Livermore is lining up two large land purchases that together would put roughly 2,000 acres of hills east and south of the city into permanent open space, and the first public step comes Tuesday night.
The Livermore Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 to decide whether each acquisition is consistent with the city's 2045 General Plan, a review state law requires before a city buys land for public use. The commission does not approve the deals.
Purchase agreements and the money to pay for them go to the City Council later, according to city staff reports, which do not list a price for either property.
The Corbett land along I-580
The first site, known as the Corbett property, covers about 817 acres in eight parcels in the Altamont Hills, outside city limits. About 533 acres sit north of Interstate 580 and about 284 acres to the south.
The owners want to keep the ground under existing windmills and telecommunications equipment, so the city expects to buy about 700 to 750 acres. Staff say the land is a wildlife corridor squeezed by the freeway, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife gives most of it its top ranking as an "irreplaceable and essential" corridor.
The report cites breeding habitat for the California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander and burrowing owls on the grassland. Cattle grazing would continue, and owning both sides of I-580 could help the city pursue a wildlife crossing over or under the freeway.
