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design guidelines for Oak Grove stated that the distance a tree had to be planted from a house of any type is 2x its full-grown height; if the height was 40 feet, it must be 80 feet from the house. Mr. Roberts believed the proposed Development Agreement removed the ability of the voters to have a say in this project. He rejected the certification of the EIR because of what he believed to be its many flaws. He urged the Planning Commission to direct staff to correct the EIR and, if necessary, work with the developer and all of the community to propose a project which has no impact on the community and which does not have major health and safety risks. In response to a request from Chairperson Fox to clarify the wraparound in the Development Agreement, Mr. Roush replied that approval of the Development Agreement would not prevent this project from being subject to referendum. He noted that it would provide that a subsequent action by the voters could not set aside the approval. If this project were approved, because it was a PUD and a Development Agreement, both of those items would be subject to referendum, and the voters could set it aside. It provided that once it is approved, a subsequent action could not be taken to set aside those approvals because they would be vested. Ms. Decker noted that there had been considerable discussion about 20-percent grades on EVAs and wished to point out to the Commission that this is not an uncommon grade that has been used with various projects. She noted that the recent Reznick project on the Vineyard Avenue Corridor Specific plan had grades that exceeded the 15 percent; there were three lines of approximately 20-percent grades for short distances that were approximately the same length being considered in this project. She noted that the grades for the Reznick project, which was approved in 2006, were based upon an analysis and review by the Fire Chief and Fire Marshall, evaluating what met the site constraints and the project needs best, and whether it was a plausible solution. In response to an inquiry by Commissioner O’Connor regarding whether the grades for the Reznick project were mitigated, Ms. Decker replied they were not and that the grades were presented to the Planning Commission with improvement plans. The grades were designed at 20 percent and have been constructed or were in the process of construction. She noted that the water tank had been under construction for some time, and the road had been graded uphill. Kay Ayala, 4514 Gatetree Circle, noted that this project mystified her and wondered why anybody would want to build on these slopes and hills. During her tenure on City Council, she was consistently told by staff that the City was not obligated to let building go forward on this piece of property. She understood that when the Lins chose to develop Kottinger Ranch, they split the property in order to complete the first part of the development. She noted that the landowner would not lose property rights. She looked in the archives for the conditions of approval of Kottinger Hills, but they were not available. She was very concerned because of what she had been told by several people she had called regarding owners’ property rights and that if this project were not built, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 27, 2007 Page 11 of 28