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critical governing factor on the development potential. He noted that residential <br /> developments all have a lower traffic-generating rate than the office component which is <br /> something that occurs now and may be a little bit different if it is not the end of the line <br /> station, where the traffic peak periods would be different to a certain amount. He then <br /> turned the floor over to Colin Burgett, traffic generation expert, to discuss the <br /> parameters used. <br /> Colin Burgett of Nelson Nygaard, a transportation planning consulting firm, stated that <br /> his firm has worked quite a bit with BART on different TOD planning efforts and for this <br /> particular project, because it was very fast-tracked, one component of their scope was <br /> to identify a level of development that would fit within what the City's traffic model <br /> already assumes and then make some assumptions for how that traffic generation <br /> would change based on different mixes and matches with all the different development <br /> scenarios that have been identified. <br /> Mr. Burgett stated that the traffic assumption for the BART site that was included in the <br /> General Plan model, based on a placeholder assumption of what might be reasonable <br /> at that time for the site, is that there would be a little under 300,000 square feet of office <br /> space, a 200-room hotel, and about 1,500 square feet of retail. He noted that at that <br /> time, the traffic model did not assume a trip reduction for being next to a BART station, <br /> so these are raw numbers based on standard traffic generation in the suburbs. He <br /> stated that there are 600 trips in the peak with that level of development, but when the <br /> 20-percent trip reduction credit is applied, which is also applied to the Hacienda sites, <br /> each of those numbers can increase by 20 percent and wind up with about 340,000 to <br /> 350,000 square feet of office and a 240-room hotel; and if the hotel is taken out of the <br /> mix, there would be 430,000 square feet of office. He also presented the numbers if <br /> there was a decision in the future to consider a 40-percent trip reduction credit next to <br /> transit. <br /> Mr. Burgett stated that a lot of research on how many trips can be eliminated by being <br /> next to a large transit station continues to evolve. He noted that by the time this <br /> development comes back with a developer and a plan, there might be some new data <br /> suggesting that being this close to the BART station, the higher end of the range might <br /> be appropriate. He further noted that this level of development is not based on any <br /> assumptions that this is what is allowed for the site or exceeding this would specifically <br /> create impacts, but that these trips are already in the City's model. <br /> Mr. Burgett stated that the main benefit of the station not being an end of the line station <br /> would be that the parking structure will not fill up so easily, so more Pleasanton <br /> residents will have more access to the garage a little later in the morning. He added <br /> that the other benefit to these numbers might be less peaked, for example, if the parking <br /> garage is not filling up between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., i.e., if 1,200 cars arrive <br /> between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. with a few cars arriving later, these numbers can go <br /> up even further, simply replacing trips that are not arriving during the peak hours. <br /> Mr. Williams stated that if the BART extension were to take place, he foresees that as <br /> development occurs, the area will become more pedestrian, and there will be other <br /> EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, MAY 25, 2011 Page 8 of 18 <br />