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chaparral- covered hills and heavily wooded drainages which provide valuable habitat for <br /> the Alameda whipsnake, California red legged frog and western pond turtles. Other <br /> species supported by the property's habitat include mountain lion, bobcat, deer, golden <br /> eagle and other raptors. According to the application, acquisition of the acreage will <br /> provide an important habitat linkage between publicly -owned parcels and will create a <br /> protected wildlife corridor in this highly urbanized region. <br /> The property provides views from the 2,100 foot ridge that stretch from Mount Diablo in <br /> the east to the Farallon Islands to the west. Heavily wooded canyons provide a sense <br /> of wilderness in an area close to the Tri- Valley. Acquisition of this property by EBRPD <br /> will significantly expand Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park and will provide an additional <br /> entrance to the park. The property will also supply an ideal staging area to improve <br /> public access to the park and for the future extension of Alameda Creek Regional Trail <br /> at the eastern end of Niles Canyon. A full description of the property and its wildlife and <br /> scenic values is included in Attachment 2. <br /> Funding <br /> The total cost of the Tyler Ranch property is $5,197,500. Apart from the request made <br /> to the Advisory Committee, EBRPD has requested funding from: the Priem Foundation <br /> ($1,729,500), the California River Parkways Grant ($1,000,000), the State Coast <br /> Conservancy Grant ($500,000), and the Habitat Conservation Fund Grant ($300,000). <br /> In addition, EBRPD proposes to fund $668,000 from Measure AA Bond, Measure WW <br /> Bond and /or Proposition 40 funds. <br /> As of May 22, 2009, the balance of the trust fund for the Western Area (20 was <br /> $1,344,687.28. Therefore funding the request from EBRPD would substantially reduce <br /> the available funds in this account. Over the last year, approximately $288,000 has <br /> accumulated in the fund for this area. <br /> Advisory Committee Recommendation <br /> The review of the proposal by the Advisory Committee involved a submittal package <br /> and a presentation by EBRPD, and input from Committee members and members of <br /> the public in attendance at the meeting on June 19, 2009. The voting members of the <br /> Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend funding of this proposed <br /> property acquisition. The Advisory Committee also recognized that this and previous <br /> purchases from this fund have been located in the Pleasanton area, and that funding <br /> this proposal would substantially reduce the money available for future projects located <br /> in Dublin. The Committee asked staff to look into the question of borrowing between <br /> the Eastern and Western funds in order to facilitate a future purchase in Dublin if such a <br /> proposal was made. <br /> The cities and the County shall determine only whether the funding request is consistent <br /> with the criteria set forth in Subsection 7.4.2. of the settlement agreement, which states <br /> that first priority for the acquisition of land should go to land having significant value for <br /> preservation of native biological diversity and /or wildlife habitat, and second priority of <br /> Page 3 of 4 <br />