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3 more in Happy Valley agree to annexation
Property owners sign up to get city sewer, water services

by Jeb Bing

Three more Happy Valley property owners agreed Tuesday to pay the costs associated with connecting to Pleasanton's municipal water and sewer services as they abandon their aging water wells and septic systems.

They join a growing number of homeowners in the unincorporated community along Alisal Street on the city's far south side to seek the City Council's approval to connect to city water and sewer pipes that run under Alisal. Although the street, itself, is part of Alameda County, Pleasanton installed its water and sewer system 10 years ago to serve its then-planned Callippe Preserve golf course, which is in the city limits.

Happy Valley residents voted in 2002 against annexing to the city of Pleasanton, 88-83. If the annexation measure had passed, the more than 100 homes in the area would have received city water and sewer lines to each property paid for by the golf course project developers, although hook-up fees -- about $26,000 -- would still have been up to the homeowners.

Based on recent estimates, these costs now exceed $100,000.

Also, new environmental regulations in Alameda County restrict major repairs and ban any new construction of septic systems when a property is within 200 feet of a public sewer line, a rule that affects many properties in Happy Valley.

Even though there are no plans to annex Happy Valley or to seek a new vote on the issue, Pleasanton now requires any property owner there to enter into a pre-annexation agreement before allowing connections to its municipal system.

The three properties that were given connection approvals Tuesday and whose owners signed the pre-annexation agreements are located at 6360 Alisal St. and at 1070 and 727 Sycamore Road.