Homeowners urge halt to new development Homeowners urge halt to new development (March 05, 2004)

Some seek moratorium as city weighs new General Plan
by Jeb Bing

Work on revising Pleasanton's General Plan is continuing as city planners wrestle with pleas by some residents to cancel preliminary approvals already given to developers for additional housing.

Wayne Rasmussen, the city's Principal Planner who is in charge of moving the General Plan update through various commissions and eventually on to the City Council for final approval, said that several hundred have voiced their concerns over increased traffic and planned housing projects.

"By far, traffic issues are a major concern of citizens, and we will have to address those as we update the plan," Rasmussen said.

By state law, every city must have a General Plan that deals with land use issues, and these plans must be updated every six years or so. Pleasanton's current General Plan was adopted in 1996. After 3-1/2 years of public and city government discussions, the plan largely completed the city's build-out process, designating undeveloped vacant land parcels throughout the community for specific residential housing densities.

If all of those land use designations that are permitted in the 1996 plan were developed, Pleasanton would be left with undeveloped land to accommodate no more than 871 housing units. That would leave the city with a build-out total of 27,300 units, short of the voter-approved housing cap of 29,000 units.

But at their public meeting two weeks ago at the Pleasanton Senior Center, members of the Planning Commission heard from a group of residents in the Vintage Hills and Kottinger Ranch communities. They want land use approvals changed to block a proposed 98-home project at the end of Hearst Drive in what is known as Kottinger Hills, and another 113 homes planned on a nearby 196-acre parcel known as Lund Ranch II.

Greg Albin, who lives on Hearst Drive, said families enjoy walking through the undeveloped Kottinger Hills. He asked that the 562-acre parcel be preserved as open space.

Others said they are concerned that the 1996-approved land use designations are considered settled and asked how these planned unit developments can be changed, or at least reduced in size before housing permits are issued and construction gets under way.

City Planner Brian Swift said the City Council voted against placing a moratorium on new construction while the General Plan Update is being considered, but that it has the ability to require developers to wait until the update is completed before building their projects. Greenbriar Homes, which is developing Lund Ranch II, already has pulled back on its construction plans while it awaits a detailed environmental impact review of the property, which was required by the council. Charter Properties of Pleasanton, which is seeking city approval to build the Kottinger Hills development, recently withdrew its PUD request to await further studies.

Besides housing issues in south Pleasanton, Rasmussen said other major land use issues citizen groups have raised include lowering the housing cap, reducing the size of new homes, future uses of unincorporated Staples Ranch and quarry land properties that could be annexed into the city, and open space protection.

More information on the General Plan Update process and future public meetings can be obtained from Rasmussen at 931-5606 or by e-mail at waynerasmussen@ci.pleasanton.ca.us.

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