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DRAFT Mr. Dolan stated that the Task Force did take the suggestion by Council, and originally by some of the Task Force members or people who attended the Task Force meetings, to propose some improvements to the Code related to "demolition by neglect." Mr. Dolan stated that the City had contracted with a historic preservation consulting firm to prepare a Historic Context Statement, which is basically a background information document that describes the history of Pleasanton and how that translated into the physical environment, what types of buildings the City ended up with, and what the particular architectural and physical components of those types of buildings that exist in the Downtown are; and sets a basic understanding and framework for what is in the Downtown. Mr. Dolan stated that one thing that the Task Force also agreed after some discussion was that all changes would be limited to the Downtown Specific Plan area. He noted that there are a few items that the Council did not give the green light to at the check-in, but the Task Force was interested in making sure the Council knew that, with the understanding that its role is going to be over, the Task Force would be in favor of encouraging additional discussion in the future of first-floor design review and in the potential for a Mills Act program. Mr. Dolan then summarized the Task Force recommendations that relate to the Downtown Specific Plan: 1. Criteria for determining if a structure is a historic resource are that it is at least 50 years old and determined to be eligible for the California Register. Mr. Dolan stated that this is the State criteria that the City just basically adopted. He indicated that the Task Force talked about this matter quite a bit and was actually one of the issues it brought forward to the Council; however, the Council was not interested in adding local criteria and questioned if it is really necessary to get more localized or more aggressive in saving and protecting more buildings. He noted that the Task Force ultimately took a very measured approach without trying to exceed what the Council was interested in. He indicated that one change that the Task Force collectively decided to recommend is moving back the year by which there would be concern about particular buildings, to the start of World War II, 1942, as opposed to the State's rolling 50-year period, which would consider everything up to 1963 something that would be looked at. He added that the Historic Context Statement is a resource that provides more information, and the idea is that there is this common basis for analysis, and there will be consistency for what conclusions will be based on, relative to the criteria for eligibility for the California Register. 2. The creation of a definition for demolition. Mr. Dolan stated that the Task Force considered many different options, but the Council identified one which would be considered a pretty liberal definition of demolition. He pointed out that some people get very numeric about the percentage of the exterior wall, and so it is a mathematical equation; while others use a more general one that is DRAFT EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, 11/13/2013 Page 3 of 28