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<br /> ® Greenbriar itself confirmed that building a Sycamore connector would require grading acres
<br /> of land, knocking down an additional 33 trees, 22 of which are old growth trees.
<br /> This strikes me as the exactly sort of thing the PP voters wanted to prevent happening to
<br /> hillsides, but is the very sort of thing necessary to do when grading and building a road.
<br /> Ms. Gina Piper: What do other communities' hillside ordinances say about roads and
<br /> structures?
<br /> It may be helpful to begin with what our own ordinances say about structures. The most
<br /> relevant code would seem to be the Pleasanton Municipal Code, which defines "structure"
<br /> as "anything constructed or erected which requires a location on the ground, including a
<br /> building or a swimming pool, but not including a fence or a wall used as a fence if the height
<br /> does not exceed 6 feet, or access drives or walks." (PMC § 18.08.535.) Because a road
<br /> "requires a location on the ground," roads are clearly included within the Pleasanton
<br /> Municipal Code's definition of"structure." The California Government Code on planning
<br /> and land use similarly states: 'structure' includes, but is not limited to, any building,
<br /> road, ... ." (Cal. Gov. Code, Chap. 4.5, Review and Approval of Development Projects,
<br /> § 65927.)
<br /> In response to Ms. Piper's question, both the Pleasanton and the California formulations
<br /> appear to have widespread adoption:
<br /> ® • It appears the California state formulation ("`structure' includes ... road") is more
<br /> popular in coastal communities. Examples of communities adopting the California
<br /> Government Code definition into their own municipal regulations include Carmel,
<br /> Halfmoon Bay, Huntington Beach, Imperial Beach, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, and
<br /> Malibu. Notably, Fremont has also adopted this definition.
<br /> • Inland communities appear to typically adopt language like Pleasanton's ("anything
<br /> constructed ... which requires a location on the ground"). Examples of
<br /> communities defining "structure" in the same way as Pleasanton's Municipal Code
<br /> include: Atherton, Benecia, Berkeley, Burlingame, Concord, Lafayette, Menlo Park,
<br /> Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Sacramento, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, Sausalito,
<br /> Sonoma, South Lake Tahoe,Vacaville, Walnut Creek, and Watsonville.'
<br /> So, there are many, many communities that define roads as structures for pufposes of
<br /> hillside development planning. Indeed, having reviewed the municipal codes of several
<br /> dozen California communities, I have not found any municipal code anywhere that suggests
<br /> "structure" does not include "roads." Walking through some specific, nearby examples in
<br /> more detail:
<br /> • Danville. Danville requires a special permit to build a "structure" on a hillside or
<br /> ridgeline. (Danville Municipal Code § 32-69.5.) Similar to Pleasanton, Danville
<br /> defines "structure" as "anything constructed or erected on and permanently attached
<br /> to land." (§ 32-2.2.) Danville goes on to explicitly carve out a variety of things from
<br /> 4 See Attachment 2 for citations.
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