Since the beginning of Hacienda Business Park, quality has been a major concern to its developers.

In order to maintain that quality, the developers created a separate corporation, the Hacienda Business Park Owners Association, and charged it with the overall responsibility of operating the business park.

The association represents the owners in the business park. Its responsibilities include fundraising, landscaping, maintenance, park security, transportation systems management and environmental quality, to name the major areas.

A clean environment is so vital to the business park's developers and owners, that the association spends almost 50 percent of its approximately $2 million annual budget on landscaping and environmental programs.

In the business park's appearance, the effort is evident in the neatly trimmed lawns and shrubbery both within the business park and along adjoining roads.

On a deeper level, the association is working jointly with the city to develop an air quality monitoring program in the Tri-Valley area.

The monitoring program consists of three main elements - meteorological testing, particulate testing and measuring carbon monoxide levels in the air.

A mechanical weather station presently located in the business park provides meteorological information for North Pleasanton. The station measures daily wind speed, wind direction and air temperature. By measuring these elements, scientists for the business park are able to establish a model for use in predicting future carbon monoxide levels in the air.

Hacienda is also in the process of installing another meteorological station near the intersection of Interstates 680 and 580.

Testing for particulate matter, or chemical particles similar to dust, is a little more complicated. Samples are collected at a station in the business park and then analyzed in a lab to determine local particulate levels and trace metal concentrations. These levels must conform to rigid state and federal standards.

The third portion of the program monitors carbon monoxide levels on a continuous basis. Air samples are collected at 15 sites in the Tri-Valley area, 13 in North Pleasanton, one in Livermore and one in Dublin.

Because this third type of testing reveals carbon monoxide levels in only these specific areas, a more sophisticated monitoring station has been established by atmosphere scientists for the association. Since the station can provide data on carbon monoxide levels in the air at any given time, scientists can better determine how rush-hour traffic, weather and particulate concentrations effect air quality.

Motor vehicles are the primary cause of carbon monoxide in the air. Hacienda's transportation management program, aimed at reducing the number of cars traveling during peak commute hours, helps minimize air pollution.

Although large employers are required by the city's Transportation Systems Management ordinance to create and implement transportation programs, Hacienda has gone one step further by establishing a four-bus shuttle system which serves the Bayfair BART Station during commute hours and Pleasanton shopping centers during weekday noon hours.

According to business park transportation manager Karen Fraser-Middleton, an estimated 200 people use the shuttle system daily.

In a transportation survey conducted by the business park last May, approximately 30 percent of Hacienda's 3,000 employees indicated that they do not drive to work. A majority of these individuals said that they use car or vanpools, and a lesser portion said they use public transit or ride bicycles.

"Hacienda has aggressively promoted the use of alternative transportation and provided information on carpooling and bicycling for employees," said Fraser-Middleton.

Hacienda's efforts have paid off with a more than 40 percent reduction in peak-hour vehicle trips this year. Fraser-Middleton said the high rate of reduction was achieved through a combination of flex-time and use of transportation alternatives. Promotional events, such as a "Bike to Work Day" and transportation fairs encourage business park employees to participate.

"About 28 percent of our employees miss the morning commute hour from 7:30 to 8:30 am," Fraser-Middleton said. "Another 51 percent miss the evening peak from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Fewer cars reduces the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air."

In addition, signal lights at intersections within the business park are computerized. The lights can "sense" an approaching car and turn green before the car reaches the intersection.

"This allows traffic to flow smoothly and reduces the amount of emissions from stop-and-go type driving," said Fraser-Middleton.

In another aspect of Hacienda's environmental quality program, soils engineers for the association test water samples from 19 wells in the business park.

"Monitoring groundwater and drinking water is equally as important as air quality testing," said Jim Self, general manager for the owners association.

He said industrial pollution of groundwater is of great concern to business park officials.

"The type of industry that contaminates groundwater is not located here," he said. "We’re interested in taking every precaution to ensure and sustain the quality of life that Pleasanton is used to."

Early in 1984, Hacienda began drilling wells to test the groundwater beneath the business park. The wells vary in depth from 34 to 87 feet.

According to the business park consultant Nick Homayounfar, a principal engineer for Wahler Associates in Palo Alto, the groundwater is tested for a broad range of chemicals and trace metals.

"Pleasanton is a fairly clean area," he said. "We have not detected any contamination in the Hacienda Business Park."

Because of the presence of agriculture in the area, Homayounfar said that the groundwater is monitored heavily for pesticides.

"Groundwater testing is an excellent insurance policy," he said. "It prevents pollution and protects the value of the land."

Another insurance policy against an unsafe environment is sound studies. Since noise can present a problem for residents, Jim Self said that Hacienda is continuously conducting sound studies along major intersections and routes to help mitigate noise from traffic.

Under an agreement with the city, he said Hacienda monitors noise levels continuously to ensure that the decibel level does not reach more than 60 decibels.

Hacienda's dedicated environmental quality program will become more intensive as growth continues throughout the city. The business park intends to actively pursue environmental studies and remain committed to preserving the quality of the environment.

The high standards set for the development of the park will be maintained in the quality of the design, mitigating traffic, noise and air and water systems for the business park at no cost to the City of Pleasanton.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: October 28, 1985 Pathways.