CCMIN041613 - Laserfiche WebLink

Laurie Saxton said that she, like many others, voted for no homes on Pleasanton ridges when she voted for PP. She referred to recent comments by homeowners in both Ventana Hills and along Sycamore Creek, stating that Sycamore Creek Way was designed to handle the kind of traffic Lund Ranch II is expected to generate whereas Ventana Hills was not. She requested that the Council do its due diligence and visit both neighborhoods before making a decision. John Spotorno said his family has been the stewards of nearly 160 acres east of Sycamore Creek Way for over 140 years. In 2002 they annexed the land into Pleasanton, which enabled development of the golf course. He reviewed an excerpt from the General Plan and discussed the value of current ordinances and ridgeline protections, noting that any new development must comply with a whole series of findings before any project is approved. He presented a diagram from the staff report that demonstrates the manner in which a ridge is measured. He noted that the slopes on the Spotorno property are extensions of ridges originating on the Foley property and said he did not believe there to be any ridges, as defined, on the Spotorno property. With regards to roads, he provided a photo of a service road on his property. He said that the road doubles as a fire break and follows the existing grade and noted that the very top of a slope is often the flattest and least impactful place to create such access. He concurred with staff's assessment that a road is not a structure and said they should be subject to the same guidelines and approval processes already in place. He acknowledged the importance of ridgeline protection and said it is clear that building on top of hillsides is not necessarily ideal or desirable, but noted that it has also been done tastefully and respectfully in some areas. Councilmember Brown asked and Mr. Spotorno confirmed that he did support a ridgeline inventory. Don Cross, Ventana Hills, discussed the negative consequences of increased traffic in the Ventana Hills area. He called particular attention to existing congestion, hazards and subpar conditions surrounding the neighborhood park. He also asked that the Council visit the area during peak park activity before making any decisions. Julie Finegan, Ventana Hills, implored the Council to approve the Lund Ranch connector road as originally planned with access through the Sycamore Creek development. She concurred with Ms. Saxton that the Sycamore development is better situated, both from the perspective of design and existing burden, to handle the increase in traffic that a connector road would generate. She encouraged the Council to accept staff's recommendations and let PP be the guide for future development. Vic LeLaurin said he researched "structures" on his own following the last meeting. He stated that the insurance industry defines a structure to include driveways, fences, outside walls or private roads. He saw little difference between public and private roads other than ownership and said it followed that roads are then to be considered structures. He said he would like to see the conversation shift from one of "not in my neighborhood" to one that seeks to uphold the larger intent of PP, which is to prohibit development in grading in the hills. James Frost shared information from a civil engineering organization and the California Department of Transportation, both of which reference roads as a type of structure. He said that when interpretations differ, such as is the case with PP relative to roads, the rule of law generally falls to common use. In this instance, both he and the Department of Transportation understand a road to be a structure. Douglas Herz said he strongly disagrees with any plans to further develop Pleasanton's hills because of the visual impacts, traffic and effects on the value of his property. David Miller concurred with staff's assessment that a road is not a structure. He interpreted PP as intending to protect the hillsides from uncontrolled development. He said he further interpreted "structure" to include such things as garages, cabanas, swimming pools, or other outbuildings, not roads. He also noted that each industry has its own definition of a structure and because PP did not precisely define the term the way it did a housing unit, the Council has the latitude to decide as is City Council Minutes Page 6 of 23 April 16, 2013