RES 08228 - Laserfiche WebLink

Resolution No. 08-228 Page 4 of 6 EXHIBIT A THE PLEASANTON RIDGELINES PROTECTION AND GROWTH CONTROL INITIATIVE The people of the City of Pleasanton do ordain as follows: Section 1. Declaration of Purpose. The purpose of this Initiative is to: A. Preserve and protect scenic hillsides and preserve views of the ridges that surround Pleasanton. B. Achieve that preservation/protection through a collaborative and public process. C. Reaffirm and readopt General Plan policies and programs that currently provide, with no exemptions, preservation and protection of hillsides and views of ridges. D. Clarify how all types of housing units are counted towards the voter-approved maximum buildout of 29,000 housing units. Section 2. Findin s. A. The hillsides and ridges that surround Pleasanton provide spectacular views and the community wants to ensure that these scenic hillsides and ridges are preserved for the protection of public health and safety, to provide for trails in such open space, for the continuation of agriculture and grazing, to protect natural resources and sensitive habitats, and to preserve wildlands. B. The General Plan has a policy that Pleasanton residents will participate in land use planning and decision making, and in recognition of such collaborative and public process, an ordinance/design guidelines should be developed to: a. Identify specific ridges, based on engineering considerations related to view lines, geotechnical conditions, elevations (in the Southeast Hills in particular) and other relevant data, where development should not occur. b. Such ordinance/design guidelines must be drafted as expeditiously as possible and by no later than the end of November 2009. c. In drafting such ordinance/design guidelines, the collaborative and public process should include Pleasanton residents, property owners potentially affected by such ordinance/design guidelines, representatives of environmental organizations, open space and trail advocates and other interested persons. d. Such ordinance/design guidelines would be subject to public environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). C. To accomplish such preservation, the Conservation and Open Space Element of the General Plan provides in Goal 1, the following, Program 5.1: Develop a ridgeline protection ordinance and scenic hillside guidelines to improve safety and reduce the potential negative visual impacts of development in hilly areas.