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down to zero would be protecting flat land at some point. He noted that the Council agreed with this. He added that there is also the 100 -foot setback that is required by Measure PP that had to be incorporated into this ordinance. He then presented some graphics demonstrating a ridgeline and where it ends, and how the 100 -foot setback from the ridgeline is determined: horizontally, it will move back and forth depending on how steep it is; and vertically, the reduction in height 100 feet down from the top of the line at any given point is the start of where development could be considered. He noted that the Council agreed with this. Mr. Dolan then presented some slides showing a 25- percent slope as basically one unit rise over a four -unit run. He noted that some people would look at that and say it is steep, and others would look at it and say it does not seem that steep. He indicated that it is a fairly common threshold for cities starting to restrict development, and it is steeper than the typical standard for a road slope. He noted that staff would typically limit a road to go up about 15 percent and not allow the road to go up a slope that steep for a lot of reasons, including what the Fire Department's say in terms of getting its trucks up and down and how it operates on slopes steeper than that. Mr. Dolan stated that one of the more complicated or more controversial issues is that there are some properties, including one that has already submitted a development application, with areas on the site where the natural slope is below 25 percent yet there has been some grading, in this case a cut, but the same could occur for a mound of some kind, and that cut results in a slope that exceeds 25 percent. He indicated that there was a lot of discussion about whether or not the letter of the verbiage should be applied to those man -made slopes, as the Measure did not mention man -made slopes at all. He noted that the Council discussed this at length and it decided that the base position should be that there would be no exclusion for them, but they could be considered on a case -by -case basis. He indicated that the draft ordinance thus allows for an exemption on those and they can be considered on a case -by -case basis. He pointed out that the test before the exception is granted is really whether or not the intent of the overall ordinance is being met. He indicated that this would be at the discretion of the Council. He added that one may question if the Measure actually gives the Council that discretion, and staff's position is that it does, because the Measure does not address it. He explained that should one want to build on that slope, the initial answer would be no, but there would be an opportunity to demonstrate that this really is not an issue. Chair Blank noted that the ordinance uses the term "hillside" when referring to slopes 25 percent or greater. Mr. Dolan replied that in the example used, this actually occurs on a hillside, except that it does not occur on a hillside that is greater than 25- percent slope until a 25- percent slope was created with the grading. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, January 23, 2013 Page 6 of 44