Pleasanton

City, Alameda County

© McCormack's Guides

 

Zip Codes: 94566, 94588

High-tech suburb located at the junction of two freeways. Crime low, school scores high, jobs plentiful. Home to many tech professionals. Well-kept town with many parks and amusements. Population 69,388. www.mccormacks.com

Its name inspired by a Civil War general, Pleasanton for most of its modern history slumbered in rural obscurity serving as a supplies store for local farmers and a refreshment station for travelers.

After World War II, the nation and the state began constructing wide highways and these, combined with a large migration into California, created the suburbs. Being somewhat removed from the old cities, Pleasanton did not boom until the 1960s when Interstates 580 and 680 were built and intersected at Pleasanton.

Click for regional or detailed map

In 1960, the town counted about 1,200 homes and apartments and 4,200 residents.

About this time, several forces were at work that benefited Pleasanton. In the 1950s, the University of California opened a large research lab at Livermore, the neighboring city, bringing in thousands of highly-educated people.

The old cities were running out of space; the large firms began to move operations to the suburbs. Silicon Valley started to boom with the new technology. www.mccormacks.com

Here was Pleasanton (and neighboring towns): freeways, plenty of cheap land for housing and commerce, high-tech core of residents, educated population. And, credit where credit is due, a savvy city hall and civic leaders.

By 1970, the population had risen to 18,328 and by 1980 to 35,160. This number increased to 50,553 by 1990. The 2000 census counted 63,654 residents. Pleasanton is running out of land and in recent years residents have voted to preserve open space and slow development.

By 1960, planners had a much better idea of how to build suburbia and buffer residential streets from traffic. In the 1960s and 1970s, many homeowners were taking their equity and buying up, creating demand for larger homes, two-story instead of one, four bedrooms instead of three.

Pleasanton flowered in this market. It is an old town, incorporated in 1894, but a new suburb, filled with new or fairly new homes, many of them up-market.

Pleasanton channeled its high-tech and offices into a modern business park called Hacienda, which is situated near the freeway interchange. The place is loaded with firms. Also, service businesses and miscellaneous clean industries, including Safeway headquarters, the kind that cities do handstands for. Other business parks are located on the south side of town and near the mall. Hotels followed the businesses. www.mccormacks.com

Also near the interchange is a regional mall called Stoneridge (Macys, Nordstrom, Sears, Penneys, about 160 other stores). Within a short drive are a Costco, a Wal-Mart and a Trader Joe's, the merchants of modern suburbia.

Pleasanton will not make sense unless it is placed within the context of its immediate neighbors, Livermore and Dublin in Alameda County and north of Dublin, in Contra Costa County, San Ramon. San Ramon has a large business and high-tech park called Bishop Ranch that employs many in the region.

Many residents take their recreation in their own towns and in the neighboring towns. Same for the shopping. Dublin has a modern mall with a large movie complex and a giant IMAX screen. Livermore is home to most of the wineries and shares a regional park with Pleasanton. See the profiles of these towns in the Alameda and Contra Costa guides.

In the 1990s, BART (commuter rail) extended service to the Amador Valley and built a station at Dublin-Pleasanton, which made the town even more attractive to big business.

The result: a nice-looking suburb, attentive to and supportive of its schools, loaded with jobs, housing well-tended, ranging from old and small (pre 1960) to middle-class stalwart (three- and four-bedroom) to knockout, the gated Ruby Hill neighborhood. The lawns are mowed, the homes and apartments are in good repair, graffiti absent, streets clean. www.mccormacks.com

Some homes rise into the hills, affording views of countryside. Mt. Diablo to north. Still a good deal of open space at city’s edge but much of it has been placed off limits to development.

Main Street, removed somewhat from the freeways, nonetheless appears to be thriving. The city has spruced up the street with trees and brick sidewalks and helped create a setting that nourishes restaurants, delis, bakeries, cafes and small shops. The old Pleasanton Hotel, now a restaurant, anchors one end of the restaurant row; at the other end, a library and a park. County fairgrounds and office complex help the downtown with visitors and noon shoppers. On weekends, the restaurants and coffee shops and sidewalk cafes are filled with people at their leisure.

Served by Pleasanton Unified School District, which in two elections over the last 15 years has passed bonds worth $155 million and used the money to equip, build and renovate schools. The school board in 2000 raised fees on developers to help pay for the renovation and expansion of the town's two high schools, Foothill and Amador Valley. In 2002, Amador High built a library-media center and more classrooms. Foothill High built a pool and added classrooms. See Schools.

Compared to other California schools, scores are running in the top 10 percent. SAT scores come in well above national and state averages.

Community college in Livermore. UC Berkeley and Cal State Hayward and other universities offer classes in nearby towns. Pleasanton teachers are among the highest paid in Alameda County. Dublin, which recently raised salaries, also pays high. The point both are making — we're willing to pay for quality. www.mccormacks.com

Zero homicides in 2005, 2004, 2003, one in 2002, zero in 2001. One homicide in 2000, zero in 1999 and 1998, one in 1997, two in 1996. The counts for previous years are two, zero, zero, zero, one, two, two, two, zero, zero, zero. See Crime.

Good to horrible commute, depending on destination and choice of vehicle. Local jobs are a snap. Freeways and wide arterials move traffic along. For about six years — it seemed forever — the state was rebuilding the interchange of freeways 580 and 680. In 2002, the job was finished. Altamont Commuter Express (ACE), which began service in 1998, dispatches commute trains from Stockton to San Jose with stops in Tracy, Manteca, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont and Santa Clara.

In 2003, BART extended its service to San Francisco International. One perk for Dublin-Pleasanton; its line goes directly to SFO; no transferring.

The problems: the Bay Bridge, part of which is being rebuilt, but even in the best of times a major bottleneck that backs up peak hour traffic for usually a mile.

The second problem: simply traffic. Over the last 20 years, new communities have been built to the northeast and east of Pleasanton and this has greatly increased the traffic on the freeways. Yes, the freeways have been widened and improved but the new traffic gradually and sometimes quickly nullifies the improvements. Not to exaggerate: when traffic is heavy but flowing it really does move at a good pace. But when a car stalls or a fender gets bent, backups flare immediately. www.mccormacks.com

If you work in Oakland or San Francisco, you should at least give BART (commute rail) a try. See commute

With all its stores and businesses, Pleasanton has a strong tax base. It has used a lot of this money to fund parks and recreation programs for kids and adults. Swim complex with four pools. Regional park with lake. Other regional and state parks nearby. One of the largest sports parks in Northern Cal: 24 multipurpose fields, basketball and volleyball courts, three play areas for kids, trails around town and into hills.

Usual sports, soccer for kids perhaps the most popular. Soccer season kicks off with a parade down Main Street. There's also adult soccer. In 2002, the Women's United Soccer Assn. named two Contra Costa women the best soccer moms in the U.S. Interviewed by a reporter, both women said that Pleasanton had some of the best soccer fields in the region.

About 30 neighborhood parks, teen dances and concerts, ice skating rink in Dublin. Roller rink in San Ramon. Two high-school stadiums were fitted out with a new type of artificial turf, supposedly very close to real thing. In 2001, the city added another park, 24 acres, three soccer fields, roller hockey rink, climbing wall, water-play areas, garden. A middle school, located in Hacienda Business Park, shares its gym with the community. One of the high schools does the same with a performing arts center. Trails galore. Skateboard park. Pasta Festival. Summer concerts in downtown.

Pleasanton hosts the county fair, an annual celebration with horse racing and games and many events. Draws about 380,000. The fairgrounds stay open year round and attract a variety of amusements, including Scottish games, dog, boat and hot rod shows, Octoberfest. www.mccormacks.com

First-class shopping at Stoneridge Mall. Good mix of restaurants, from fast food to tablecloth. Livermore and Pleasanton have 38 wineries that down through the years have figured out ways to blend in with housing tracts. The wineries have encouraged residents to pay attention to wines and tastings and fine dining. Wente, the biggest vintner, sponsors musical events at its winery, which is bordered by a golf course.

Livermore-Pleasanton without the wineries would be attractive suburban towns. With the wineries they have become classy, attractive suburban towns. And a little more interesting and a little more fun.

Library. Big seniors center, driving range. Nine-holes of golf at fairgrounds, two private courses (one at Ruby Hill). Opened in 2005, another golf course, public, 18-hole, par 72. Surrounded by 280 acres of open space, some of which has been turned to hiking and horse paths. Tennis park. Private exercise clubs.

If you like swimming, this is the right side of Alameda County. West of the hills, the waterfront cities catch the cooling, sometimes cold, breezes coming through the Golden Gate On the east side, the hills block or tame the breezes, giving the Amador Valley a warmer climate but the valley bowl sometimes impedes circulation of the air, raising pollutant and pollen counts. Overall, however, mild and balmy and similar to what’s found in Napa.

Kaiser clinics and ValleyCare Medical Center provide health care. In 2000, ValleyCare added a wing with 30 beds. The hospital contracts with Lucille Packard Children's Hospital to provide neonatal care. www.mccormacks.com

If shopping for housing, start with the old downtown. As you move out, the homes will get newer and bigger. At Ruby Hill, which is gated, they jump way up the scale but for the most part modern Pleasanton was built for the middle and upper middle class (but these days you can pay almost $1 million for a nice but not fancy tract home).

The state in 2008 counted 25,822 residential units: 17,017 single detached homes, 2,754 single attached, 5,595 multiples and 456 mobiles.

Chamber of commerce (925) 846-5858.

• Just over the Pleasanton border on the west side is a large country-club development called Castlewood. If you want luxury housings, this is one place to drive. Exit Sunol-Castlewood from Interstate 680 and go west.

• Local bus agency, called WHEELS. www.mccormacks.com

• BART to add another station just east of the existing one. About 1,800 apartments, condos and townhouses and stores and offices are being built near the station, on the Dublin side.

• Some new homes include mother-in-law units as part of the garage.

• Private firm is installing solar panels at seven of the schools and selling the energy at a discount to the school district.

• For fans of healthy living, there’s a Trader Joe’s in town and a Whole Foods about 10 miles north in Danville. For the discerning healthy dog, the Three Dog Bakery features natural treats for Rover and Fido.

• Under study in 2007, a proposal by San Jose Sharks, professional hockey, to build a sports center near Interstate 580: four ice rinks, sports bar, conference rooms. www.mccormacks.com

• Pleasanton has capped its housing units at 29,000, a limit favored by residents but never comfortable with builders and many civic and business leaders. The city has been sued by a group that wants Pleasanton to build housing that the poor and many in the middle class can afford. Some housing advocates argue that if Hacienda Business Park were allowed to build housing atop or near its office and research buildings many problems would be solved.

• Active gravel quarries on the south side, off Stanley Boulevard near Shadow Cliffs Regional Park, a former quarry. Its pit was filled with water, creating a lake for boating and fishing.

• Downtown Pleasanton, near Main Street, has some lovely old homes that have been nicely restored. If you are into this, drive the streets around the old downtown.

• Take this book, please. When Barnes and Noble was shopping for a location, it picked Dublin and its Hacienda Crossings mall, just north of Interstate 580. When Borders went shopping, it picked Pleasanton and a location just south of I-580 and within a short walk of B&N. A few blocks to the west, the Dublin library.

• Livermore airport on the east side. Pleasanton is concerned about noise from the aircraft. www.mccormacks.com

• On its south side, off Bernal Avenue, Pleasanton is building a large park that will include a cultural arts center, an amphitheater with 1,000 seats, eight playing fields, basketball courts and a teen center.

• Mountain lion in 2006 wandered down from the hills and into a Pleasanton neighborhood. Cops tried to shoo the animal back into wilds but lion kept hopping fences into back yards. Advice sought from state Fish and Game. Shoot to kill. Done.

• In planning, a Home Depot on Stanley Boulevard.

• Ruby Hill, the upscale community, is embroiled in a fight over the construction of an elementary school. Parents have choice of several schools; check with school district for details.

• Active rail line through town. Check out noise. www.mccormacks.com

• Pleasanton has two theaters for plays and musicals. Among productions in 2006, “The King and I” and “Steel Magnolias.”

• Local happening that is turning into a tradition: Halloween Ghostwalk in the downtown.

• Elementary school enrollments are slipping but unevenly.

• Softball popular with girls. Summer tournament draws 56 teams.

• In 2004, Pleasanton said goodbye to PeopleSoft, which employed about 3,000 in town, mostly in the Hacienda Business Park, and was gobbled up by big, bad Oracle and Larry Ellison. The fear was that Larry would lock the buildings, fire thousands and move the survivors across the Bay to Oracle headquarters in Redwood City. About 600 did get sacked but Oracle retained the Pleasanton campus and 2,300 employees and sold four buildings to Kaiser Medical, which moved in about 1,200 “knowledge” workers. The result: at the worst, a wash, but some think it a plus. www.mccormacks.com

• When tech boom and stock market collapsed in 2001, Charles Schwab, the stockbroker, was building several office buildings near the freeway interchange. One day the order came down: stop — even though at least one building was almost finished. The buildings stayed empty for several years and were sold. Now … empty no longer, a symbol of the revived economy.

• Class project, 2006: how to take care of baby. Each student is given a doll that cries and wets. Later, one student, age 17, is doing 65 in her Mini Cooper along Interstate 580 when doll suddenly cries. Which startles student. She veers into guardrail, bounces back onto the freeway, hits a pickup and creates a mess that blocks three of the four lanes. No injuries.

City web site: www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us