CCMIN041602 - Laserfiche WebLink

Karen Ellgas, 3274 Melanie Circle, made it clear that she is not anti-trail. The video was very good and she would love to have a house on that trail. However, she noted the fences between the houses and the trail were solid and there was a very large setback from the fence. Her house has a chain link fence. Had they known fifteen years ago that a trail would be opened, some of the homeowners could have planted accordingly. The main point is there is not a solid fence, no setback, and the neighborhood has felt it was not a safe place for children. Now there are kids going to Hart Middle School. She said the neighborhood could live with the trail if mitigations are installed. There have been meetings with Zone 7 to clarify the gate issues and meetings with City staff. She referred to the lron Horse Trail in the Moraga/Lafayette area and said the average home setback is 894 feet from the trail to the back door. Her house is 75 feet from the trail. Most of the other homes on Parkside are about 40 feet from the trail. The film said the property values went up, but give no statistics. Another study states that although property values do not go down, they do not go up as high as other properties in the area. She also pointed out Folsom has a lake nearby and is a recreation oriented community. Pleasanton is a bedroom community for Silicon Valley. She hoped Council would direct staff to establish reasonable mitigations and to seriously consider a trail on the north side. She felt that would be better for students going to Hart Middle School. Stu Wetmore, 3276 Melanie Circle, said if the Council puts the trail on the south side of the Arroyo, he preferred to have the chain link fence replaced with a solid wood fence and maintained at City expense. Greg Dunn, 3112 Cranwood Court, supported the trail system and loved the trails that were already in place. That is not really the issue for the Parkside residents. He felt there were some legal issues regarding the fact that the plan has been in place for ten years and the City had some responsibility to people who live along the trail when the plan is implemented. He felt there must be some precedent or rule that would address that. As far as whether property values would go up or down, there are good arguments on both sides. If the Parkside residents want the City to subsidize this fence, it would also be fair if the property values were followed in the next ten years and if the property values rise in a disproportionate rate from the rest of the City, that the residents should reimburse the extra value created to the trails fund. He would support a fence on those terms. He understood that the Parkside residents were asking to have the capability individually to decide what they want to do about the fence. If he were there that would be important to him because he would not want to build an eight foot wall, he would build a gate. As he rides the Iron Horse Trail, he sees people who adapt to the trail in many different ways. Some have no fence and invite the community experience, others have the tall fence and there is everything in between. That is another problem he sees with the City making the decision to build an eight foot wall for all those properties. Patti Carr, 3253 Cheryl Circle, indicated her back yard fence is two feet from the trail. Even though people are not supposed to be using it now, she sees joggers, walkers, bikers, and at one time there were motorcycles on the trail at 2:00 a.m. She felt there is a safety issue for the homes and for children walking on the trails. She asked Council to put the trail on the north side and if that is not possible, then to put up a solid fence. She referred to the Folsom trail and said none of those houses are as close to the trail as the homes on Cheryl Circle. Pleasanton City Council 17 04/16/02 Minutes