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services. She added that the only thing in the guidelines that prevents its participation <br />is the core standards. <br />With respect to flexibility on retail space, Ms. Dennis stated that she was an advocate of <br />putting retail on Gibraltar Drive and added that Live/Work is a great idea as many <br />people work from home. She noted that there was a change from "center" to "office" for <br />social services uses under Permitted Uses and explained that when providing social <br />services to low-income families, a gathering place rather than an office is needed. She <br />then invited the Commissioners to join a tour of non-profit housing on Saturday where <br />four sites will be visited starting at 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. <br />Matt Vander Sluis, Senior Field Representative, Greenbelt Alliance, concurred with <br />Mr. Harvey’s comments and stated that this is an opportunity to create a vibrant, <br />walkable community that allows the development of homes and retail services near jobs <br />and transit as well as provisions for affordable housing. He noted that pedestrian <br />elements between units are important for walkability and that the vision created should <br />be the actual vision carried out when starting to create projects. He encouraged the <br />Commission to join the Greenbelt Alliance’s tour this weekend. <br />John Wayland, Vice President of Development, BRE Properties, and Task Force <br />member, stated that his company owns Parcel 2 and has the option of purchasing <br />Parcel 1. He thanked the Task Force and stakeholders for their participation in the <br />process to create a document that can be used for future development. <br />Mr. Wayland then presented some issues in the guidelines that he felt could create a <br />problem with developing an economically viable project. <br />1.Retail component. The success of retail on the three parcels is questionable and <br />doubtful. The highest probability for success is the corner of Parcel 1 at Owens <br />Drive and Willow Drive. Five thousand (5,000) square feet at that corner is the <br />most BRE could live with which would be viable at best. In addition, eliminate the <br />retail component on Parcel 2. <br />2.Live/Work component. Modify the language to allow for the flexibility of those <br />units so they are used as Live/Live, which can then be converted to Live/Work. <br />This concept of units along Owens next to retail is acceptable. Modify the design <br />guidelines to allow for softscape or landscaping in front of those units to provide <br />a sense of privacy while residential occupancy is occurring on the ground floor. <br />The fronts of the buildings have to be designed in a different manner than <br />storefronts for the retail.There should not be any ability to restrict residential use <br />on the ground floor. Remove the Live/Work component on Gibraltar Drive <br />because, like retail, it is not economically viable. <br />3.Setbacks and the pedestrian trail. The setbacks for street frontages on Parcels 1 <br />and 2 are very large, and when combined with a ten-foot dedication at the rear of <br />the property for the trail, would create a problem in obtaining a density of 30 units <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES, January 26, 2011 Page 21 of 50 <br /> <br />