Guest Opinion Guest Opinion (February 04, 2005)

City shouldn't 'bypass' its promise to Happy Valley
by Vanessa Kawaihau

Pleasanton's City Manager Nelson Fialho doesn't think the Happy Valley bypass road is necessary (Pleasanton Weekly, Dec. 31, 2004). Pleasanton's Director of Community Development Jerry Iserson doesn't think the road can be built (Pleasanton Weekly, Jan. 7, 2005). He implies that if built, the bypass road will cost the city's taxpayers $15 million unless the Happy Valley community accepts Greenbriar's development plan for the Spotorno flat property.

That plan, with its supplemental environmental impact report now under way, asks Happy Valley residents to accept an alternate road configuration to the city's Golf Course and 97 units on a parcel with a Specific Plan density of 16 homes.

That is unacceptable! Is the commitment no longer valid to preserve Happy Valley rural qualities, as identified in Pleasanton's 1998 Happy Valley Specific Plan, espoused by previous City Councils and referenced by City Attorney Michael Roush in his court arguments to Judge Bonnie Sabraw (Nov. 20, 2003)? Judge Sabraw, in turn, referenced the same commitment in her ruling.

Pleasanton determined not to study alternatives to the bypass road and reconfirmed its commitment to the bypass road (Jan. 21, 2003) and has identified its financial obligation to construct the bypass road (Nov. 20, 2003). That responsibility amounts to roughly one-third of the unbuilt Spotorno segment, $1 million of what's constructed in the North Sycamore Specific Plan area, and portions through the Golf Course itself.

The Golf Course developers (Pleasanton) received 10 additional lots to help offset its bypass road costs. Unfortunately, Pleasanton used that funding source for other Golf Course expenditures and now expects Happy Valley residents to accept a density that will decimate the heart of its rural community.

Like other developers, Pleasanton needs to fulfill its commitment to mitigate impacts from its development. The city of Pleasanton needs to fulfill its commitment to preserve the rural Happy Valley community and that requires adherence to the Specific Plan density and completion of the Happy Valley bypass road. -Vanessa Kawaihau, a Happy Valley resident for 23 years, began following community issues in the 1980s and became interested in city politics shortly after the failed Happy Valley Annexation vote in April 2002. When Pleasanton annexed land for the Callippe Preserve Golf Course, Kawaihau said she would attend every council meeting until the bypass road was built - "two years down and counting."

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