Pleasanton officially incorporated as a city in 1894. Those living and working in the Pleasanton of 2024 naturally enjoy a significantly different experience than that of the city's earliest residents. Time travelers from Pleasanton's first year would be taken aback by many aspects of the present-day city, according to historian, author, and Museum on Main Curator Ken MacLennan. 

Then and Now

"The basic differences between the world in 1894 and the world in 2024 would surprise our time travelers," says MacLennan, who wrote the book Pleasanton, California: A Brief History. "That means first and foremost communications technology and infrastructure." Early Pleasantonians would be surprised by other aspects of the city as well. 

"Two aspects that would make the biggest impression are its economy and the size and diversity of its population," MacLennan notes. "I don't think it would ever have occurred to them that agriculture might someday not be the center of the Valley's economy, or that so many of its residents would commute—daily!—to other parts of the Bay Area for work. They might be sad to see so many of the farms and ranches gone, even as they would be impressed by the region's affluence. 

"The idea that nearly 250,000 people could live in Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore combined would completely blow their minds. Pleasanton today has more residents than Oakland did in 1900. The city leaders of 1894 Pleasanton wanted the town to grow and wanted it to be prosperous. Even with the costs, I think a lot of them would recognize today's city as a success beyond their wildest dreams. At the same time, I can't believe that many of them would be very comfortable with the ethnic diversity of today's Pleasanton."

Today, public officials and nonprofit organizations embrace that diversity and work to serve all residents. "Inclusive community engagement is really essential to ensure that our strategic plan reflects the voices of our entire community," Deputy City Manager Alexa Jeffress told the City Council last year when it adopted Pleasanton's first five-year Citywide Strategic Plan, ONE Pleasanton. "Pleasanton is a diverse city. It's become more diverse over the past years, as our census data shows, and we really engaged in our community outreach efforts with this specific intent of reaching all aspects of Pleasanton's community."

A key priority in ONE Pleasanton is to build a community where everyone belongs, according to city officials. The new Cultural Celebration Series is one result of that goal. For the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year, city officials planned eight cultural celebrations. They included Hispanic Heritage Month, Dia de los Muertos, Diwali, Native American Heritage Month, Lunar New Year, Black History Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The Juneteenth celebration on June 15 is the final event for the year. 
 
"Each of these engaging and educational events has served as an opportunity for the entire community to come together and embrace the beauty of our city's cultural diversity," note officials. "Community participation in events like these leads to tighter social bonds, deeper empathy, and a greater sense of belonging and unity for all in our community."

Serving Today's Residents

Cultural celebrations are a highly visible sign of the goals of ONE Pleasanton, but many of the efforts behind Pleasanton's quality of life and amenity-rich environment are largely invisible day to day. The Maintenance, Streets, and Parks divisions of Pleasanton's Public Works Department, for example, beautify Pleasanton's public areas. Another example is Pleasanton's Traffic Engineering Division, which maintains the streets and works to make biking safer around town for everyone. Currently, the department is finalizing the design for elevated bike lanes that will run through Hacienda on a portion of West Las Positas between Hopyard Road and Stoneridge Drive. The elevated bike lanes will offer greater safety for cyclists by providing a larger buffer between the bike lanes and vehicle traffic. 

Pleasanton's police department and fire protection services are critical to residential safety, but some of their noteworthy efforts take place largely behind the scenes. In September 2023, the City of Pleasanton was awarded the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence for the development of its Alternate Response to Mental Health program. The program was created "to strengthen the collaborative response to mental health calls for services and to boost the community's overall behavioral health resilience," according to city officials. 

The Alternate Response Unit is made up of one sergeant, two officers, and two clinicians who work together to identify and follow up on mental-health-crisis calls to the police department. In 2023, its first year of operation, the Alternative Response Unit responded to over 367 calls for service. Those responses had dramatically positive results.

"Uniformed police assistance was only required in 96 of those interactions, freeing up police resources and reducing emergency psychiatric holds by 47%," according to Pleasanton officials. "Another key outcome of this program is the placement of more than 50% of the identified unhoused persons in Pleasanton into permanent or long-term housing. By engaging directly with clinicians, these vulnerable residents have been connected with even more resources throughout the city."

Earlier this month, officials say the Pleasanton City Council approved the allocation of nearly $1,200,000 in funding for its Housing and Human Services Grant Program and Community Grant Program, aimed at supporting initiatives that enhance the quality of life for residents and address community needs. These programs allocate funds to nonprofit organizations and agencies that deliver critical services such as housing assistance, food security programs, mental health services, and more. 

The economic vitality of Pleasanton is a key focus for city officials. Economic Development Manager Lisa Adamos works with existing and potential businesses to ensure the city can provide opportunities for businesses to start, grow, and stay in Pleasanton. A few years ago, the city created an electronic gift card program that allows Pleasanton residents, businesses, and visitors to purchase gift cards for use at over 49 locations. City staff members are exploring ways to expand the program, potentially engaging with larger Pleasanton corporations to sponsor offers as part of the program and further invest in Pleasanton. 

Pleasanton's fiscal practices and long-term economic prospects were recently acknowledged when the city received an AA long-term rating from Standard and Poor's. "Notably, the positive outlook acknowledges the City's recent initiatives, including the implementation of updated policies and a revised rate structure aimed at bolstering financial resilience," city officials say. "These initiatives reflect the City Council's commitment to balancing the City's immediate financial needs with long-term fiscal stewardship."

Just as in 1894, the City of Pleasanton faces challenges as well as opportunities. Current residents "might be surprised to find out just how far back concerns about the water supply and wastewater treatment go, back before incorporation," according to MacLennan, who says residents might also be surprised "at how recently Pleasanton schools reached the high rankings they enjoy today." But not everything about Pleasanton has changed over the years.

"There's certainly been a long-term commitment to making and keeping the city a desirable place to live and work," notes MacLennan. "Today's Pleasanton is simultaneously the product of broad trends over which its people had little control, and the product of specific decisions about how to respond to those changes. The most important of those trends may have arisen in the wake of World War II, rather than in the decade when Pleasanton was incorporated, but the mindset that shaped the city's response was forged in the late 19th century by a group of boosters who were already trying to make a little farm town into a prosperous city. The city's focus on higher value residential development and attracting clean businesses would have been completely understandable to the voters who established Pleasanton as a Class 6 municipality in 1894."

Such prosperity "had its costs," says MacLennan," and at times Pleasanton has offloaded these costs onto neighboring communities. By so strongly favoring higher end residential development, the city assumed that neighboring communities would take up the slack of affordable housing in the region and provide homes for people who worked in Pleasanton but could not afford to live there. But Pleasanton has also borne the costs of other communities' development—as the generation of 1900 would well know, because it was in their day that San Francisco's water company threatened to drain the Valley's aquifers in its quest to keep their own city hydrated."

The City of Pleasanton will hold a short recognition ceremony of its anniversary during the City Council meeting on June 18 starting at 7 pm. The city is also celebrating the milestone by sponsoring the June 21 Concert in the Park with East Bay Grooveline. "As we prepare to honor 130 years of Pleasanton's rich history, and celebrate all we have become – a city with outstanding schools, terrific parks and trails, a thriving business sector with leading industry innovators, and a community of great character, I can say it is truly a privilege to represent such an amazing city like Pleasanton, and am proud to call this place home," says Mayor Karla Brown.

There is much to ponder when considering the span of Pleasanton's 130-year history. "The main takeaway, I think, is that Pleasanton and the Valley—and the Bay Area and California, for that matter—are all members of larger communities, and what each does has an effect on others," notes MacLennan. "We should strive to keep those effects in mind when devising solutions to our problems, and try to ensure that no one community gets stuck holding the bag for others' benefit."

In April, Brown gave the annual State of the City speech, which noted the sometimes taxing reality of life as well as the determination of city officials and staff to continue serving residents and employers with dedication. "Looking to the city and the future, we will be focused on the residents' priorities, including police services and fire protection, and ensuring reliable and clean drinking water and quality streets and roads and providing services to youth and seniors, along with a strong local economy," Brown said. "This is our shared future, when you work together as One Pleasanton."

For more information about the City of Pleasanton, please visit www.cityofpleasantonca.gov. 

The City of Pleasanton seeks community input on how to maintain the city's quality of life. For more information and to take a resident survey, please visit www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/our-government/key-initiatives/revenue-measure-feasibility.