06 ATTACHMENT 5 - Laserfiche WebLink

Attachment #10— Mistakes the Masons made • The Masons should have known that their building required design review, and that the 1977 approved design prohibited breaking through the back wall to add French doors and turning the backyard into an outdoor entrainment area. • The Masons should have known that their conditional use permit prohibited events on the south side and violating the buffer on the north or west sides. • The Masons should not have neglected their duties as a nonprofit entity by not reporting the revenues for the catering company and banquet facility to the IRS and Secretary of State in 4 of the past 8 years. Who benefited from these monies? How did the Masons demonstrate the public benefit of these monies since the General Plan is designated as Public & Institutional? • The Masons should not have let their tax exempt status with the IRS, non- profit status with the Secretary of State, and business license with the City of Pleasanton all become revoked, suspended, or inactive, respectively. • The Masons should have known that the revenues from both the catering company and banquet facility are being managed by a for-profit/commercial company, and commercial companies are NOT ALLOWED IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS. o This is because the rental revenues from the catering company and banquet facility are reported on the tax returns for the Pleasanton Masonic Center (the holding company) and not the Pleasanton Lodge #321 (the association /fraternity), and the Pleasanton Masonic Center lost its tax exempt status with the IRS, and non - profit status with the Secretary of State, and therefore is now a for -profit company managing said revenues. • The Masons should have known that becoming a commercial operation in addition to being a private club violates the General Plan designation of Public and Institutional. • The Masons should have followed their own moral code documented on their web site: "Freemasonry holds dear the fundamental principles ... tolerance, peace and harmony, civil obedience and responsibility, brotherly love, family responsibility, and charity." The Masons have not been a "good neighbor" as one would expect from their moral code. • The Masons should have been aware of case law precedent in Los Angeles with another Masonic lodge in which the Court decided that commercial activities in a residential zone do not constitute an allowable (accessory) use and ordered the Masons to cease and desist commercial activities. Page 17 of 18