Friends of Livermore

According to their website, "Friends of Livermore is dedicated to preserving Livermore's distinct heritage and hometown culture by advocating a moderate growth plan that emphasizes a vibrant city center and the preservation of surrounding scenic and agricultural resources"[1]. Committees incorporating the "Friends of Livermore" name are periodically created to raise money for specific causes, usually with political advocacy goals.

Historical Issues and Positions

2016 Campaign against "Lennar" development plan

The 2016 version of the Stockyard Redevelopment was viewed as having too many houses and not enough public open space.

2018 Campaign for "West Side Hotel" development

After Lennar was eliminated, public workshops were convened to gather community input. One overwhelming preference of participants was to build a hotel to the west of Livermore Avenue/South of Railroad. This was due to the fact that the principle alternative location next to the Bankhead Theater was not large enough to accommodate the necessary parking. Instead, some of the cars were expected to park across Railroad Avenue. Ingress/Egress could also not be designed without negative impacts. Traffic congestion and downtown parking availability was a very high priority during outreach.

Referendum

After Council voted on September 10 2018 to rezone for the east side hotel, Friends notified the City that they would be filing a referendum.