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and retail centers are performing well, there is an opportunity to grow the existing retail sector within the city's existing assets. High impact action items include an in depth retail analysis to identify those retail centers that might benefit from reinvestment and retaining strategies, conducting outreach to property owners and brokers to examine growth options and provide assistance wherever possible, and planning for new development at Staples Ranch. Ms. Srivastava also noted several mixed focus action items related to facilitating expansion at Stoneridge Shopping Center, promoting and implementing a downtown retail strategy, identifying potential sites for hotel expansion or development, and continuing to work with Visit Tri-Valley to promote Pleasanton as a destination. Mayor Thorne asked whether the jobs-housing ratio considered recent rezoning and Regional Housing Needs Assessment updates. Ms. Ott said that while the data used for the background report did not include those numbers, they were factored into discussions with Strategic Economics and the EVC. While the city's newer projects increase the stock of housing that workers generally prefer, their imbalance is still significant. Councilmember Pentin agreed that newer projects, particularly in Hacienda and California Center, introduce those elements that are in demand. He asked whether the report might look considerably different in 4 to 5 years when those projects are built. Ms. Ott replied, "no." Councilmember Pentin said that educating the community on the contributions of local businesses to the overall quality of life becomes particularly important when looking at actually building these mixed- use centers. Councilmember Narum asked and Ms. Ott conformed that the Chamber of Commerce supports these initiatives. Ms. Ott added that the Chamber President is an active member of the EVC and really helped to drive the plan. Vice-Mayor Cook-Kallio asked what other local business organizations they are looking to work with cooperatively. Ms. Ott said Hacienda Business Park, Pleasanton Downtown Association, Visit Tri-Valley and any other stakeholders who the city might not have worked with in the past but would like to engage in the conversation. Councilmember Brown said that the study appears to focus on innovation, innovation hubs and the lifestyle that tends to accompany these kinds of jobs. She noted that there are many other high-paid and quality jobs that are not necessarily related to innovation and questioned whether this is the right approach for the city. Ms. Ott said they are well aware of the city's foundation and competitive class A office space and did not think the plan disregarded any of those activities at which Pleasanton excels. This plan, however, provides an opportunity to augment that strong base and those uses to build on innovation activity. Mayor Thorne opened invited public comment. Janice Phalen, EVC Chair, said the plan's action items and performance metrics are key to addressing the concern that this plan will become nothing more than a dust covered document. She said the EVC is prepared and excited to begin working on many of these items. She thanked the EVC subcommittee for working diligently to bring a quality plan forward in a relatively short amount of time. City Council Minutes Page 7 of 13 November 5, 2013