Dublin, California

Government

The City of Dublin is a general law city operating under a City Council / City Manager form of local government. This form of government combines an elected mayor and council and an appointed local government administrator. The City Council elections are nonpartisan. The Mayor serves a two-year term, and Council members serve four-year terms.

The Mayor and City Council, as a collegial body, are responsible for setting policy, setting / prioritizing goals and objectives, and approving the budget. The Mayor, with confirmation by the City Council, makes appointments to the City's advisory commissions and committees.

The Council appoints the City Manager, who is responsible for the day-to-day administrative operation of the City, including:

As of December 2014, the Council consisted of Mayor David Haubert, Vice Mayor Abe Gupta, Don Biddle, and Kevin Hart. There is also a fifth council seat which was created by Council member Haubert's election as mayor. The four council members will hold an application process and appoint an applicant to the seat.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.9 square miles (40 km²) of which 0.03% is water.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Dublin had a population of 46,036, which grew to 49,890 in 2013, and over 57,000 as of 2016. It has been one of the fastest-growing cities in California, with its population nearly doubling during the past decade. Once the building of homes is finished in East Dublin, the city will have a capacity for over 75,000 citizens. The population density in 2010 was 3,087.1 people per square mile (1,192.0/km²). The racial makeup of Dublin was 23,634 (51.3%) White, 4,347 (9.4%) African American, 246 (0.5%) Native American, 12,321 (26.8%) Asian, 287 (0.6%) Pacific Islander, 2,458 (5.3%) from other races, and 2,743 (6.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,663 persons (14.5%).

The Census reported that 40,262 people (87.5% of the population) lived in households, 92 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 5,682 (12.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 14,913 households, out of which 5,897 (39.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,615 (57.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,383 (9.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 615 (4.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 775 (5.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 142 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,201 households (21.5%) were made up of individuals and 578 (3.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70. There were 10,613 families (71.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.19.

The population was spread out with 10,297 people (22.4%) under the age of 18, 3,703 people (8.0%) aged 18 to 24, 17,587 people (38.2%) aged 25 to 44, 11,092 people (24.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,357 people (7.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.3 years. For every 100 females there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.4 males.

There were 15,782 housing units at an average density of 1,058.3 per square mile (408.6/km²), of which 9,425 (63.2%) were owner-occupied, and 5,488 (36.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%. 26,954 people (58.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 13,308 people (28.9%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

In 2000, there were 9,325 households and 6,508 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,232.9 people per square mile (1,412.1/km²). There are about 9,872 housing units at an average density of 784.3 per square mile (302.7/km²).

There were 9,325 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city, the population was 21.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 44.1% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 111.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.4 males. The average income for a household in the city is $101,550. Males had a median income of $77,605 versus $48,116 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,451. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Dublin has the third-highest percentage of registered Republicans of any of the cities in heavily Democratic Alameda County (Livermore has the highest and Pleasanton has the second-highest), yet it still maintains a significant Democratic plurality. Of its 24,821 registered voters in 2016, 10,918 (44%) were registered as Democrats, 5,424 (21.9%) were registered as Republicans, and 7,382 (29.7%) declined to state a party preference.

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

History

In 1835, José María Amador was granted 16,500 acres for his service as a Mexican soldier and in Mission San Jose where he was administrator in the valley which was named Amador Valley after him. In 1850, Irish settlers bought land from Amador and founded a town.

Several historical sites are preserved and located where Dublin Boulevard is crossed by Donlan Way, itself formerly the northernmost segment of the main road to Sunol and Niles Canyon (present-day Foothill Road):

Dublin Boulevard, a generally east–west road running just north of Interstate 580, was a part of the Lincoln Highway and later U.S. Route 50. The street formerly curved southward near today's Hansen Drive to follow present-day Dublin Canyon Road toward Hayward.

In 1960, the first housing tracts were built in West Dublin, transforming the formerly rural community into a suburb. It grew steadily from the early 1960s onward as both a residential and retail center. The City became incorporated in February 1982.

Although a post office operated from 1860 to 1908 in Dougherty, which broke off from Dublin, Dublin's first post office was opened in 1963, and is still in operation today.

The popular Discovery Channel program MythBusters has filmed over 50 episodes in Dublin at the Alameda County Sheriff's Office bomb disposal range. On December 6, 2011, a cannonball fired during a MythBusters episode being filmed at the bomb range went off target and damaged two homes and a minivan in a nearby neighborhood. The incident received coverage internationally. MythBusters stars Adam Savage and Kari Byron returned to Dublin High School on February 22, 2012 to participate in a moderated panel session at Dublin High School's Engineering and Design Academy Open House during National Engineers Week 2012. The sold out event attracted an audience of over 1,000.

Building and Development in Dublin

Dublin has caught the attention of many high-profile developers such as Rick Caruso, the creator of The Grove shopping center in Southern California.

High-end luxury shops are planned in the highly anticipated (and hotly debated) Promenade at Dublin Ranch [1].

Two dog parks (Dougherty Hills Dog Park [2] and Bray Commons [3]) already exist, and a third dog park is being planned in Jordan Ranch [4], along with other amenities.

Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack, Dick's Sporting Goods, HomeGoods, and a second Target location (in East Dublin), have all opened for business, along with restaurant chains Elephant Bar, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and Lazy Dog Café aka Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar.

Dublin also opened Fallon Sports Park [5] in East Dublin in 2010. The highly anticipated first phase of the Fallon Sports Park includes two adult softball fields, two little league baseball fields, two synthetic turf soccer fields, four lighted basketball courts, four lighted tennis courts, and a rough grade BMX bike facility.

Avalon Dublin Station, a newly completed luxury rental development by AvalonBay Communities, is one of several new real estate projects in Dublin, with several more already under construction.

Danville, California-based development firm Blake Hunt Ventures, is planning a 27-acre (110,000 m²) project using 13 acres (53,000 m²) which it currently owns and an adjacent property which it is purchasing from IKEA. The planned development (which the company expects to contain a specialty grocery store, a mix of restaurants, apparel stores, home goods and retailers) includes a "Main Street" running east–west through the site, a central walkway and a "town green." A TOD (Transit Oriented Development) is finishing construction near the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.

Dublin has also undergone significant remodeling and expansion, with almost every shopping center in Dublin being remodeled while new shopping centers continued to be built [6]. Dublin Place and Dublin Retail Center were followed by Hacienda Crossings [7], The Shops at Waterford, The Shops at Tralee Village, Grafton Station, Fallon Gateway, and Persimmon Place [8].

In 2005, East Dublin opened a new K-8 school named Fallon, which is conveniently located next to the new townhomes. In 2010, however, the school began serving only grades 6-8, making it the second middle school in town.

Emerald Glen Park will be expanding with a man-made lake, walking trails, and waterslides to become the Emerald Glen Recreation & Aquatic Complex [9].

A new BART station in West Dublin began construction in 2007. The project cost $80 million and opened in March 2011. The West Dublin/Pleasanton station TOD will also include a hotel, restaurant, 210 apartments, and 170,000 sq ft (16,000 m²). of office space across the Interstate 580 freeway in Pleasanton, California.

ArcFest

The Dublin Edge Film Festival, also known as ArcFest, is an annual film festival and convention held in Dublin, California by the The Dublin Film Commission, which previews new films of all genres from around the world. Founded on July 17, 2004, it is the East Bay Area's most prestigious and publicized film festival.

Saint Patrick's Day Celebration

The annual Saint Patrick's Day celebration includes a 5K Fun Run and Walk, a pancake breakfast, a festival, and a parade. The parade is popular with residents and visitors from outside Dublin alike, and has been growing in popularity each year. It is sponsored by the Dublin Host Lions Club and features bands and colorful floats. The Dublin firefighters sponsor the pancake breakfast, and tours of the firehouse are popular with children. The festival continues all weekend, and features food, games, kiddie rides, arts & crafts, and information about local organizations. The festival had been held near the end of the parade route in Shamrock Village on Amador Valley Blvd., but was relocated to the Civic Center on Dublin Blvd., in 2007, moving it closer to the growing population in the eastern part of Dublin.

Measure M

In 2000, following a conflict with Mayor Guy Houston and developers of the West Dublin Hills, Morgan King and David Bewley began a ballot initiative known as Measure M. The objective of the measure was to prevent the Dublin Hills from becoming overwhelmed with housing that had been promised to voters would not be built on preserved open space. Measure M won in every precinct in Dublin and on the absentee ballots.

MythBusters cannonball incident

On December 6, 2011, shooting was in progress for the popular Discovery Channel program MythBusters, when a cannonball went skyward and zoomed through a residence near Camp Parks, where the filming was taking place, also damaging a car, which was the final resting place of the cannonball. Many residents were shaken and the community was shocked, but nobody was injured. Mythbusters Adam Savage and Kari Byron hosted a student engineering event at Dublin High School, a move to express gratitude to the community of Dublin for the access to Camp Parks as a shooting location. The Dublin Film Commission declared December 6 "Victory in the battle for Dublin", poking at the rogue cannonball incident, and plans to host a film festival every December 6 to honor Dublin's fallen cannonball. On December 6, 2012, Tri-Valley Film Coalition President Morgan Finley King hosted a film festival at the Dublin Library, in which winners of each category were awarded a "Golden Cannonball Award."

Education

Dublin is home to seven Elementary Schools (Amador, Dougherty, Dublin, Frederiksen, John Green, Kolb, and Murray), two Middle schools (Fallon and Wells), and the two following public high schools administered by the Dublin Unified School District.

Dublin is also home to the following private schools:

Camp Parks

The Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), historically known as Camp Parks, is located in Dublin.

A sub-installation of Fort McCoy, Camp Parks is the only training facility within a short drive for the 11,000-plus reservists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Firing ranges and a wide variety of training facilities are available. The post is home to state-of-the-art facilities: the Regional Training Site-Intelligence, Regional Training Site-Medical and the 91st DIV Battle Projection Center. Growth is on the horizon as new facilities have been built and more are programmed for construction in the near future.

Law enforcement

There is full-time 911 emergency services. Police services are contracted to and provided by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. Fire services and emergency medical services are provided by the city.

Jail

Dublin is the site of Santa Rita Jail, the principal jail for Alameda County. The third largest jail in California and the fifth largest in the United States, Santa Rita Jail is considered a "mega-jail", specified to hold 4,000 prisoners at any one time, making it as large as, or larger than, many of California's state prisons. It was completed at a cost of $172 million in 1983.

Federal

Dublin also hosts the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, one of only three federal prisons for women in the United States. Designed to house 250 inmates, FCI Dublin currently houses 1,077 as at April 11, 2013. As many as three women are held in spaces built for one.

Notable people

Twin Cities

Dublin has twin city relations with the following cities

Ireland