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Commissioner Pentin also agreed. He reiterated that under “Recommended Planning Policy,” there was a Catch 22 in the policy between the State and the City. He referred to the last item on page 2 of Attachment 1, which states that a child care or child day care needs a State license to do business in Pleasanton. He noted that the City may require the State license, but the State does not issue a license if it determines that the facility is exempt. He added that this staff recommendation does not fall under anything the Commission discussed. Commissioner Narum noted that she was not at the last meeting and that she spoke with Mr. Dolan and suggested the item be brought back to the Commission for further discussion. She indicated that she had requested to refine the option, which she felt was the better choice. Chair Pearce stated that she was certain no one on the Commission was in favor of State licensing for what the State considers exempt. The Commissioners agreed. Commissioner Olson disclosed that he had a discussion with Brad Hirst and that one of the points he made to him as a possible issue is having background checks done, which cannot be done by the Police Department because it is not a City ordinance. He noted that what the Commission is recommending is partly due to the Pfund experience and that the objective here that no one is taking issue with is the safety and protection of the children. He indicated that one part of this is to conduct background checks which should be part of the policy, but the question is how this would occur. Mr. Dolan agreed that this is an issue. He stated that if the Council ultimately picks the alternative that the Commission favors, it is almost certain that an ordinance amendment will be done that directs the Police Department to do those background checks, in the same manner that it performs them for massage operators. He noted that the Police Department’s position is that unless authorized and directed by an ordinance, they will not do background checks. Commissioner Blank inquired if there were other alternatives, which is where he finds imbalance in the staff’s recommendations, stating that the private industry outsources background checks all the time at a low cost. Commissioner Narum stated that there needs to be standards as well. Commissioner Blank agreed. He suggested that a background check could include a DMV check, judicial records in every county in the State of California, and other requirements. Chair Pearce inquired whether the Commission needs to provide that level of specificity before the City Council determines this is the direction it needs to go as she believes the Commission should not get bogged down in the details. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 23, 2009 Page 26 of 34