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DRAFT <br /> Mr. Sowell then raised several questions: Where would shoppers at the retail on the <br /> corner of Rosewood Drive and Owens Drive park, and has parking been considered so <br /> the shoppers do not take up the residential parking or do not drive up that middle <br /> driveway and discover that there is only residential parking or none at all? Are there <br /> any affordable condominiums going into this development so there is a market for new <br /> homeowners of modest means not just to rent, but to buy? Is the applicant willing to <br /> accept some owner-occupied homes that are built at the 50 percent to SO percent PMI <br /> portion of the market, and if so, under what conditions? What percentage of the <br /> rooftops will have solar panels, and is the applicant willing to increase the proportion <br /> over time? If solar panels were to be required, under what conditions would the <br /> applicant agree to that? He once again thanked the developer and staff for their good <br /> intentions, especially with regard to affordable housing. <br /> Becky Dennis stated that she was here on behalf of Citizens for a Caring <br /> Community (CCC). She indicated that she would like to talk about the affordability issue <br /> and just how this point was reached in a beautifully designed project in a great location <br /> where there is very little affordability compared to the projects around it. She noted that <br /> in Pleasanton, the process basically includes reaching out to stakeholders, and this <br /> project had none of that. She added that the Housing Commission did not have a <br /> workshop that housing advocates could have attended; it was all the developer <br /> negotiating and the staff and the developer wanting to fast-track this project with the <br /> level of affordability they would determine based on the fact that the City is temporarily <br /> without an ordinance. She noted that it is especially ironic because were it not for <br /> housing advocates, the developers would not have had the opportunity to develop this <br /> site. She pointed out that the City re-zoned these sites at 30+ units to the acre <br /> specifically to provide affordability, more opportunity for affordability than there have <br /> been in the past, such as the 25 percent affordability at less density in Hacienda. <br /> Ms. Dennis stated that it does not make sense that this project can have more density <br /> and less affordability. She noted that this is a big site where non-profit housing could be <br /> included and the market-rate developer would not have had to include or be supportive <br /> of any lower income units. She further noted that this was never an option discussed <br /> with the developer because housing advocates, including the Housing Commission, <br /> were not at the table. She added that the City has a great Housing Commission, a <br /> group of citizens who have been active since 2002 trying to get the City to provide more <br /> housing for lower-income people who, when they move to Pleasanton, are going to <br /> reduce carbon emissions because they are not going to be commuting from Brentwood <br /> or Stockton or Tracy any longer. She indicated that she realizes there is only a limited <br /> amount the applicants can do and that she would not ask the applicants to do a great <br /> deal; however, they are welcome to do more if they feel like it. <br /> Ms. Dennis stated that she is not sure where the Planning Commission is on the issue <br /> of setting the standards, but she believes that in the Housing Element, it is the projects <br /> with the most affordability that have priority, and this project has the least affordability. <br /> She added that she cannot think of any other time when a group of important <br /> stakeholders were completely excluded from the process, that the applicant was not <br /> DRAFT EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, 3/27/2013 Page 14 of 22 <br />