Dublin To Reassert Commitment To Extensive Fallon 580 Project Following Legal Setback

DUBLIN, CA — The Dublin City Council plans to reaffirm its support for the Dublin Fallon 580 Development Project, a plan to build 238 residential units and up to 3.3 million square feet of commercial and office space east of Fallon Road and north of I-580.

The Kingswood Owners Association filed a lawsuit alleging that the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act on numerous grounds, according to a staff report. In July, an Alameda County Superior Court judge upheld the city’s environmental review, but ruled that Dublin must formally adopt a new Statement of Overriding Considerations.

When a city advances a project that will result in significant environmental impact, CEQA requires that it state why the benefits of the project outweigh its harms. While Dublin had released statements for the broader area, the court ruled that it needed a new, project-specific statement for Fallon 580.

On Tuesday, the council will vote to ratify and readopt a statement reaffirming that the perceived benefits of the project - including housing, office space, new parks, revenue, construction jobs, and economic growth - justify any environmental downsides.

“The Project will further the urbanization of Eastern Dublin as planned through the comprehensive framework established in the original Eastern Dublin approvals,” the city said in its six-page statement.

The Fallon 580 project would split 192 acres into 11 parcels, and reconfigure 42.6 acres of land from Open Space to Parks/Public-Recreation, in addition to other zoning changes. While the city affirmed that benefits are “sufficient to justify approval of the Project and override the Project’s significant unavoidable impacts,” it noted that such impacts include diminished views of the primary ridgeline and scenic vistas from I-580, and increased traffic along I-580 and I-680.

In December, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled that the city violated CEQA by not conducting an environmental review before placing Measure II on the November 2024 ballot. The voter-approved measure would have changed Dublin’s General Plan to allow commercial development on 80 acres of protected land in Doolan Canyon. As a result, the ballot measure was rescinded.

See here for more information on Tuesday’s agenda item, and here for Tuesday’s full agenda.