14 - Laserfiche WebLink

Hills, for the purpose of this mapping priority project, consist of four properties, all formerly or currently uses for livestock grazing: • Lund Ranch II (196 acres)2 • Spotorno Property (158 acres) • Oak Grove Property (560 acres) • Foley Property (606 acres) As shown in Attachment 5 (Project Location Map), the Lund Ranch II, Spotorno, and Oak Grove properties are all within City limits, while the Foley Property is located entirely in unincorporated Alameda County. The City's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB; affirmed by Measure FF in November 1996), beyond which urban development is not permitted to occur, bisects the Spotorno, Foley, and Oak Grove properties. Lund Ranch II is encompassed entirely within the UGB. POLICY CONTEXT The General Plan identifies protection of the open space character of the Southeast Hills as an important planning consideration, stating: "Consideration should be given to preserving large open-space acreage in South Pleasanton and in the Southeast Hills by a combination of private open space and a public park system." Policies related to protection of the Southeast Hills, which incorporates the hillside protection elements of Measure PP and promotes the preservation of hillside areas, are excerpted in the Planning Commission agenda report (see Attachment 2). These policies were taken into account in developing the hillside mapping methodology described in this report. Generally, the methodologies selected would be protective of steep slopes in the Southeast Hills, consistent with the spirit of the General Plan policies. DISCUSSION As noted above, while Measure PP included a specific purpose and General Plan Policy, it does not have technical definitions for terms involved in mapping hillsides, such as "structure," "ridgeline" and "slope." Furthermore, while many cities in the Bay Area have hillside protection ordinances, Measure PP's restrictions more uniquely apply to large hillside areas. For instance, Danville, Moraga, San Ramon, and Orinda all have hillside protection ordinances, but those apply to specific mapped areas, minimizing difficulties in defining where ridgelines begin and end (discussed further below). Nevertheless, in preparing the mapping for the Southeast Hills, the methodology developed by staff incorporates the most current and detailed mapping resources to be most reflective of the purpose of Measure PP's interest in protecting ridgelines and hillsides extending over a long distance. The following discussion presents a step-by- step summary of the methodology and techniques the City used to undertake the mapping priority project presented in this report. 2 The Lund Ranch II site was mapped pursuant to Measure PP as part of the evaluation leading up to the entitlements for that project, and is excluded from the mapping contained in this report. Page 3 of 10