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strip and pointed out that most of the pine trees are dying. The only things that thrive are the live oaks. She asked who maintains this area? Ms. Ayala asked staff to respond to the maintenance question and referred to the work done for the pathway for the school children to use. Mr. Swift said he would have to check on that. Kaiser owns the property and the trees were planted as a requirement for screening. Brian Arkin, 3740 Newton Way, supported the recommendation of Jennifer Hosterman for a commission to develop a sustainable plan and urged Council to establish it as a permanent body. With regard to the East Pleasanton Study, he supported including the Stoneridge and Staples Ranch areas in the study. That area should all be studied at the same time, especially since there are a lot of new people living in that area who should have their concerns and views noted. He referred to a statement in the staff report about starting the process for a new General Plan for the city and asked when that would happen. Would it occur at the same time as the East Pleasanton Study? Ms. McKeehan indicated a General Plan is to be updated approximately every five years. In actuality, when you consider the time involved in the process, it is really more like every ten years. There are no plans to start that now. Mr. Arkin asked if there were factors that required the East Pleasanton Study to occur now or could it wait a few years? Mayor Pico said there is a pending plan for the Busch property that will come before Council shortly. After the referendum on the Ponderosa proposal for that property, it was his understanding that a commitment was made to have an East Pleasanton study before approval of any additional development on the east side of the city. That is part of what is driving this issue for him. There is an existing General Plan and there is nothing that would stop a developer from coming forward with a proposal. Mr. Arkin agreed that he felt there was a commitment to do a study before any development in that area was approved and he agreed with that. David Lowry, 3752 Trenery Drive, supported doing the East Pleasanton Study and did not want the area to develop piecemeal. He wanted input on what would be developed and hoped to have pathways and recreation as well has homes in that area. His neighborhood is outside the area, but he did have concerns about the larger vacant parcels. He felt a well-coordinated plan would serve the city better than doing things one at a time. There being no further testimony, the public hearing was closed. Mayor Pico acknowledged that there is a General Plan that was adopted in 1996 as well as a Stoneridge Drive Specific Plan adopted in the late eighties or early nineties. Pleasanton City Council 15 01/23/01 Minutes