01 - Laserfiche WebLink

their home. She acknowledged that no neighborhood wants additional development or the associated traffic, but noted that the North Sycamore and Happy Valley Specific Plans were created with input from the existing neighborhoods of southeastern Pleasanton. She said that while defining a road as a structure seems like a basic decision at face value, it has far reaching and unforeseen consequences in the precedent it would set for the city. She requested a supportive show of hands from her neighbors in southeastern Pleasanton. Mayor Thorne noted for the record that more than half the audience raised their hands. LaVerne Spotorno said she, her husband, nor other members of the Spotorno family were notified of this hearing by city staff and asked that in the future, her family and others whose properties would be affected by such issues receive the proper notification. She reiterated several points from the letter submitted by her attorney. She respectfully requested that the Council direct staff to prepare an inventory of the affected ridgelines and notify the public, particularly the owners of those properties, prior to any vote on the matter. She strongly objected to defining roads as a structure and encouraged the Council to honor the staff recommendation. Belinda Zhu said that while Measure PP did not expressly mention roads, it also did not expressly exclude them. She questioned to what extent the Council should rely on intent, of which there have been different accounts, in making such an important determination. Yalin Xiong said she looked to the spirit of PP to determine the definition of a road. The spirit is to protect ridgelines and hillsides, roads would undermine that protection, and therefore roads should be considered structures. Vic LeLaurin said that when preparing to vote on PP, he and many other voters gave considerable weight to the City Attorney's impartial analysis. That analysis clearly states that the measure would add a new policy to the General Plan that would prohibit the placement of housing units and structures as well as any grading to construct residential and commercial structures, which in his mind included roads. He said the analysis also stated that once in effect, the policies provided for in the measure may only be amended by Pleasanton voters in a general election, yet tonight the public is hearing discussion of exceptions and exemptions. Chris Markle said he was one of those who requested postponement of the item and believed that the decision to continue the public hearing to the next meeting is a sound compromise. He said that in speaking with several coworkers, none of whom live in or have a vested interest in Pleasanton, each took the position that a road is clearly a structure. Secondly, the accoutrements of a road (such as street lights) are perhaps even more so structures. He said he lives in the Sycamore Heights community, read the disclosure documents and understood that a connector road would likely come through his neighborhood; however, that all changed when the voters passed PP. Ashish Goel said that in civil engineering, roads, bridges and pavements are defined as horizontal structures and that he was rather surprised to hear City staff suggest otherwise. Greg O'Connor referred to a letter submitted to the Council by Ann Fox. In the letter Ms. Fox states she was the author of the paragraph in PP that discusses hillside protections, that roads were definitely contemplated and that they were in fact the catalyst for her involvement with the measure. He noted that the arguments and rebuttals in the measure's voter pamphlet contain a fair amount of discussion on roads as well as specific reference to the road on top of Oak Grove. This particular road was also a significant talking point in their voter outreach efforts. He said the intent of PP was to prohibit development in the hills, which he believed most voters understood to include roads. Raj Rajagopalan said he initiated efforts to have signs posted at the extension stubs to the East West Connector Road. He said there was no mention of the extension in his CC&Rs and that Greenbriar Development's sales people actually stated the road would never be extended. He said that the City Council Minutes Page 6 of 11 April 2, 2013