06 ATTACHMENT 5 - Laserfiche WebLink

3. The Masons' parties have subsided due to the Millers' efforts—not the City's efforts It is true that the Masons' parties have subsided in the past few years; however, this is because of the Millers' efforts —not the City's. After the 2009 hearing, the Millers lost faith in the City to enforce the codes and so kept the pressure on the Masons through the Millers' own efforts, including: • Complaining directly to the Masons during parties • Creating and publicizing a website ( savepleasantonneighborhoods .com) • Passing flyers out at the 2014 political candidate forums (See Attachments #5 & #6.1 • Telling Kevin Keen, Masonic President, that the Millers had pulled the Masons' tax returns • Contacting the IRS • Contacting the Secretary of State • Contacting the Pleasanton Business License Office • Presenting to the Valley Trails HOA who wrote a letter to the City supporting the Millers • Emailing the Mayor and City Councilmembers • Meeting with Councilmember Kathy Narum • Contacting realtor associations • Bringing these issues before the Planning Commission for a new hearing • Contacting the local newspapers (note: this is still in process). It is the Millers' belief that these efforts paid off in terms of motivating the Masons to be cautious and reduce their parties. Without these efforts, the Millers believe that there would have been many more parties. However. iust this last Monday. there was another party in the backyard. 4. If the Masons' parties have subsided, why are the Millers still asking for a hearing? There are several reasons for the Millers bringing this before the planning commissioners even though the parties have subsided. • The Millers believe that their efforts have motivated the Masons to reduce the number of outdoor activities, but without a resolution from the City, the Masons could resume activity at any time. And in fact, there have been two events in August —one event used the backyard area, and the other event did not use the backyard, but the music bled through the glass French doors since the doors are not sound rated. • The leadership of the Masons could change at any time, and the new leadership may wish to pursue increased commercial activity at the site • The Millers need to restore the damage to their property value. An appraiser estimated the damage to the property at 3% to 5%, or possibly even 100% if the Millers could not sell at all due to buyers preferring homes without noise nuisances. At current market values, this is between s