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BACKGROUND <br /> The Castleridge Trailhead developed by the District (as allowed by the MOU) is located <br /> in Pleasanton's Alviso Adobe Park, which is also the historic home of the Meadowlark <br /> Dairy and the restored milking barn. The site is a registered historic landmark and is <br /> programmed by the City with various educational and recreational activities. The Alviso <br /> Adobe Park has a relatively small parking lot, resulting in parking spilling onto the <br /> adjacent Old Foothill Road from time-to-time. When the District approached the City <br /> about constructing the Castleridge Trailhead within the Alviso Adobe Park, concerns <br /> were raised by community groups and park users, as well as by City staff, about the <br /> area's ability to accommodate both the current park activities and expected trailhead <br /> users. These concerns centered on congestion and parking, and how these issues <br /> would affect the future of Alviso Adobe Park activities. The City and District both <br /> recognized these concerns as valid. However, it was also understood by the City and <br /> the District that public access to the 231-acre Castleridge property, which the District <br /> acquired two years earlier in 2014, was also a public amenity desired by many. <br /> In response to the concerns, the District assured the City that the primary access to the <br /> Castleridge property and Pleasanton Ridge would be the Garms Staging Area identified <br /> in the 2012 Land Use Plan for Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, but construction of the <br /> Garms Staging Area would not be complete until December 2020. The District believed <br /> the Alviso Adobe Park access to be simpler to construct, and therefore capable of <br /> providing some of the desired access to the Castleridge property relatively quickly. <br /> While the District acknowledged congestion and parking would be a problem until the <br /> Garms Staging Area was constructed, the City and District understood the Garms <br /> Staging Area would relieve the congestion and parking issues when completed. The <br /> City and District agreed that the management of the congestion and parking, while the <br /> Garms Staging Area was designed, bid, and constructed, was offset by the benefit of <br /> providing near-term public access to the Castleridge property, with the understanding it <br /> would be limited to the four years required to complete the Garms Staging Area. <br /> Many community members were skeptical of the arrangement. They were concerned <br /> that if the District was allowed to construct the access across the Alviso Adobe Park and <br /> use parking on Old Foothill Road first, the Garms Staging Area would become a lower <br /> priority for the District and construction would be deferred. To alleviate those concerns, <br /> the City and the District entered into the MOU in 2016 to clearly define the District's <br /> intentions. <br /> On September 22, 2022, City Manager Gerry Beaudin sent a letter to EBRPD General <br /> Manager Sabrina Landreth requesting a written update from the District regarding the <br /> status of the Garms Staging Area in relation to the commitments made by the District in <br /> MOU. <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />