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<br />In achieving its purpose of identification and information transfer, private signage in commercial areas
<br />varies from extremely well-designed and effective to visually weak and ineffective. Signs with good
<br />graphic design and high quality materials enhance commercial areas and streetscapes and contribute to
<br />the building's appearance.
<br />
<br />Parks
<br />
<br />The city is rich in parkland with the Sports and Recreation Community Park, Val Vista Community
<br />Park, Amador Valley Community Park, Augustin Bernal Park, Shadow Cliffs Recreation Area,
<br />Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, school playgrounds, and many neighborhood parks. Some, such as
<br />Kottinger Community Park, provide distinctive linkages which enhance the feeling of community
<br />within their neighborhoods. Parks and City recreational programs facilitate by far the greatest amount
<br />of community activity in Pleasanton. For a more in depth discussion of parks in Pleasanton, see the
<br />Parks and Recreation discussion in the Public Facilities Element.
<br />
<br />Other Activity Centers
<br />
<br />The Downtown, Alameda County Fairgrounds, schools, churches, and other centers, including
<br />institutional facilities such as the ValleyCare and Kaiser Medical Centers, all influence the character of
<br />Pleasanton and serve as reference points for orientation within the community. Significant events and
<br />festivals involving large numbers of residents and visitors occur in some of these areas, and these
<br />activities, perhaps more than any physical features, express the special character and spirit of
<br />Pleasanton. These include the Alameda County Fair and Parade, the Farmers' Market, Friday Night
<br />Concerts in the Park, First Wednesday Street Parties, the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, the soccer
<br />parade, the Children's Fair, the Century House Poetry Reading Series, and many other activities and
<br />celebrations.
<br />
<br />Agriculture
<br />
<br />Until the mid 1960s, agriculture predominated throughout Pleasanton with many dependent
<br />businesses, including the Garatti Winery1 on Saint John Street - the largest business in Pleasanton in
<br />the 1950s2 - and the Cheese Factory on Main Street. Residences commonly were adjacent to cattle-
<br />grazing areas, dairy farms, walnut orchards, and hop, tomato, or sugar beet fields. Jackson & Perkins
<br />located its rose-growing operations in Pleasanton briefly in the 1960s. See also the discussion under
<br />Farmland in the Conservation and Open Space Element.
<br />
<br />Although no longer the most important activity in Pleasanton, agriculture still contributes to the rural
<br />flavor around and within parts of the city. Some names indicate agriculture that once predominated in
<br />a particular area, such as the former hop fields along Hopyard Road, vineyards along Vineyard Avenue,
<br />
<br />1 In 1960, the Scotto family bought the Garrati Winery, renamed it Villa Armando, and then increased the winery
<br />capacity. Grossman, Deborah, "Pleasanton welcomes a new winery," Pleasanton Weekly Online Edition, August 30,
<br />2002.
<br />
<br />2 The Pleasanton Times, September 24, 1954, page 1.
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<br />Community Character 011607 clean
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<br />10-7
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<br />1/03/2007
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