PC 092309 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Paxson reiterated that there is absolutely a need for child care facilities. He stated that he believes it is an important component of what Hacienda is trying to accomplish with some of the mixed-use nature of the Park that has emerged over the last 25 years. He continued that Hart Middle School, a private elementary school, private child care facilities, tutoring facilities, and others help knit the fabric of Hacienda. He indicated that Hacienda wants to continue working with the Commission and hopes to be able to be able to mesh with whatever is approved. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED. Commissioner Blank referred to Exhibit B; the refined version with revisions labeled “Alternative Planning Policy,” and the City Council staff report it intended to accompany. He indicated that he finds that the staff report is not very objective, with the lack of objectivity ranging from subtle to obvious. He noted, for example, that the second paragraph under the Planning Commission Recommendation in Exhibit A states: “The Planning Commission reviewed the draft planning policy. The Commission generally favored the alternative policy”. He stated that there is a subtle difference in that there is a planning policy versus an alternative policy. He indicated that he is extremely sensitive to the language that implies that Option 1 is a planning policy and Option 2 is an alternative policy. Commissioner Blank continued that the amount of space used to justify the City proposal is almost three pages of discussion, and the amount of space dedicated to discussing the Planning Commission proposal is on one page. He noted that the most glaring lack of objectivity is where the staff report very clearly points out why staff is not supporting the Planning Commission recommendation; however, nowhere in the staff report does it point out why the Planning Commission chose that recommendation and did not support staff’s recommendation. He indicated that the issue of the lack of responses from the State and the issues the City had in dealing with the State of California over the Pfund application were key to this Commission’s recommendation for Option 2. He noted that this was not discussed at all in the staff report, which, in his opinion, was blatant bias. Commissioner Blank stated that this is the challenge he thinks staff faces and that this is a great example of why he believes the report needs to come back to the Planning Commission. He indicated that he was sure staff did its best to write an objective and balanced report but that this is very difficult to do without sitting down with the persons on the other side of the table and ask whether or not their position was reflected accurately. He stated that be believed Exhibit B was easy to fix but that the staff report needs a lot of work. Commissioner Olson stated that he thinks Commissioner Blank’s comments were well stated. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 23, 2009 Page 25 of 34