News Articles:Speaks Out Oak Grove: It's expected that the state Court of Appeal will render a decision on Oak Grove, a 51-home development on the hills above Kottinger Ranch that includes a gift of nearly 500 acres of open space by the developers to the city of Pleasanton. If the court rejects the appeal by a group opposed to Oak Grove and accepts the decision by an Alameda County Superior Court judge to allow the development to proceed, the development agreement, which has already been signed with the city, and detailed plans for the homesites will proceed. No construction is expected before 2010 at the earliest. By Jeb Bing This is the second time in two years that Steve Brozosky and Jennifer Hosterman have faced each other in the Pleasanton mayor’s race. We endorsed Hosterman in 2006, but can’t this time. Her opposition to the citizen initiative, Measure PP on the ballot, and her all-out support for the alternative measure, QQ, turned us off. QQ is the kind of measure that city councils place on the ballot to foment confusion within the electorate and subvert citizen-driven initiatives and referendums. Brozosky supports the initiative and opposes the council alternative. He says the issue demonstrates that Hosterman has ceased to be responsive to the voters of Pleasanton. We agree with him. PP vs. QQ is the defining issue of this election. On most of Pleasanton’s other issues, the mayoral candidates don’t differ significantly. This issue, though, shows that the incumbent mayor has begun to slip and slide in her relationship with the citizenry. Steve Brozosky’s time has come. We urge Pleasanton voters to elect him mayor. Matt Sullivan and Cindy McGovern seek reelection to the Pleasanton City Council. Jerry Pentin is the lone challenger. Pentin, an avid bicyclist and a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, is well informed about and much experienced in city affairs. However, on the major issue of this election, Measure PP vs. QQ, he supports the council alternative, QQ. The incumbents oppose it and back the citizen measure, PP. Cindy McGovern wrote the arguments for PP and against QQ. Sullivan originally backed Oak Grove, the development that spurred Measure PP. He was swayed by the developer’s donation of open space, but when Oak Grove was referended, the overwhelming community support for the referendum made him change his mind. Even if this issue were not on the ballot, the incumbents should be reelected. They’ve been outstanding. Both bring a keen sense of community to all of their decision-making. Each has staked out personal areas of concern. Sullivan has taken a leadership role on energy issues. Safety is of great concern to McGovern, who sees herself as an advocate for kids. No change is needed here. We urge reelection of the incumbents, Cindy McGovern and Matt Sullivan. Having preserved the ridgelands on the west, Pleasanton is now turning its eyes to the southeast hills. Measures PP and QQ are all about this struggle. Both aim to protect the hills. Measure PP would take effect immediately if passed while QQ would launch a process to adopt a protectionist ordinance, a process that could take several years to complete. Measure PP is on the ballot as the result of a citizen-driven initiative that was signed by more than 5000 Pleasanton voters. QQ owes its ballot spot to the City Council, which put it there in a 3-2 vote. The general plan already calls for the council to adopt an ordinance to protect the hills; voter approval is simply unnecessary here. The only possible motive for Measure QQ is to muddy the election and undermine the original measure. Some of Measure PP’s supporters have begun to articulate a long-range vision. They point to the western ridgelands, where through a mix of citizen activism and land acquisitions by the East Bay Regional Park District, properties that once were thought to be destined for urbanization are instead today a great park (Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park), preserved as open space for generations to come. The visionaries believe the southeast hills can be similarly saved. Measure PP in itself won’t accomplish that, but its passage would empower the whole movement toward saving the area. With its preservationist thrust, Measure PP represents the true feeling of the community toward the hills surrounding their city. In election after election since the 1980s, the people have stated by overwhelming margins that they want the hills saved. We say to every Pleasanton voter who wants that mandate carried out: pass Measure PP; reject QQ. Residents will be asked to mind their Ps and Qs this November, and it has nothing to do with manners. Instead, voters in this city of more than 69,000 will choose between two competing hillside initiatives on the ballot. Initiative PP, backed by a group of residents, and the City Council-authored initiative QQ will have voters decide which initiative best protects the city's surrounding hillsides and ridges. LINES ARE BEING sharply drawn for the November election in Pleasanton. Barring an unexpected reversal this week, three Pleasanton City Council members will put a second measure before voters in the fall as an alternative to an initiative driven by former Councilwoman Kay Ayala. PLEASANTON -- After a judge quashed one attempt by residents to stop a controversial hillside subdivision, supporters have resurrected plans for a citywide hillside preservation ordinance. Referendum leader and former Councilwoman Kay Ayala expects to turn in the Save Pleasanton's Hills & Housing Cap initiative this week, launching another effort that asks voters to restrict development on all Pleasanton hillsides. Take a look...    Pleasanton activists have been collecting signatures for an initiative that would ban houses on the upper slopes of the city’s undeveloped hillsides. They appear to have enough names to qualify the initiative for the ballot. If history repeats itself, the voters will approve the measure. A few years ago they rejected development of Pleasanton Ridge by an overwhelming margin. The struggle has now shifted to the gently rolling hills of southeast Pleasanton. Specifically, the initiative would prohibit grading on slopes of 25% and more or within 100 vertical feet of a ridgeline. Meanwhile on a separate but related front, the referendum against Oak Grove has run afoul of a legal problem. That development will apparently be able to proceed regardless of how the hillside initiative fares. Nevertheless, thousands of acres of other southeastern properties will be affected by the initiative. At stake are the pristine ridgelines that contribute so greatly to Pleasanton’s serenity and beauty. In rising to action before further Oak Groves can happen, the fervent band of signature gatherers are performing a community service that will resound for generations. Proposition 8 - allows a temporary tax reduction when a property’s market value on January 1st, is below the prior years assessed value. Ask your Assessor - if your home is worth less than you paid, chances are you can get a temporary reduction in your property taxes. It’s free and easy to do yourself. Assessors in some Bay Area counties hit hard by the housing downturn – Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and Solano – are automatically reviewing homes purchased in the past few years to see if the homeowner qualifies for a cut in assessed value for 2008-09. Even in these counties, homeowners who think their home’s market value on Jan. 1 was lower than the assessed value on their last property tax bill can ask for a review. You can call or write your assessor’s office or download a form from their Web site and mail it to the assessor. To provide tax relief the assessor will be looking at recent sales in your area that are comparable to your home. If the homeowner and the assessor cannot agree on a value through this information process, the homeowner can file a formal appeal with the county’s assessment appeals board, which will have the final say on the property’s value. Tax Appeal Form Information Guide Even after four years of public outreach and review, there seems to be confusion about what is and what is not approved for Oak Grove. Part of the problem could be misinformation being rumored and blogged by opponents of the Oak Grove plan. This Fact Center aims to answer some frequently asked questions and to offer facts to address false statements about the project. Click Here For Full Article Council tables Oak Grove hearing until judge rules. The Pleasanton City Council Tuesday postponed indefinitely a possible public hearing on a citizens' coalition's request for a referendum on the proposed Oak Grove housing and open space project until an Alameda Superior Court judge decides if their plea can be heard. Click Here for full article Oak Grove Campaign Finance an Issue From the The Independent February 7, 2008 The Keep Our Park Committee spent $61,174.25 in an effort to keep a referendum targeting the Oak Grove development in the southeast hills of Pleasanton off the ballot. Click Here For The Full Article |
Kottinger Ranch Neighbors
July 30, 2010
Kottinger Ranch Neighbors : Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton, CA
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Pleasanton, CA 94566
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