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City services were not alone in being affected by the city's develop- ment pattern. The establishment of scattered, haphazard developments throughout the city created islands of urban development in the sea of prime agricultural land in the valley floor. The loss of agricultural production due to the "leapfrog" development pattern has been greater than the actual loss of agricultural acreage since the urban islands have limited the types of agricultural production possible on those areas left and the skyrocketing taxes on passed over land have forced farmers to sell their la"rid and move. The Amador-Livermore Valley, an air basin especially conducive to the creation and accumulation of oxidant air pollution, quickly became one of the worst areas for oxidant air pollution in Northern California as growth in Pleasanton and neighboring communities greatly increased smog-producing emissions. The exaggerated use of the automobile made necessary because of the commuter lifestyle, the spread out pattern of development, and the lack of commercial facilities to serve the local population has con- tributed to .the degradation of the valley's air quality. Sewage effluent entering the valley's streams has been determined by the R.W.Q.C.B. to contribute to the degradation of the quality of those streams and has had an effect upon the quality of the groundwaters of the Niles Cone (the downstream water supply for much of Fremont). New residential development has occurred ahead of the measures planned to protect it from natural hazards; thus, for example, residences are built in areas still subject to flooding and lie across potentially active earthquake faults. :The pervasiveness of the impact of rapid growth upon the environmental quality of the Pleasanton area has made environmental considerations important factors in determining how future growth will occur in the city. The city, over the years, has been making some progress in solving the many problems related to the provision of adequate city services and the environmental degradation caused by the past rapid growth. A capital improvement schedule has been .adopted which would upgrade the city's capital facilities. Since sewage treatment capacity has been a primary constraint on development since 1973, much work has gone into solving this problem. Working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the R.W.Q.C.B. (San Francisco Bay Region), and other valley cities and agencies, Pleasanton has undertaken a series of projects financed largely by the state and Federal governments which are intended to provide additional secvage treatment capacity as well as improve the environment. Plans call for the phase-out of the city°s old Sunol plant, as long planned, and the consolidation of its sewage flows in an expanded DSRSD plant for treatment.. Rather than discharge effluent into valley streams, a joint powers agency - the Livermore-Amador Valley Water Management Agency - has been created to plan and implement an effluent disposal project to San Francisco Bay which would help to protect the valley's streams and the Niles Cone groundwaters. Because of the direct relationship between new residential growth in the valley and the valley's air quality, the size of the new sewage treatment facilities is being limited, in accor- dance with E.P.A. and state grant conditions and local recognition of the problem, to accommodate only a limited amount of growth. The facility sizes are based on the State Department of Finance's Series II population forecasts assuming an "E-Zero" rate of growth. The "E-Zero" rate, based on 2.11 births per females reaching child bearing age and a net zero in-migration to the area, is equivalent in -2-