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DRAFT Mr. Dolan said yes and added that most of the comments were very positive. Commissioner Olson requested verification that none of this applies to commercially-zoned buildings in the area. Mr. Dolan replied that none of the proposed changes apply to the commercial. He continued that the Task Force did not roll back what already applies to the commercial and that if the Council adopts this package, what applies to commercial today will be exactly the same down the road. He confirmed that these new policies apply only to residential. Commissioner Allen inquired how this proposal compares to other cities that have a lot of old homes, such as Livermore, Danville, and others. She inquired if Pleasanton is being more lenient or stricter compared to the others. Mr. Dolan replied that there is no standard approach, and they are all over the map. He stated that there are some communities that have National Registers for Historic Districts, and the process for protecting them is pretty regulated. He indicated that a certain quality of resources is necessary before that approval is granted and that it is not the locality that makes the determination that the district is eligible. He added that once a district is deemed eligible, the rules are pretty strict, and it requires the creation of a commission, whose membership must have a certain amount of expertise, to consider all changes other than minor ones that can be designated to staff. He stated that it gets pretty involved and that there are some communities that ignore this issue entirely and only do it when somebody uses CEQA to challenge something that they have done. He indicated that Livermore has probably a more aggressive and involved approach than what Pleasanton has; it has a fairly complex ranking or rating system of its resources, Levels 1 through 6, based on the national model of rating. He added that Livermore also has a commission, but in most cases, smaller items are eligible to be determined by staff. He added that it has a very similar set of policies to Pleasanton's and a similar set of guidelines, but the decisions are made at either the staff level or through this commission that it has established with a certain kind of expertise. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED. Peter MacDonald stated that at the Chamber of Commerce meeting this morning, a member of the Task Force, who is also a Downtown homeowner, expressed concern that Downtown is the only neighborhood in Pleasanton that is not protected by architectural restrictions. He indicated that he agreed and that it shows in the highly diverse architecture that makes Downtown Pleasanton so interesting. He noted that Downtown is the most spectacular neighborhood in the City; the quality homes and eclectic architecture of Downtown is the product of individual property owners, each improving their own property in their own way. He pointed out that there are already substantial controls on Downtown property improvements; every project has to go through design review. He added that the Historic Preservation chapter of the Downtown Specific Plan spells out policies for preservation of historic resources, and there are design guidelines as well. He stated that the Task Force recommendation addresses the right issues but has some flaws that should DRAFT EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, 11/13/2013 Page 10 of 28