The League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark and Union City are concerned with the potential liability for the city should any buildings be constructed in areas of potential landslides. We urge the City Council to direct staff to study this liability issue prior to the issuance of building permits on lots in the effected areas. 

The League of Women Voters supported the Hillside Initiatives of 1981 and 2002, and we feel that the Karipineni project under consideration for construction of 19 homes on the hill face would not be approved if it had been brought before the Council today. Geotechnical information that is now known was not available when the vested tentative map (VTM 6456) was approved in 1992 by the Council. That Council also approved construction of Avalon, which we maintain, violated the spirit and intent of the 1981 Hillside Initiative. 

Studies show that development on sites susceptible to landslides can actually trigger landslide activity , and our concern is that road cuts or other grading that disturbs natural slopes will increase the instability of the terrain. VTM 6456 did not contemplate the City's liability should a landslide occur on this site. 

The December 9, 2002 Zoning Text Amendment for Geotechnical Studies in the Hillside Areas which allowed the City Engineer to require geotechnical reports for construction in all developments located in the hillside areas was a sensible approach. 

The citizens of Fremont should not be held liable in any way for failure of construction that is built in hillside areas. We urge the Council to study this matter, and to revisit the issue of whether the Vesting Tentative Map may have already expired under its own terms. 
 

Sincerely, 

Alexandra Starr, President 
League of Women Voters, Fremont, Newark, Union City