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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> In 2016, out of a desire to "minimize future land-use conflicts by providing clarity to property <br /> owners and the City on issues related to slope and ridgeline setbacks" consistent with Measure <br /> PP restrictions, the City Council adopted Southeast Hills Mapping as a Work Plan Priority. <br /> The Southeast Hills, comprising approximately 1,520 acres located within and outside City limits <br /> (see Exhibit B, Project Location Map), is a landform that functions as an open space boundary <br /> and important visual feature to the southeast of the developed portion of the City. Although the <br /> Southeast Hills have a long history of livestock grazing, they have been subject to limited <br /> development, contain large expanses of native vegetation, and serve as a wildlife corridor <br /> between Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park and the wildlands around Del Valle Regional Park. In <br /> response to the interest of limiting "growth and the impact it has on ridgelines and hillsides", <br /> Pleasanton voters in November 2008 passed Measure PP, the "Save Pleasanton's Hills and <br /> Housing Cap Initiative" (see Exhibit A, text of Measure PP). Measure PP states in part that: "No <br /> grading to construct residential or commercial structures shall occur on hillside slopes <br /> 25 percent or greater, or within 100 vertical feet of a ridgeline." Measure PP issues (including <br /> definition of key terms in the measure) were at the forefront of discussions related to the Lund <br /> Ranch II Project, which was approved on January 5, 2016, and was followed by a referendum <br /> (Measure K) seeking to halt the project. Measure K was approved, meaning that the Lund <br /> Ranch II project was able to proceed as approved. <br /> The methodology and mapping presented in this report comprise the mapping requested by City <br /> Council. Staff acknowledges that due to the language of Measure PP there are multiple ways of <br /> approaching the mapping, but believes that the mapping presented in this report employs <br /> reasonable and replicable means of defining slopes, ridgelines, and vertical ridgeline setbacks, <br /> resulting in mapping of Measure PP provisions that is consistent with the intent that "Ridgelines <br /> and hillsides shall be protected." <br /> BACKGROUND/HISTORY <br /> With the stated purpose to "...protect our city from uncontrolled growth and the impact it has on <br /> ridgelines and hillsides, traffic, schools, water supply, and our overall quality of life," Pleasanton <br /> voters in November 2008 passed Measure PP, the "Save Pleasanton's Hills and Housing Cap <br /> Initiative."1 Measure PP resulted in the addition of Land Use Element Program 21.3 to the <br /> General Plan, which reads: <br /> Program 21.3: Ridgelines and hillsides shall be protected. Housing units and structures <br /> shall not be placed on slopes of 25 percent or greater, or within 100 vertical feet of a <br /> ridgeline. No grading to construct residential or commercial structures shall occur on <br /> hillside slopes 25 percent or greater, or within 100 vertical feet of a ridgeline. Exempt <br /> from this policy are housing developments of 10 or fewer housing units on a single <br /> property. Splitting dividing, or subdividing a "legal parcel" to approve more than <br /> 10 housing units is not allowed (Measure PP, Nov. 2008). <br /> After Measure PP qualified for the ballot, the City Council commissioned a report about the <br /> effects of the initiative, which noted that some key terms in the initiative, including "structure", <br /> "ridgeline" and "slope" were not specifically defined. The ballot materials submitted to the voters <br /> ' The provisions of Measure PP related to the City's Housing Cap were invalidated by the Alameda County Superior <br /> Court as being in conflict with State law mandating that communities meet regional housing requirements. <br /> Mapping of Southeast Hills Planning Commission <br /> Page 2 of 10 <br />