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® August 25,2015 Mr. Brian Dolan Director of Community Development City of Pleasanton Pleasanton, California 94566 Sent via email Re: Planning Commission Meeting on Lund Ranch II, PUD-25 Dear Planning Commissioners: I write to follow up on the Pleasanton Planning Commission Workshop held July 22, in advance of the August 26 follow-on meeting to discuss Lund Ranch. Thank you each again for your attention to this important matter. This letter focuses on two topics: Measure PP and traffic. Measure PP ® Pleasanton Code and the Code ofNeighboring Communities As you know,Measure PP provides: Housing units and structures shall not be placed on slopes of 25 percent or greater, or within 100 vertical feet of a ridgeline. No grading to construct residential or commercial structures shall occur on hillside slopes 25% or greater,or within 100 vertical feet of a ridgeline. The Commission appears to have gotten legal advice that there is ambiguity in Measure PP and that therefore it is up to the Commission to decide, an a project-by-project basis, what is a "structure." As a practicing attorney, this advice surprises me. A road is either a structure or it isn't. A retaining wall is either a structure or it isn't. It would be remarkable if, for example, a two-mile long road is a "structure" but a one-mile long road is not, or if retaining walls four feet tall are "structures" but three-foot walls are not. The law serves an important public notice function, informing residents and developers alike what is permitted and what is not. How is this function to be served if one cannot know whether a particular road is permitted or barred by PP until the Commission and Council votes? So to focus on what is meant by "structure" in PP, it is helpful to begin with what our own ordinances say about structures. The most relevant code is the Pleasanton Municipal Code, which defines "structure" as "anything constructed or erected which requires a location on the ground." (PMC § 18.08.535.) IP