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DRAFT <br />Ms. Ellgas repeated the four points and noted that this is the desire of the Pleasanton <br />Voters for Smart Growth. She added that there is already a setback for the adjacent <br />site and a height limit for the adjacent neighbors on the same street. She noted that the <br />height limit they are currently proposing is different, and they would like to address that <br />should a residential plan is proposed for that site. <br />George Bowen stated that he has one recommendation for the Housing Element, but he <br />would like to provide some context first. He noted that Mr. Dolan mentioned that <br />adjacent neighborhoods to the CM Capital site are the most concerned, and he <br />challenged that by saying that he believes the City has received upwards of over <br />800 communications from people around the City, and he would call it 500 to 600 as <br />there may be overlap between some petitions and letters. He indicated that Parkside is <br />a neighborhood of 225 homes, and this is a community issue. <br />Mr. Bowen stated that CM Capital is one property in the excess or surplus that is under <br />discussion. He added that this is not just about water, although the news about the <br />continued drought is certainly dire, and even if small high - density housing uses less <br />water per home, according to his math and depending on the denominator, the <br />2,650 units approved over the last five years is a ten - percent growth in the population or <br />the number of housing units in this City. With regard to the accounting issue mentioned <br />by Mr. Dolan, he stated that his number, which they verified at the last City Council <br />meeting, is that 1,807 units have been approved since 2012. He noted that staffs <br />number was higher, but he suspects some of those were not appropriate to RHNA. He <br />continued that some of the 1,807 units are under construction, and the City's total <br />RHNA number is 2,067; this equates to 87.4 percent of the current RHNA number being <br />approved for building. He added that he and other members of the community, and not <br />only the Parkside neighborhood, are concerned that if 87.4 percent of the RHNA <br />number has already been approved for construction, a vast surplus of zoned property is <br />going to be of great interest to developers who have already pounced on properties <br />zoned just two years ago. <br />With respect to the Housing Element, he proposed just one change which he submitted <br />by email to staff: the current language for Program 1.1 reads "Discourage the <br />redesignation of areas designated for High Density Residential development. The <br />objective of this program is to ensure that adequate sites are available to accommodate <br />the City's regional housing need for all income levels." He stated that he thinks this <br />again refers to the RHNA number, and he discouraged redesignation, proposing the <br />following language change: "Maintain the designation of areas designated for High <br />Density Residential development that are required to accommodate the City's regional <br />housing needs for all income levels." He indicated that this small but important <br />difference will allow the City to redesignate the zoning of those areas that are in excess <br />of the RHNA number. <br />Liang Liao stated that he has lived in Pleasanton since 2010 and agreed with all of the <br />comments made by all who had spoken before him. He agreed especially with <br />Mr. Bowen that this is not just a neighborhood issue because none of the high- density <br />DRAFT EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, 8/13/2014 Page 9 of 18 <br />