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pointed out that the small green line going from the top of the ridge down is a road; <br /> there is an existing road coming down right across the middle of that grade from the <br /> ridge down, and there is also a road on the top of that ridge around two water tanks. He <br /> stated that this hillside can be exempt from Measured PP; it has already been graded, <br /> and that existing dirt road can be graded all the way up to access Sunset Creek Lane <br /> and the Bridle Creek roadway system, as was contemplated in the previous sessions. <br /> Mr. Bauer then stated that he wanted to talk about disclosures because in 2003 when <br /> this first hit the public in a limited amount of time, there was community outrage about <br /> disclosures, mainly from the Bridle Creek community that had settled in then. He <br /> acknowledged receipt of the Sycamore Heights and Greenbriar CC&Rs in response to <br /> his request, and it is very plainly stated in the Bridle Creek CC&Rs that the road will <br /> connect through the development. He added that there is a lot of ambiguity in the <br /> Sycamore Heights CC&Rs, but he recalls that Sunset Creek Lane may connect to the <br /> Lund Ranch development. He asked where the connection would be if it was not going <br /> to connect to Sunset Creek Lane. <br /> David Melaugh stated that he will focus his comments on the road structure issue. He <br /> indicated that he wrote to the Commission on June 14, 2015 and June 23, 2015 <br /> discussing in detail that a road is indeed a structure. He further indicated that he is an <br /> attorney and that what he will talk about this evening is a question of statutory <br /> interpretation. <br /> Mr. Melaugh stated that the Pleasanton Municipal Code is what is being interpreted, <br /> and at issue is the definition of a structure, which the Code says is "anything <br /> constructed or erected which requires a location on the ground." He indicated that the <br /> question is if a road fits that definition, but what needs to be addressed first is whether <br /> the definition language is ambiguous, and it is not. He stated that if one asks a spouse <br /> or the next person on the street if the road is something constructed and requires a <br /> location on the ground, he doubts if there will be even one person who will say "no." <br /> The Oxford English Dictionary's definition of"construct" is "to build or erect something, <br /> typically a building, road, or machine." He indicated that he did not insert the word <br /> "road" in that definition; that is Oxford's definition. He added that the clarity of <br /> Pleasanton's Municipal Code definition should end this debate with respect. <br /> Mr. Melaugh stated that the aim here is to apply Pleasanton law, and if one is getting <br /> legal advice that there is some ambiguity or room for interpretation in this Code, one is <br /> getting bad advice. He noted, however, that if, for argument's sake, there is some <br /> ambiguity and it is necessary to turn to other sources for interpretation, there are many <br /> communities that explicitly define roads as structures: the California State Government <br /> Code is one example, as is Fremont. He added that other there are plenty of places <br /> with broad definitions like Pleasanton's that list roads as an example of a type of <br /> structure: Orinda, Alameda, and Lafayette are cities that do just that. He pointed out <br /> that even Pleasanton does this in another section of hillside ordinances which says: <br /> "Streets, buildings, and other man-made structures," the implication being that a street <br /> is a type of man-made structure. He stated that staff says that these other communities <br /> have separate definitions of road and structure, and, therefore, a road must not be a <br /> structure. He stated that the mere fact that there are separate definitions says nothing <br /> about what is in those definitions; the words "fruit," "dog," and "strawberry" each have <br /> EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES, June 24, 2015 Page 15 of 45 <br />