16 ATTACHMENT 1 CLEAN - Laserfiche WebLink

Draft 2.0 Land Use Element The Ridgelands area consists of ridges and valleys which separate the Tri-Valley from Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, Union Ciry, and Fremont. It provides the primary western visual backdrop fox Pleasanton and joins the more westerly ridges in establishing the topographic edge to Hayward and Castro Valley. This predominantly undeveloped land further provides a scenic open space amenity of regional significance which includes regional parkland, agricultural land, and valuable wildlife habitat. Steeply sloping, heavily forested eastern and northern faces of the Pleasanton, Sunol, and Main Ridges, as well as broad grassland grazing areas along ridge tops and southern and western slopes, characterize the area. In November of 1993, Pleasanton voters approved Measure F, which directly relates to the Ridgelands. The intent of the Measure is to preserve the remaining agricultural open space and designate the Ridgelands as Park and Recreation (for publicly-owned land) and Agriculture (for privately-owned land). In those areas designated Agriculture, certain uses which would be incompatible with the existing visual quality are not allowed. Refer to Programs 16.1 and 17.1, below, in the Goals, Policies, and Programs section, for further information about Measure F. South Pleasanton Rolling and steeply sloping hills used predominantly as grazing and watershed land with low-density residential uses in the flatter Happy Valley Area characterize South Pleasanton. The General Electric Vallecitos Nuclear Research Center dominates the largely undeveloped Vallecitos Valley area north of State Route 84, while the San Antonio Reservoir watershed area, owned by the Ciry and County of San Francisco, covers much of the area south of State Route 84. The General Plan designates much of South Pleasanton as Public Health and Safety with a Wildlands Overlay, resulting in no development capacity other than one single-family home on an existing private lot of record. These designations cover the steeper slopes, higher elevations, areas subject to landslides and other hazards, watershed lands, and valuable wildlife habitat and corridor areas. Land Use in the Happy Valley area is discussed in detail in the Happy Valley Specific Plan (see pages 22-25). The Callippe Preserve Golf Course is located south of Happy Valley Road and is designated as Parks and Recreation. The General Electric site is designated as General and Limited Industrial, and to the west of that facility along Little Valley Road some Rural Density Residential is designated in an area of existing ranchettes. Consideration should be given to preserving large open-space acreage in South Pleasanton by a combination of private open space and a public park system. Developer dedications, bond measures, corporate and personal donations, as well as regional, State, and federal funding programs, should be used to acquire trail rights-of--way and land. Attempts to achieve public access to open-space areas and trails should not create onerous impositions on property owners. LU element 082107 clean 2-8