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This ensures that even if there is a change in policy direction by elected City officials, the Tri- <br />Valley Conservancy may step-into-the-shoes of the City, as the easement holder, and enforce the <br />viticulture planting and maintenance requirements. The Tri-Valley Conservancy's contract legal <br />counsel is a law firm familiaz with public agencies and conservation easements. The easements <br />that were proposed were detailed, complied with current California law, and set forth the <br />limitations and expectations for the property owner in a fair and clear manner. These easements <br />are now the model used by the City in both the Specific Plan azea, and other areas of the City. <br />The Tri-Valley Conservancy, with its expertise in viticulture, has provided important <br />insight to City staff when reviewing proposed planting azeas, often pointing out why areas need <br />to be larger in size, or not segmented by other development, as well as commenting on planting <br />and maintenance plans, integrated pest management plans, and proposed structures and <br />improvements to determine if they have either an agricultural purpose or no impact to the <br />agricultural easement area. And the Tri-Valley Conservancy's staff has also assisted with the <br />conservation components of these easements, ensuring that the baseline condition reports <br />submitted by property owners include the necessazy information, images, and other relevant data, <br />to make such easements successful and enforceable. <br />For the Open Space Easements, the Tri-Valley Conservancy is again named as a third- <br />party beneficiazy to these easements, ensuring an added level of enforcement. Similaz to the <br />agricultural land conservation easements described above, the Tri-Valley Conservancy monitors, <br />comments, and subsequently improves, baseline condition reports, encroachment monitoring <br />during construction of azeas approved for development, and on-going review of any proposed <br />modifications to improvements. <br />For example, for one particulaz development project in the Specific Plan azea, Tri-Valley <br />Conservancy staff noted that the general contractor appeared to have moved the stakes set out by <br />the project engineer to delineate the limits of construction adjacent to open space, and reported <br />this to the City for enforcement action. In another case, the Tri-Valley Conservancy staff <br />reminded a property owner that one of the conditions of its project was the planting of hedges to <br />delineate the separation between the development area and the open space, and again brought <br />this non-compliance to the attention of the City for further action. <br />For the agricultural mitigation fee, the Tri-Valley Conservancy staff work collaboratively <br />with City staff to review submittals by property owners' engineers delineating slopes, areas of <br />development, and the calculation of the agricultural mitigation fee. Both City staff and Tri- <br />Valley Conservancy staff have always reached agreement on the calculation of acres impacted <br />and the fee charged. The fee chazged is generally based on the Tri-Valley Conservancy's most <br />recent cost per acre for a similar open space easement, as established by the Conservancy. As <br />per the terms of the Specific Plan, when the City approves a development in the Specific Plan <br />area subject to this fee, upon project approval, the fee is paid to the Tri-Valley Conservancy. <br />After the staff of the Tri-Valley Conservancy and the City have worked to improve the <br />plans and documents submitted by property owners, this gives the Conservancy's Board of <br />Directors, as well as the City of Pleasanton's Planning Commission and City Council, more <br />