city's east side, which included the land owned by Crosby’s trust.
Faced with approaching reelections, the city council unanimously adopted the initiative prior to it being put to a vote.
Now, a decade later, the city is asking voters if they support accepting a 100-acre land donation from the Crosby property in exchange for allowing “limited commercial development” on the 80 acres that the trust would retain along the new boulevard.
The city council was divided on the issue, ultimately voting 3-2 to place the measure on the November ballot. Groups that helped establish the open-space law immediately mobilized to defend their hard-won boundary, including Friends of Livermore and Save Mt. Diablo, which were instrumental in gathering signatures for the 2014 campaign.
“Dublin has never seen a piece of land that they didn’t want to develop,” commented David Rounds, a board member of Friends of Livermore.
As Dublin continues to expand, it stands out as one of the few growing cities in the Bay Area, a region that has seen an overall population decline in recent years. This growth has created economic opportunities but has also led to complaints about traffic congestion and overcrowding. Supporters of the initiative argue that it would help alleviate traffic, preserve open space, and enhance public biking paths and trails.
“If you’re tired of bad traffic on the East Side and 580 – vote YES on II,” reads a pro-Measure II statement posted on the city’s website.
Save Mt. Diablo is taking the potential threat seriously, according to Land Conservation Director Seth Adams, by seeking major financial contributors and hiring professional campaign staff. In Adams' perspective, this is more than just a minor land-use conflict, but rather the initiation of a coordinated plan to develop the remaining open spaces surrounding Dublin.
Although there is a coalition working to promote Measure II, it has not yet established a website or disclosed its funding sources.
Crosby once expressed that “the best things in life are free,” but given the substantial resources rallying against the measure, any campaign in support of it will likely not come at no cost.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
The issue revolves around an 80-acre parcel in Dublin, a city pushing the boundaries of its rapid growth within the Bay Area megaregion that lies between San Francisco and Sacramento. Dublin's advantageous location and its development-oriented policies have transformed it from a rural ranching community into a bustling urban center filled with new townhouses in just a few decades.
This summer, the Dublin City Council approved Measure II, which proposes an amendment to a decade-old open-space initiative that established an urban-growth boundary. This amendment would allow the city to extend Dublin Boulevard—an important thoroughfare—eastward into Livermore with plans for constructing warehouses and possibly Amazon-style distribution centers in the future.
The land in question for these warehouses and distribution centers encompasses rolling pastures owned by Crosby’s trust. The iconic musician and actor was a resident of Hillsborough, located just south of San Francisco, and he remained a prominent figure in the Bay Area until his death in 1977. Since then, Crosby’s trust has made extensive investments in land across California.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that Dublin's population nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, driven largely by a burgeoning Asian American community and the approval of thousands of new housing units.
However, by 2014, opposition to continued development began to grow amid an increasingly dense landscape of tan apartment complexes encroaching on the green hills surrounding Dublin. In response, environmental advocates qualified a ballot initiative that established a boundary of open space on the city's east side, which included the land owned by Crosby’s trust.
Faced with approaching reelections, the city council unanimously adopted the initiative prior to it being put to a vote.
Now, a decade later, the city is asking voters if they support accepting a 100-acre land donation from the Crosby property in exchange for allowing “limited commercial development” on the 80 acres that the trust would retain along the new boulevard.
The city council was divided on the issue, ultimately voting 3-2 to place the measure on the November ballot. Groups that helped establish the open-space law immediately mobilized to defend their hard-won boundary, including Friends of Livermore and Save Mt. Diablo, which were instrumental in gathering signatures for the 2014 campaign.
“Dublin has never seen a piece of land that they didn’t want to develop,” commented David Rounds, a board member of Friends of Livermore.
As Dublin continues to expand, it stands out as one of the few growing cities in the Bay Area, a region that has seen an overall population decline in recent years. This growth has created economic opportunities but has also led to complaints about traffic congestion and overcrowding. Supporters of the initiative argue that it would help alleviate traffic, preserve open space, and enhance public biking paths and trails.
“If you’re tired of bad traffic on the East Side and 580 – vote YES on II,” reads a pro-Measure II statement posted on the city’s website.
Save Mt. Diablo is taking the potential threat seriously, according to Land Conservation Director Seth Adams, by seeking major financial contributors and hiring professional campaign staff. In Adams' perspective, this is more than just a minor land-use conflict, but rather the initiation of a coordinated plan to develop the remaining open spaces surrounding Dublin.
Although there is a coalition working to promote Measure II, it has not yet established a website or disclosed its funding sources.
Crosby once expressed that “the best things in life are free,” but given the substantial resources rallying against the measure, any campaign in support of it will likely not come at no cost.
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
