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sentiments and are not in favor of the proposed rezoning.He urged the Commission to <br />find other solutions to the City’s housing issue. <br />Stan Kataoka stated that he moved to Pleasanton 12 years ago and acknowledged that <br />while the designation of the Business Park was fairly stable, times have changed and <br />the City is moving towards higher density living. He voiced concern that the process put <br />in place a year ago for a joint task force where residents, school representatives, and <br />developers would be represented has not been started and urged the Commission to <br />begin the process immediately. He added that he has heard nothing but building high <br />rise housing and asked that strong language be put into agreements to ensure the <br />intent originally expressed will be followed. <br />Nick Gandhi cited the current vitality and diversity that already exist in Hacienda and <br />added that no more is needed. He stated that Pleasanton is a beautiful and fabulous <br />city with nice arches at entries to Hacienda which should not be spoiled with high-rise <br />apartment buildings. He indicated that many residents in Hacienda believe there is a <br />conspiracy for residential development because developers know commercial <br />development will continue to decline. He noted that 350 of the 817 units have already <br />been allotted to the Windstar development and that the remaining 521 units could be <br />built elsewhere. He added that the concept that building an apartment complex would <br />make people work in the area in absolutely wrong. He noted that many people living in <br />Archstone do not work in Pleasanton. <br />Referring to the Negative Declaration, Mr. Gandhi stated that he disagreed with the <br />statement that there are no significant impacts to public health, welfare, transportation, <br />traffic, schools, parks and recreation. He noted that they have to wait for the park fields <br />to be vacated before they can play soccer. He added that vehicles take Owens Drive <br />as a shortcut to get to I-580 and that Stoneridge Drive is becoming crowded. He noted <br />that 1,300 units will add approximately 2,600 more cars on the streets. With respect to <br />utilities, he questioned if the City had additional water resources to avoid water <br />shortages. He indicated that house values have depreciated and that additional houses <br />will mean that some of them would go to foreclosure. <br />Gregory Kushner stated that he moved to the City a year ago for its good schools and <br />houses. He noted that apartments were overbuilt in Mountain View as well as in El <br />Sobrante, which negatively affected the quality of the schools. He indicated that having <br />too many apartments in one spot would result in a critical mass of non-property owners <br />who will not care about the property or the community. He cited problems with <br />vandalism from renters and stated that the credentials of apartment renters are not <br />checked as thoroughly as those of homebuyers in terms of credit and criminal reports. <br />He also expressed concern about the degradation of the school system and reduced <br />police resources. He requested the Commission to seriously consider the negative <br />changes the addition of 1,100 apartments can do to the face of Pleasanton. <br />Anh Huynh stated that she moved to Pleasanton from Virginia 12 years ago and that <br />she walks and sometimes drives one block to work at AT&T. She echoed the various <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 23, 2009 Page 7 of 34 <br /> <br />