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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

July 10, 2003

Northern California tops in boomtowns

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Brentwood continued its lightning-fast growth during the past two years, ranking second among California cities, a new report reveals.

Nestled in scenic farmland on the eastern edge of Contra Costa County, Brentwood experienced a 31 percent jump in population from April 2000 to July 2002.

It now has 31,527 residents, or 7,512 more than it did in 2000, according to estimates released Wednesday by the Census Bureau.

The only California city with a larger percentage rise was the small town of Lincoln near Auburn in northern California, which ballooned by 75 percent to 19,676.

Brentwood's rapid growth appears even more remarkable when compared to other Bay Area cities hit hard by the dot-com bust.

San Francisco's population shrank by more than 12,600 during the same time frame.

Many Silicon Valley cities - from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale to Daly City - suffered smaller population drops.

While this wasn't the first time Brentwood made the fastest-growing list, the continued rapid development brings both blessings and challenges, many residents said.

"It really is amazing," said Rebecca Barson, manager of the UPS store in Brentwood. "You just look around and you see dwellings popping up everywhere and continuous road construction.

"I think it's good for the city of Brentwood for the long term. It's good for the businesses."

Others were more ambivalent.

"It's good in one sense and then bad in another because it's taking away from the orchards and the farmland - the things people come here for," said Cynthia Lindsey, a two-year resident with four children who was drawn to Brentwood by the affordable housing prices.

Lindsey said her engineer husband endures a one- to two-hour commute to Fremont each workday so they can reside in the city.

Ana Gutierrez, a 24-year-old teacher, won election to the Brentwood City Council in November by stressing the need to slow the housing growth and focus on roads, schools, water, fire protection and other services.

"My whole platform was the fact that we were growing too fast too soon and we weren't letting the infrastructure catch up," Gutierrez said.

"Let's slow it down and let's look at other alternatives and let's preserve the things that give character to this town."

Gutierrez said the city needs to focus on beefing up its commercial development, which would broaden the tax base and provide jobs and shopping closer to home.

But Councilman Bill Hill said the city is on target with its development and has managed to maintain its small-town atmosphere despite all the construction.

He noted that the city still has a high school homecoming parade and will host its popular Cornfest this weekend.

Growth in eastern Contra Costa promises to be a hot-button political issue for years to come.

The Greenbelt Alliance and other groups have pushed for in-fill development closer to urban centers, arguing that growth on the county's fringes adds to traffic problems and destroys open space.

Brentwood wasn't the only eastern Contra Costa city to grow rapidly from 2000 to 2002. Antioch's population rose by 10 percent while Pittsburg's increased 7 percent.

Many Brentwood residents say the city provides badly needed housing for those who can't afford to pay sky-high prices elsewhere.

"We have land here. I came from the Bay Area and where are you going to go?" asked Jeanne Morgan, a three-year resident.

Congested roads will continue to pose a challenge.

"The No. 1 problem is traffic and access in and out of here," said Ronald Winslow, a retired physician. "That worries me a lot."

Hill said traffic is a regional problem that Brentwood needs to resolve with the help of other cities, the county and state leaders.

Many residents are excited about new stores that will soon open as a result of the rapid population growth. The challenge, they say, will be to not lose the sense of community.

"It's kind of a safe haven here," Morgan said.

"I don't mind growth as long as it's well-planned. Who's to say whether they'll be able to maintain the small-town atmosphere?"

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