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<br />the potential to attract wildlife and provide recreational opportunities in the Planning Area. Given <br /> <br />Pleasanton's location within the Pacific Flyway, such lakes and wetlands arc expected to attract many <br /> <br />winter migratory waterfowl with some local waterfowl species eventually becoming year-long residents. <br /> <br />The General Plan Map currently designates about 700 acres as Water Management and Recreation, <br /> <br />although this acreage should increase over time as Alameda County reclaims adclitionallakes. <br /> <br />Agriculture and Grazing <br />Within the Planning l\rea arc limited agricultural uses. The Ruby Hill area in Pleasanton has been <br />re-planted with approximately 200 acres of grapes and there arc two vineyards of approximately two <br />and five acres along East Vineyard Avenue. Many ranchettes with a limited number of livestock arc <br />currently located in the Vineyard Avenue Corridor and Happy Valley (South Pleasanton) areas. Most <br />land in the Southeast Hills designated as Public Health and Safety and most land in tile Pleasanton <br />Ridgelands designated as Agriculture and Grazing, except for woodland areas, arc used for livestock <br /> <br />graZ11lg. <br /> <br />Most of the land desi!,>11ated for agricultural use in the Planning Area is located within the Pleasanton <br /> <br />Ridge. The 1993 MeaJl/I1! F IlIitiative designated approximately 9,500 acres as l\griculture. The base <br /> <br />density of this agricultural area is 100 acres per building site. <br /> <br />T11rough the Happy V"lIey Spedjir P/""' the City preserves about 279 acres in the Greater Happy Valley <br />Semi-Rural Density Residential Subarea generally with a two-acre minimum parcel-size restriction. <br />The City also preserves small-lot agricultural uses in flatland portions of the Vineyard A venue Corridor <br />area while conservation casements permanently protect the 200-acre Ruby Hill Vineyard. <br /> <br />.tvlourning doves, ground squirrels. and tricolor and brewer's blackbirds live within or depend upon <br /> <br />a!,>ricultural areas. Other species tllat forage in agricultural area include the: common crow, yellow- <br /> <br />billed magpie, scrub jay, starling, house sparrow, house finch, red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, barn <br /> <br />owl, red-winged blackbird, meadow vole, deer mice, striped skunk, raccoon, opossum, coyote. <br /> <br />Farmlands <br /> <br />The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service <br />(NRCS) designates about two-thirds (29,270 acres) of ti,e land within the Planning Area as agricultural, <br />the majority as !,'fazing lands. In 1900 Pleasanton farmers produced 198 tons of hops, 16,860 tons of <br />hay, 2,391 tons of grain, and 29,925 tons of sugar beets.22 At that time, Pleasanton farmed larger hop <br />fields than any other California commun.ity.~' Dairy farming began to emerge in the Amador- <br />uvennore Valley in tile early 19005 as hop growing declined, and by 1910 Pleasanton had over 600 <br /> <br />22 i\fcGown,jE, "Progressive Plcasanton, 1902," the PleastlllloJ1 Times, 1902. <br /> <br />23 Lane, Rob and Pat, TIJe Amador I-J'vermore Vall~'. a Pidotia/ J lislory. 1988, p. 59. <br /> <br />Con ()S l.]clTk.nt,(:COR291k",dcan <br /> <br />VII-27 <br /> <br />City Council 8/29/2006 <br />