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BACKGROUND On April 14, 2011, the Council conducted a public workshop for the purpose of prioritizing City Council projects for the upcoming year. The process was similar to previous priority setting workshops in that the City Council had an opportunity to review and rate both existing and potential new projects. Potential new projects were provided by individual city council members, city commissions /committees and city staff. Projects reviewed at the April 14 workshop that did not receive a majority vote are not listed on the recommended work plan. The end result of this process is an Annual Work Plan (work plan) that is designed to inform the community of the Council's shared vision and provide the City Manager with the policy direction needed to direct City resources including preparation of the annual Budget which is currently underway. The work plan does not rank projects in various degrees of priority (e.g., highest priority, high priority, etc). Rather, all projects in the work plan are included equally as part of the City's work effort. However, to help define the Council's prioritized work plan, the projects have been placed in broad goals /categories as follows: • Bernal Property — Plan for the future development of the Bernal property, which includes 300 acres of City -owned property for public use. • General Plan — Implement the General Plan and pursue long -term advanced planning activities • City Finances — Plan for and react to future State fiscal issues, pension and OPEB reform and maintain the City's fiscal sustainability. • Affordable Housing — Address affordable housing issues and update the Housing Element pursuant to the Urban Habitat Settlement Agreement. • Traffic — Implement improved traffic circulation measures. • Economic Development — Foster economic prosperity including business assistance, retention and attraction programs. • Youth Programs — Strengthen youth programs, services and activities. • Public Safety — Assure a safe and secure community by maintaining the City disaster preparedness plan and updating the childcare ordinance. • Quality of Life — Protect and enhance Pleasanton's quality of life and develop strategic plans to support this goal. • Environmental Awareness — Pursue environmental awareness, health, land use and preservation issues. • City Services — Operate an effective and cost efficient government. DISCUSSION When reviewing the work plan, it should be noted that many work plan goals can be described generally as special projects, with a start and completion date and are not part of the City's regular ongoing service efforts. As an example, while the City devotes a substantial amount of its resources to providing planning services, carrying out the implementation of the Downtown Specific Plan is a unique project conducted in addition to regular planning service activities. As a result, the implementation of the Downtown Specific Plan is included in the work plan while providing ongoing planning services is Page 2 of 3