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BACKGROUND Both advocates of historic preservation in the Downtown, and property owners wishing to pursue development in the Downtown area have been unhappy with the process of reviewing development proposals in Pleasanton's Historic Downtown. Current policies in the Downtown Specific Plan (adopted in March 2002) have been interpreted in different ways by different people, and the process for review has been questioned by both applicants and opponents of various projects. Establishment of the two Downtown interest groups, the Pleasanton Heritage Association and the Pleasanton Improvement Association, has intensified this dialogue. On March 9, 2011, the Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council include a re-evaluation of the Downtown Historic Preservation policies, guidelines, and processes. On May 3, 2011, the Council adopted this recommendation as a Council Priority. While most of the controversy has surrounded residential proposals, the same issues are likely to occur in the commercial portion of Downtown. PUBLIC PROCESS In recent years, the City Council has developed a model for using ad hoc committees to achieve desired outcomes; most recent examples are the Housing Element Update Task Force and the Hacienda Design Guidelines Task Force. This model of City and public collaboration has served well to address the issue in a timely manner while allowing for a participatory community process. Task Force Composition Staff is recommending that the City Council approve the formation of a seven-member ad hoc Task Force comprised of two members from the Planning Commission and five Pleasanton residents to carry out the task as set forth in this report. The Planning Commission representatives will be selected from its membership. The Pleasanton residents will be selected through the City's normal application and selection process, whereby the mayor and each City Council member make one selection to the Task Force. It is important to note the inclusion of residents on this Task Force; staff suggests that these five appointees represent a mix of Downtown residents, development community members, the Pleasanton Heritage Association, the Downtown Improvement Association, and the Pleasanton Downtown Association. Coordination of the Task Force will be directed by Community Development Department Director, Brian Dolan, with assistance from Planning staff as necessary. Task Force Focus The Task Force's discussions will be focused on a few key topics: clarification of potentially conflicting policies and programs in the current Downtown Specific Plan; exploration of urban design polices versus historic-preservation-based policies; revisiting the need for a program to establish a National Register Historic District in the Downtown; consistency of policies and process with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), agreement on key definitions such as "demolition;" appropriate use of the State of California criteria for the California Register of Historic Resources; and adoption of a clear process for project review. Page 2 of 4