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the number of units at the site. They find those interior courtyards will be quieter. Since they last met on October 171h, they went before the Parks and Recreation Commission who approved the park design layout and asked them to look at drinking fountains and other amenities which they agree. They also reached an agreement with the Housing Commission on the affordable housing agreement and next week they meet with PUSD to draft a school agreement which will benefit the Pleasanton schools. Becky Dennis referred to the retail design on Gibraltar and Hacienda and said when she was participating in the task force and they were wrestling over this problem, what they were looking at was not just live/work but also real retail for the Gibraltar area. She was surprised when she reviewed the plans and does not think the retail is prominent enough to attract any attention. When looking at the site and the way the street is, there are a number of things the developer could do to make the retail the right size, give it more architectural prominence and she asked not to make the exception on reducing the frontage. She suggested moving the ground floor of the building forward into the sidewalk area, especially at the corner of Hacienda because a plaza on Hacienda and Gibraltar will not be used much. Hacienda is busy and traffic is fast and she would think if a building came out on the corner, it could actually protect people on the other side of it while giving more visual prominence to people driving by and letting them know there are retail opportunities there. People who live in that complex and across the street will use a coffee or pizza shop, and she did not think it should just be live/work units but a mix of retail development to accommodate the vision for the space. She noted the other side of the street is not yet developed and it would be nice if that could also provide retail as well, given the number of people to support neighborhood retail and it would help to reduce automobile traffic. She also did not believe the Council should make the trade-off with the depth of the space and parking if the buildings are moved forward into the sidewalk area, as it will not be used much as an amenity. Carmen Rivera Hendrickson said her work is to ensure everything is ADA accessible and voiced significant concerns that the same thing that happened at Civic Square will occur. They requested low moderate and low income apartments and currently those apartments cost over $2,000 a month. If units are to be accessible and affordable, the Council must ensure they are kept this way and not turned into unaffordable rents. It will not fit what they are trying to do, noting that 1,600 apartments were slated for low income. Consumers informed her yesterday that they cannot live in the Civic Square Apartments because they are much too expensive. She asked that the Council ensure affordability and that rents not go higher than what they are supposed to be. Councilmember Sullivan said the staff report states that BRE has been working with CRIL. Ms. Hendrickson said at the time, she was unable to speak with them; they forwarded her some CD's to review but she was unable to open them. Councilmember Sullivan suggested staff re-engage those discussions to address these issues before getting too far in the process. John Dalrymple, Political Affairs Consultant Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, said their three union crafts (electrical, sheet metal and plumbers) have been the leaders nationally in this area around the new urbanism vision that this transit-oriented project represents. They supported the urban growth boundary in Contra Costa County and understand the idea for the project; however, they are not fully supportive of it. This will be the first project of a few thousand units for the next couple of years which represents hundreds of millions of dollars in construction wages. He encouraged the Council to make a decision around the project that invests in local workers which, in turn, generates sales tax, supports schools and police, and supports the City's budget. If affirmative action is not taken, the City will lose all those resources and destabilize middle class families. Caley Moore spoke of his sheet metal trade work, said he must often commute to jobs and most likely will need to move to the Bay Area where work is found. The proposed project would benefit him greatly if he could work locally, and he asked the Council to require the hiring of local workers. City Council Planning Commission Page 6 of 11 February 8, 2012 Joint Workshop Minutes