Letter to the Editor: No on Measure D

I am joining Friends of Pleasanton, the Sierra Club, and three of our local newspapers' editorial boards to urge folks to vote No on Measure D.

The natural ridgeline of Kottinger Ridge inside Pleasanton's urban growth boundary is being flattened "strip mining" style to provide building pads and to construct the road. A proposed water tank is outside the voter-approved urban growth boundary. The planned ridgetop roadways and lots are on top or adjacent to over 40 deep seated bedrock and surface landslides.

Landslide risks and soils subject to liquefaction are why many cities prohibit building on slopes greater than 25% or at the crest of ridgetops. Pleasanton citizen's overwhelmingly voted to pass Measure PP, which prohibits building in such areas, but Mayor Hosterman and City Council members Thorne and Cook-Kallio voted to place this development on the ballot so the developer can avoid Measure PP's restrictions.

On June 8^th, vote No on Measure D. Please visit the www.friendsofpleasanton.org and www.savepleasantonhills.com websites for more information.

Matt Morrison

Friends of Pleasanton recommends an emphatic "No" on Measure D, a plan to develop 51 mansions on Kottinger Ridge and adjacent ridgelines. Proponents of the plan hail it as a responsible compromise.  It is not. 

 
Measure D puts gigantic mansions on the scenic, accessible, ridgetop land  
on the property, leaving the majority of steeply sloped, inaccessible,  
fragmented pieces of land as open space.  The ridgetops will be extensively  
graded and the dirt will be deposited on 26 acres. 
 
A ridgetop roadway will further scar the property.  Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,  7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 21, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 are deemed "High Visibility Lots" (see p. PLMD-28 in your voter guide) meaning they will be highly visible from the rest of the City of Pleasanton.  Don't buy into the developers' claims that they'll be magically invisible and 200 feet below ridgetops. 

The developers and pro-development politicians, who've received significant campaign contributions, claim they are preserving ridges, when in fact they're bulldozing nearly the whole length of Kottinger Ridge that lies within  the Urban Growth Boundary. 

See www.friendsofpleasanton.org for more details and vote No on Measure D.

Richard Pugh, Chair, Friends of Pleasanton

Beware!  Multi-million dollar homes on the Oak Grove ridges will not be paying their full share of expenses.  Here's why:   

School Fees:  By law, future homeowners must pay mandatory school impact fees, but they fall short.  Operating school fees come from the state on a "per student basis," called ADA.  We get the same ADA for all students, and it does not cover all of the costs to educate our students.  We use our kids to sell wrapping paper, cookie dough, magazines, etc. for more money, but that is not enough.  More students mean even MORE shortfalls for the schools. Vote NO on D.

City expenses: We'll pay for more firemen to keep their homes safe due to the high fire danger region.  Plus we need more police, librarians, planners and road repairs.  We will need more coaches, fields and pools for kids to play football, baseball, swimming and soccer. The income from their taxes will not begin to cover the total City costs.  Vote No on D.

Carbon Footprint:  We teach our children to conserve resources, save water, gas & electricity, or just walk.  This development is a GIANT black carbon footprint on our Earth.  Resources to build and maintain huge mansions are a staggering.  Vote NO on D.

This development was approved before Pleasanton's ridgeline protection in 2008.  Delays were due to legal bullying by the land owner.  We fought and won, so now you can vote NO on Measure D/Oak Grove.

Karla Brown, Co-Chair, Save Pleasanton Hills