Battle Brewing Over Proposed Costco On Large Pleasanton Lot
PLEASANTON (KPIX 5) -- The battle over a proposed Costco in Pleasanton could soon be heating up once again as the city continues to move ahead in the approval process.
The site of the proposed big box store is off Johnson Drive, just south east of the Interstate 580 and 680 interchange.
It's a 40 acre lot that's been vacant for years. In 2014, the City of Pleasanton started working on redeveloping the land once owned by Clorox and plans for a Costco and two hotels started coming together in 2017.
"There's a Costco five miles down this freeway and then five miles down that freeway. You can't drive five miles?" asked Matt Sullivan, a former Pleasanton city council member. Sullivan now leads the group Pleasanton Citizens for Responsible Growth.
He says having a Costco in Danville and another in Livermore is close enough, and worries about the added pollution to the area.
"What is best for the community as a whole? The fact that I can go down and buy a $1.50 hot dog and I can get it five minutes sooner than I can from going to Livermore?" asked Sullivan.
That's why he led PCRG in filing a lawsuit back in 2017 over the environmental impact report to block Costco from building on the site.
According to the city planning office, Costco addressed those issues and the city is ready to once again consider plans for the almost 150,000 square foot store and a gas station.
"It's going to really affect traffic in the Pleasanton area, especially around Stoneridge, where I live," said Dave Guidotti, who has lived in Pleasanton for years and doesn't quite know what to think.
"You want to have it close, but we don't have to have the traffic and the impact in the area," says Guidotti.
"I would say I'm for it, mostly because of the convenience it's going to offer to the community around here," said Garrett Meyer, a Pleasanton native.
"I can see both sides, but I feel like if the infrastructure isn't there for Costco, then we are really putting the cart before the horse," says Allison Guilderson who lives in Pleasanton with her husband and 3-year-old son Owen.
The city has already classified the area as an economic development zone and has earmarked more than $21 million to widen and improve the roads.
The city's planning office is currently taking public comments on the new environmental impact report from Costco until August 23 and if there are no strong objections, the plan will move on to the planning commission and then the city council.
The city council could take up the issue for public hearings this fall; if approved, Costco could break ground in the beginning of 2020.
Sullivan says his group will file another lawsuit to block the big box store if the plans continue to move forward.
