Danville’s Measure Y too close to call as Magee Preserve approval holds slim lead

As primary election ballot continue to be counted by county officials, Election Night results indicate the Magee Preserve project in Danville maintains the slimmest of leads, while Contra Costa County voters have largely cast their ballots against a countywide sales tax for transportation infrastructure improvements.

According to unofficial preliminary Election Night results provided by the Contra Costa County Elections Division, as of 10:38 p.m. Tuesday night Danville’s long-debated Measure Y, the Magee Preserve project, maintains a slim lead that is too close to call while Measure J, the countywide infrastructure improvement sales tax, faces a decisive defeat.

After starting off the night with a slim 42-vote lead, with 100% of precincts reporting in 5,468 Danville residents cast votes in favor of Measure Y (51.49%), while 5,152 (48.51%) opposed the mixed housing development and environmental conservation measure.

“We are still hoping it will pass because we’ve been working on it for the past 10 years to make this happen for Danville residents and we still will,” said Danville Mayor Karen Stepper. “I think people think that voting no will mean that there won’t be a project, but there will be a project.. So It’s really important for people to measure the benefits because that’s what the council worked to do.”

Bob Nealis, a Danville resident and No on Measure Y campaign leader, countered that the race was indeed too close to call, saying: “If we assume a 40% voter turnout, there are at least 4,000 votes outstanding… it appears we will all need to wait a bit longer.”

Located on a 410-acre property on the south side of Diablo and Blackhawk roads and proposed by Walnut Creek-based developer Davidon Homes, the Magee Preserve development project consists of building 69 homes clustered on approximately 29 acres of land, with the remaining 381 acres preserved as open space on a permanent basis.

Broken up into one larger and one smaller cluster, 66 homes would be located on the eastern portion of the property with the main entrance to the housing complex being based adjacent to Jillian Way, while an additional three homes are proposed to be constructed in the western half near the corner of Diablo and McCauley roads.

If unofficial Election Night figures hold, the property will also for the first time open up to residents through a series of hiking and biking trails combing throughout the property. Newly preserved land would be maintained within the East Bay Regional Park District boundaries or by the new homeowners via a new geological hazard abatement district (GHAD).

As a provision for the project, Davidon Homes has also proposed that it add a stoplight at the Athenian School/Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard intersection and a new turning lane through the Green Valley Road/Diablo Road constricted intersection from the east to the north in order to mitigate traffic congestion.

Additionally, the project would include an easement along the notoriously dangerous to cyclists Diablo Road, where the town could construct a paved bicycle/easement path for future development by the town.

“We always anticipated a close race and are optimistic for a victory as votes continue to come in tonight and are counted over the next few days,” Davidon officials said after initial results were released. “We personally want to thank our team of courageous volunteers who gave their time and energy to help pass this balanced project and bring to Danville 381 acres of new publicly accessible open space and many other important public benefits.”

“The Magee family is one of our most historic families in the valley… and they are looking to leave a legacy,” added Mayor Stepper.

In other results

* For the countywide Measure J — which needs two-thirds voter approval in order to pass — with 95.44% of precincts reporting 51.06% of voters throughout Contra Costa County voted in opposition of initiating a one-half cent sales tax, while 48.94% cast their ballots in favor to the measure.

Proposed to be collected for a period lasting from July 1, 2020, until June 30, 2055, county officials say Measure J would raise an estimated $103 million that would be used on a variety of infrastructure related projects geared toward fixing traffic congestion and improving the quality of life of drivers.

Specific projects would work toward reducing congestion, fixing bottlenecks, repaving roads, making commutes quicker and more predictable, and improving the overall quality, safety and reliability of buses, ferries and BART.

The unofficial election results include early vote-by-mail tallies and totals reported by the precincts on Election Night. Election figures will likely change in the coming days as final vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots and other qualifying ballots are processed, according to the California Secretary of State. DanvilleSanRamon.com will continue to update Election Night results as they become available.

Contra Costa County officials plan to release the first election interim report by 5 p.m. on Friday, which will contain results from Vote by Mail ballots received on and after Election Day. Additional results will then be posted each Friday afternoon up to certification which is expected to be March 31.

In the meantime, Contra Costa County’s Elections Division has provided an interactive webpage where residents can track local, state and federal races, at www.cocovote.us/election-results-march-3-2020/.