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guidelines, there was a certain amount of frustration expressed by many at the Task <br />Force, as well as at the Planning Commission and City Council, regarding not knowing <br />exactly what to assume for the BART site. He indicated that following the adoption of <br />that plan, staff was able to initiate a process with BART to explore some of those <br />unanswered questions, and previous consultants; Will <br />Fleissig of TransAct and Rick Williams of Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP, went through <br />a very abbreviated but intensive planning process for the BART site. He noted that the <br />speed at which this undertaking was done was extraordinary, considering that the <br />Hacienda project was completed not too long ago. <br /> <br />Mr. Dolan stated that regular meetings were held involving all the departments in BART, <br />and it was fully vetted through staff at every level that considers BART planning and real <br />estate, from operations people to planners to security and many others. He noted that <br />Hacienda Business Park staff also participated, as did East Bay Regional Park District <br />(EBRPD) staff because of the connection to the Iron Horse Trail. He stated that the <br />idea behind this was to eventually arrive at a point where something could be brought <br />forward and integrated <br />PUD. <br /> <br />Mr. Dolan stated that staff recognizes that to date, this has all been an internal staff <br />process, with staff relying heavily on discussions that occurred when going through the <br />other sites and their design guidelines; and that staff now needs to bring it out in public <br />and get feedback from the Commissioners before proceeding with the hearing process. <br /> <br />Mr. Dolan indicated that Messrs. Fleissig and Williams will walk the Commission <br />through the work that has been done and explain the similarities to and differences from <br />the TOD standards that have already been adopted and as it relates to the very unique <br />aspects of the BART site itself. He noted that staff is not asking the Commission to take <br />any particular action tonight, but would like to get answers to some questions regarding <br />whether or not the proposed land use alternatives, as well as the specific standards and <br />guidelines, including the amount of development allowed, are appropriate for the site; <br />and whether or not the proposed layout and access plan are acceptable to the City, <br />since a lot of work was done with BART to make sure that it works for them. <br /> <br />Will Fleissig acknowledged all the incredible work performed by the Task Force, <br />Planning Commission, and City Council to get the framework into place, allowing the <br />process to be accelerated and to conduct a full planning effort in a short period of time. <br />He then introduced Colin Burgett, Principal at Nelson Nygaard with whom, as part of <br />their collaborative process, they were able to engage the traffic analyses into seamless <br />process. He also expressed appreciation to James Paxson of Hacienda and BART <br />Director John McPartland for their participation in the process. <br /> <br />Mr. Fleissig stated that their assignment was to understand the circulation, access, <br />parking, and a framework specific to the site, to understand the intermodal functionality <br />and how users dealing with rail, bus, shuttle, taxi, drop-off, bicycle, and auto coming to <br />the station will work. He indicated that with the cooperation of the operational people, <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 25, 2011 Page 3 of 21 <br /> <br />