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216 Mr. Brandes indicated that he was not opposed to the referendum process or to some of the things the Save Pleasanton Ridgelands Committee (SPRC) is trying to do through this Initiative. He added, however, that he would not support putting it on the ballot at this time because the Council has begun a process that would provide citizens with better information on the issues. Ms. Mohr concurred. Mr. Mercer pointed out that the City's General Plan was put together with a lot of input from the public. This Initiative, which proposes a General Plan amendment on over 10,000 acres with no public input, will limit public participation to what SPRC wants. He said that he would like to see the Steering Committee's recommendations and have the public participate in a General Plan amendment process before putting it on the ballot. Ms. Spraggins agreed that the public should participate and stated that putting the Initiative on the ballot would be the best way to do this because it would give the entire community the opportunity to vote on the issue. She added that the Initiative indicates that if the landowners desire to present a plan, the community would be able to vote on it too. Mr. Mercer explained that his concept is that the entire community, not only the landowners, would design the plan and decide what the General Plan should be. Mr. Butler noted that this specific measure could preempt and preclude any other proposal that may come up in the future. Ms. Spraggins stated that from the beginning, SPRC has been saying that development on the Ridgelands could get out of control, which would result in more houses on the Ridge than there are at present. Mr. Mercer pointed out that SPRC assumes that the citizens in the community who will participate in the General Plan process would automatically say that the Ridgelands should be developed. He emphasized that the community should be able to recommend what it feels to be the most logical zoning and uses for the property. If, at the end of the process, Council does not agree with the recommendations, it can reject them. In the same way, if the property owners do not like the outcome, they can choose not to annex to the City. If SPRC does not like the results, it can put the matter on the ballot as an Initiative. He reiterated that there are more options for public participation than voting. Ms. Spraggins stated that the Initiative process is working parallel to the committee and public hearing processes because it gives the opportunity for the citizens to educate themselves and - 4 - 5-1-90