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<br /> <br />Page 3 of 4 <br />4. Do we have a synopsis of the issues that have come from other residential areas <br />served by the County (Happy Valley, Remen Tract, and Castlewood)? <br />The city is frequently approached by owners of parcels within the Castlewood, Happy Valley <br />and the Remen Tract areas seeking to connect to City water and/or sewer services. Applicants <br />are usually seeking connections to support property development (e.g., subdivision of land, <br />construction of a new home, or significant enlargement of an existing home). In other cases, a <br />property owner may have an existing on-site well or septic system that is aging, expensive to <br />repair/expand, or may have failed. Connections to City water and/or sewer lines are granted <br />through Out of Area Service Agreements (OASA), alternatively referred to as Preannexation <br />Agreements. <br /> <br />Although an OASA provides a convenient method to allow property owners to take advantage <br />of public utilities (well and septic systems are inherently less desirable from an operations, <br />maintenance, and public health perspective), allowing such connections places burdens on <br />City services, and facilitates growth in areas typically poorly served by public services (e.g., <br />law enforcement, fire protection). More broadly, recipients of OASA remain residents of <br />Alameda County while taking advantage of City water and sewer services, and in all likelihood, <br />Pleasanton schools, parks, streets, and other amenities. These County residents do not <br />contribute the same share of property taxes as properties in Pleasanton, are not subject to City <br />development requirements (except where required to abide by them by policy), code <br />enforcement or similar authority available to the City within its boundaries, and neither elect <br />nor are represented by City of Pleasanton officials. <br /> <br />Staff generally recommend prioritizing applications of OASA based on health and safety <br />considerations (e.g., failing septic system, demonstration of unacceptable contamination in <br />groundwater), and deprioritizing/discouraging OASA for the sole purpose of subdivision, major <br />expansion of a home that requires additional sewer or water capacity, or construction of <br />additional units on a property. <br /> <br />The Castlewood community is currently connected to and served by City of Pleasanton water. <br />The sewer collection system is owned and operated by the private property owner’s <br />association. Sewer flow is pumped to Pleasanton’s system and ultimately pumped to the <br />DSRSD treatment plant. <br /> <br />5. Describe the elevation change between the Ironwood development and the proposed <br />Arroyo Lago project, including the proposed fence heights. <br />The Arroyo Lago preliminary plans submitted to City staff do identify a grade change between <br />Ironwood and Arroyo Lago ranging from approximately 6.1 feet to 1.8 feet. The higher <br />elevation occurs near the north end of Arroyo Lago, which adjoins 1558 and 1564 Chatham <br />Place; the site then slowly descends (traveling south) to a difference of 1.8 feet at 1344 <br />Chatham Place. The Arroyo Lago project’s civil engineering team has designed the on-site <br />sewer system to flow from the northern portion of the site toward Busch Road and connect to <br />the sewer system in Busch Road, resulting in increased grades/pad heights at the northern <br />portion of the site. <br /> <br />The Ironwood residents currently have a 7-foot-tall stucco wall that will remain in place. Due to <br />the grade difference described above, the Arroyo Lago project proposes to construct a <br />retaining wall on its side, ranging from 6.1 feet to 1.8 feet tall, along with a 6-foot-tall ‘good