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-- Attorney General opinions which say the County can give its exemption to the County Fair <br /> Association and that exempts that Association from complying with regulations in the jurisdiction <br /> in which it is located so long as the activities are Association related. The issues become cloudy <br /> when the Fair Association leases its property to a third party for revenue raising purposes that <br /> are not directly Fair related. The Alameda County fairground is used throughout the year for <br /> many other activities, e.g. home and garden shows, RV shows, etc. and those are generally <br /> revenue raising for the Fair Association. The City has not sought to exercise jurisdiction or <br /> control concerning these uses mostly because of the temporary nature of the activities. In the <br /> last few years, issues have arisen because of proposed uses, such as a water slide, by private <br /> operators that would have direct impacts on the neighborhood. <br /> <br /> Mr. Roush confirmed, he felt that these uses fall outside the scope of what a Fair Board <br /> generally does and is no different from a private developer and the City should have jurisdiction. <br /> Council has authorized letters to be sent to the Fair Board and Board of Supervisors and prior <br /> proposals, for whatever reason, did not proceed. We are in a similar position now, but the <br /> difficulty is no one knows what the proposal is. If it were the entire Bay Meadows operation, <br /> Mr. Roush believes Council could exercise jurisdiction. The County Counsel has taken a <br /> different position. The cardroom that came forth was a situation where, under the law, the <br /> operator had to obtain the permission of the City in which the cardroom would be located. <br /> Neither the Fair Board nor the County could give that authorization. <br /> <br /> Ms. Michelotti asked what happens if the County wanted to put in a hotel to be used in <br /> conjunction with conferences/conventions and to complement uses at the fairgrounds now? What <br /> process would have to be followed? An application in the County or the City? <br /> <br /> Mr. Roush did not think it would go to the County because the Fairgrounds is within the <br /> incorporated area of Pleasanton. He felt the most likely scenario would be that the Fair Board <br /> would have a contract with a developer to build the hotel and in that situation, the Council would <br /> have to act on the zoning and approval of the hotel application. <br /> <br /> Ms. Michelotti asked if the County Counsel would agree with that? <br /> <br /> Mr. Roush said probably not. The County Counsel would probably say there was enough <br /> of a nexus between fair activities and the uses of the hotel and it was revenue raising, there <br /> would be a benefit to the Association overall, and therefore the hotel would be outside the City' s <br /> jurisdiction. <br /> <br /> Ms. Dennis summarized that if the Fair Board is leasing out facilities for events, that is <br /> one thing, but if it is building new structures or making long term business arrangements for <br /> buildings that are leased to private parties, that should go through the City processes. That was <br /> the case with the Watch and Wager facility. She felt there would be a harder case to make if <br /> Bay Meadows wanted to use only existing facilities (barns, stables, etc.). <br /> <br /> 04/02/96 -8- <br /> <br /> <br />