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Some San Ramon voters in the southern parts of the city will see a shift in their rail transit district in the next election, leading the nearest BART station in their home district to switch from Walnut Creek to Dublin-Pleasanton or West Dublin-Pleasanton.
The BART Board of Directors voted last month to approve map “E-2,” finalizing new boundaries for the agency’s nine districts in the wake of the latest census data from 2020.
The current BART district lines see a southern border that runs along the Contra Costa and Alameda county lines, placing all of the San Ramon Valley squarely in District 1, with portions of the Tri-Valley south of San Ramon resting in District 5.
The new map shifts the line between districts 1 and 5, with boundaries instead roughly aligning with Bollinger Canyon Road.
District 1 represents the Concord, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill-Contra Costa Centre and Walnut Creek stations, while District 5 consists of Dublin-Pleasanton, West Dublin-Pleasanton, Castro Valley and Hayward. This won’t change under the new maps.
However, what will change is that some San Ramon residents will now be in a BART district consisting entirely of stations in Alameda County, rather than Contra Costa County, as the current district boundaries dictate.
Currently, District 1 is represented by Debora Allen, with District 5 being represented by John McPartland. Terms for both directors are set to be up in 2024, with Tri-Valley voters being set to vote on those seats according to the new district boundaries in that election.
A major factor in the board’s decision on new district boundaries, Allen said, was what stations riders in each represented municipality generally used. This was at play in particular in the decision behind the new district lines in the San Ramon Valley.
“What we tried to apply was a concept of ‘where do BART riders go,’ and from my perspective, San Ramon riders typically use the Dublin-Pleasanton stations,” Allen said. “So it makes more sense that the BART director that has primary jurisdictions primarily represents that area.”
Allen is currently in the running for the Contra Costa County supervisor’s seat in District 4 in this June’s election, which is currently held by Karen Mitchoff, who is not seeking re-election.
Allen told DanvilleSanRamon.com that while she’s not sure whether she would be required to vacate her BART seat if her bid for supervisor is successful, she would plan to do so.
If Allen were to vacate her BART seat, the new director appointed by the remaining board or elected by voters in a special election would represent the old District 1 boundaries. This means that no changes are on the immediate horizon for the Tri-Valley area until the next regular election for those seats in 2024.
The redistricting process at BART kicked off late last year, with two meetings of an ad hoc committee formed for that purpose, consisting of directors Elizabeth Ames and Mark Foley and chaired by Director Lateefah Simon, on Nov. 10 and Dec. 1. Public outreach meetings commenced starting Dec. 15, followed by three additional meetings each in January and February.
Guiding principles for the redistricting process, according to BART officials, were compactness, continuity, preserving political subdivisions and the core of previous districts, and respecting communities of interest.
