People in Contra Costa County will be voting on a measure that’s pitting conservationists against housing advocates. The county has had a voter-approved boundary protecting open space for decades. Voters will decide whether to extend it for another 25 years. Real Estate Attorney and San Ramo n resident Vince Moita says the county is dealing with a housing affordability crisis. He says an urban sprawl measure on the ballot, Measure A, will only make it worse. “When you look at Contra Costa County 65% of the land will be restricted for at least the next 25 years to be non-urban,” Moita said. Measure A extends a decades old policy that would protect 65% of Contra Costa County’s land from development until at least 2051, leaving in place an urban limit line. “If we didn’t have this line, it would make it a lot easier for developers to build in areas that are the worst suited for development,” said Juan Pablo Galvan Martinez with Save Mt Diablo. Galvan Martinez says it’s critical to protect the county’s open space that’s home to countless wildlife species. “You have an incredible number of species of wildlife plant and other sorts of organisms that not only live here. Many of which are found nowhere else on earth,” he said. Galvan Martinez says the urban limit line has worked well for the last 36 years at preventing urban sprawl that creates traffic and keeping developers from building in high fire zones. “Most of the county outside the urban limit line is very high or high fire hazard zones meaning they’re the most likely to burn and the least suitable for development,” he said. Moita says it’s time to do away with the urban limit line and make way for growth. It’ll be up to voters to decide on June 2. ...read more read less