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Mayor Hosterman said she served on the Bernal Property Task Force, which had 18 members and lasted two years. She said that when a process is too lengthy like that, people reach burnout. She concurred with staff, stating that it would be best to adhere to the scope of what can be achieved in a year's time. Councilmember McGovern said that 12 meetings, one per month, is a ridiculously small amount of time. Councilmember Sullivan said he served on the West Las Positas Advisory Committee for three years, which was the time required to get it done properly. He said that 12 months sets an artificial deadline, after which any developer could come forward to initiate the PUD process. Mayor Hosterman doubted this would occur and suggested that if, at the end of 12 months, the task force needs more time, this could certainly be accommodated. Councilmember McGovern suggested a range of time, such as 12 to 18 months. Mayor Hosterman said she strongly preferred focusing on 12 months, giving staff an opportunity to engage the community in addressing the scope of work in a timely fashion. Councilmember Thorne said he discussed several concerns with staff earlier today, particularly about whether the plans for this TOD and the rest of the park should be combined. He asked to hear from the public before forming any decisions. Mayor Hosterman opened the item for public comment. John Steinbush, representing W. P. Carey, said his clients are now on the cusp of doing what they have been working towards for the last five years. He shared strong concerns over the process outlined in the staff report, which he said is convoluted, overly cumbersome, and does not offer the applicants a fair and reasonable chance to succeed. He said the complex planning process does not include a suitable majority of people with the required real estate expertise to make these decisions. He feared that the public would create a wish list of aspirations that do not coincide with good real estate practices. He shared the following comments from his clients: "We need to confirm clearly and unequivocally that moving forward with this rezoning to mixed -use in no way constitutes a forfeiture of the existing rights and entitlements on our site. Secondly, we feel that this committee must be finite in duration. We propose that the City Council impose a 12 month deadline and that the committee disbands after that time." Mr. Steinbush said that if his clients find the process too cumbersome or lacking in any equitable or economically viable solution, they may choose to pull out of the process and move forward with commercial development. He said that the 25 acres of land considered cannot carry major infrastructure and design guidelines for the entire business park, and he asked that the PUD revisions proposed by staff be done in proportion to the size of the site. He advised the Council that the entire process would be mute if the project is not considered economically viable in the eyes of the owner and the financial community and requested that it be considered as part of this process. He requested that the task force include additional commercial property owners to more accurately reflect the makeup of Hacienda and suggested that any owner representation from the two apartment communities is obviously detrimental to his clients' interests. He said that W.P. Carey is a committed long -term owner of property in Hacienda and is more than willing to work within a productive and well thought out process to develop a City Council Minutes Page 5 of 21 November 3, 2009