HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 6.1 SB343 Schaefer Ranch GP Amend 11-17-15
SB 343
Senate Bill 343 mandates supplemental materials that have been
received by the City Clerk's office that relate to an agenda item after
the agenda packets have been distributed to the City Council be
available to the public.
The attached documents were received in the City Clerk's office after
distribution of the November 17, 2015, City Council meeting agenda
packet.
Item 6.1
DUBLIN PLANNING COMMISSION
City Council Chambers
100 Civic Plaza
Dublin CA 94568
RE: Project PLPA 2012-00013-Schaefer Ranch
November 17, 2015
Dear Planning Commission,
Thank you for allowing us to express our opinion again in this matter.
We have been Schaefer Ranch residents since 2012. We looked at over 50 homes in several Bay Area
cities, including East Dublin, before selecting this community.
We still oppose the proposed General Plan Amendment and Planned Development Zoning for several
reasons:
1 Building high density housing on a street with a down gradient with hills surrounding it can pose a
danger to its residents.
2 Building up to the 19 proposed homes in the planned area will increase the chance of damages
and associated risks. Schaefer Ranch residents will end up indirectly paying for claims using
GHAD reserve.
3 With more homes on the terrain, where there have historically been dozens of landslides,there is
once again an increased risk of danger. Meteorologists have recently expressed great concern
over this area of dangerous landslides in light of El Nino this year.
4 There is also concern about the overall increase in housing and no major plans to build more
public schools to support the major influx of residents of school aged children. With the saturation
of homes in this city, our children will ultimately suffer from overcrowded schools and a decreased
quality of education.
5 The increase in housing does not seem to be balanced with commercial sites, including a
"Downtown"area,to support the residents effectively.This forces residents to support other local
businesses in neighboring cities. More and more homes will eventually diminish the appeal and
quality of this small community and city.
6 Building more homes at Schaefer Ranch will heavily impact the flow of traffic and congestion in
this area and ultimately the entire city, particularly on Dublin Boulevard, which is already very
congested.
Thank you for taking the time to present our letter again. Please keep the Schaefer Ranch Community
safe and less congested.
Best Regards,
Jenny and Andy
Jeff Baker
From: Vikram Kalyanaraman
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2015 1:34 PM
To: Jeff Baker
Subject: Project: PLPA 2012-00013 Schaefer Ranch
Project: PLPA 2012-00013 Schaefer Ranch
Hi Jeff,
I received this exact same notice for the second time with no differences in the proposal. My understanding was
that the City rejected the builder's proposal. Either way, I would like record my opposition to the proposed
General Plan Amendment and Planned Development Zoning.
1. Dublin City should have sizable number for new Estate Residential (0.01 - 0.8 units per acres) Units.
This will help Dublin Residents with increased income find an upscale home within Dublin. It is
necessary to have affordable housing unit in any city. Similarly, it is desirable to have upscale houses in
which multi-millionaires and billionaires should be willing to move into.
2. The site is perfectly suited and plotted for Estate Residential houses. Building Single Family Homes
defies logic. For Example, one such property is the complicated driveways that are being proposed in the
new plan. One driveway connecting three houses. There are many such features in the new proposal
which go against the nature of terrain.
3. Building high density housing on a street with down gradient with hills on both sides is dangerous. In
case of street blockage Fire/Police/Ambulance will not be able to go in. Helicopters will also not be very
useful because of higher elevation on both sides.
4. Schaefer Ranch home owners pay for the GHAD. By putting three times (6 to 19)the propose houses
the probably of any damage and the associated risk goes up drastically. Schaefer Ranch home owners
end up paying the claims. So, it is in the interest of Schaefer Ranch Home owners to minimize the risk.
5. It may not be out of place to mention that Schaefer Ranch has been built on a site that has reportedly had
nearly 60 landslides. Some have alleged that the project's developer had to blast nearly 1.1M cubic
yards of hard rock, move 9.4M cubic yards of dirt, and fill up to 150 feet of soil to build this new
residential community.
6. Builders profits and city's taxes are short term gains. A neighborhood lasts several generations. Building
good neighborhoods is an investment in making a great city. In Unit 2,there was a small commercial
area initially planned which was converted to Single Family Homes. Also in Unit 2,proposed 16 (or 20)
Estate Residential (0.01 - 0.8 units per acres)has been converted into 140 Single Family Homes (0.9 to
6 Units per acre). This has created houses with steep backyards which cannot be used for any purpose,
houses surrounded on three sides by other houses which are very close too, etc.
7. Commercial area located within Schaefer Ranch development has been scrapped. Residents have to
drive about 3 miles to get basic amenities. There is no community center with activities like indoor
community gathering, indoor games, swimming pool, etc
8. Builder profit optimization seems to be only goal of this proposal. By restricting number of units to just
one less less than 20,the builder has intelligently avoided Inclusionary Housing Requirements and
Public Art Provision requirements.
9. The street in Schaefer Ranch Unit 3 will be a Private Street. The maintenance and management of the
street will be by Home Owners Association. This cost will have to be shared by other home owners. The
residents who are not on this street will still have to contribute for maintenance and management of this
private street.
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