Greenbelt Alliance

The libertarian think tank Reason Foundation described the Greenbelt Alliance as having a “draconian anti-sprawl approach.” ¹ Elizabeth Stampe, the communications director for the Greenbelt Alliance in 2007, said there was a focus in the environmental movement on recycled countertops and compact fluorescent light bulbs but said “that if you drive every day, it obliterates anything else you do with the rest of your life.” ⁴

The Greenbelt Alliance was formed in 1958 as the Citizens for Regional Recreation and Parks. ⁵ As of 2024, the group has issued a voter guide instructing Bay Area residents on how to vote on ballot initiatives. ⁶

Advocacy

Climate Justice

The Greenbelt Alliance advocates in favor of what it calls “climate justice.” ⁷ In 2020, Greenbelt Alliance deputy director Sarah Cardona claimed the U.S. had not made decisions “for the greater good of our country” and was “intentionally leaving certain folks behind” while “protecting and elevating others” in the U.S. as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. ⁷

Cardona said, “racist policies and practices” were promoted by white people in power that resulted in “inequitable power and resource distribution.” ⁷ Cardona added that “decades of institutional racism and disinvestment” have led to racial minorities living in high levels of poverty and pollution with an outdated infrastructure as well as “limited access to public services.” ⁷

California Forever
California Forever is a project started in 2017 that is backed by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. ⁸ The project would create a community of 50,000 people at first and then grow to 400,000 on the Sacramento River on 712 acres of open space. The project was projected to provide 15,000 jobs. ⁸

The Greenbelt Alliance opposed the project stating it was “senseless sprawl development” that would take important resources away from existing cities. Sadie Wilson, director of planning and research at the Greenbelt Alliance, said the project would “permanently destroy nature, habitat for wildlife, and farm and ranchland.” ⁹

East Cypress Corridor Specific Plan

In 2006, the city of Oakley, California, adopted the East Cypress Corridor Specific Plan which included the development of 2,546 acres of land. ¹⁰

The Greenbelt Alliance filed a lawsuit in 2006 to stop the development claiming the city didn’t consider the potential for levee failure and the possibility of the contamination of drinking water for the development that would occur on agricultural land six feet below sea level. ¹¹

In 2009, a Contra Consta County judge ruled in favor of the Greenbelt Alliance and blocked the 4,500-home planned development. ¹¹

In 2011, the Greenbelt Alliance announced a settlement with the city. ¹² As part of the settlement, the city of Oakley would create a $6.8 million fund to preserve farmland, and the money would come from the developers. ⁶

Criticism

Reason Foundation

Senior fellow Chris Fiscelli of the libertarian Reason Foundation wrote in 2003 that the Greenbelt Alliance’s vision for growth for Contra Costa County, California was a “nightmare for the average citizen.” ¹ Fiscelli wrote that the Greenbelt Alliance’s anti-sprawl approach was “smart growth gone dumb.” ¹

Fiscelli wrote that the Greenbelt Alliance tried to make residents feel guilty for living in a detached home in the suburbs, driving their cars, and not using enough public transportation. ¹ He claimed that the group blamed the sprawl on traffic congestion, racial segregation, unaffordable housing, and a lack of open space without offering details on how or why. ¹

Fiscelli further claimed that the Greenbelt Alliance proposals were “heavy-handed government interventions” that would create more problems than they solve. ¹

Claims of Exaggeration

The BIA News, the monthly magazine of the Building Industry Association of Northern California, stated there were “glaring inconsistencies” in the claims made by the Greenbelt Alliance in 1994. BIA News stated that the Greenbelt Alliance exaggerated the amount of land threatened by development and its exaggerated claims were “widely featured” in newspapers, television and radio broadcast reports. ¹³

Finances
The Greenbelt Alliance had $2.8 million in revenue and $2.1 million in expenses in 2023. It had total assets of $5.4 million in 2023. ¹⁴