CCMIN111814 - Laserfiche WebLink

As noted, the corner of Santa Rita Road and West Las Positas is one of city's busier intersections, so traffic was also an issue of much concern. As also noted, the basic circulation pattern of the site will remain unchanged. One of the concerns raised by residents was the potential for vehicles to make illegal u-turns on West Las Positas near the northerly driveway, which could interfere with fire truck ingress and egress from the fire station as well as an unsafe situation for westbound motorists on West Las Positas. Staff notes that a no u-turn sign was installed at this location last year and illegal turning actions would be minimized through typical enforcement mechanism. As part of the project's traffic analysis, staff found that many of the vehicle trips related to the convenience store are pass by trips, meaning they are trips taken by motorists already travelling in this traffic pattern and simply making a stop on their way to another destination. Taking that into account, it was concluded that the project would generate a relatively modest number of net new trips (83 in the A.M. peak period and 65 in the P.M. peak period) and would not significantly contribute to existing or projected congestion levels. Nevertheless, the applicant would be required to pay local and regional impact fees to help fund improvements to the circulation systems to offset the increase in trips resulting from the project. Crime is another issue of importance to the surrounding community and something that staff, in collaboration with the Pleasanton Police Department, scrutinized carefully. A review of crime statistics for the other two 7-Eleven locations in the city revealed that over a roughly four and one half year period, the Hopyard location generated approximately 48-107 calls for service per year while the Valley Avenue location generated 9-15 calls per year. The majority of calls for each location were related to traffic violations rather than burglaries, vandalism or drugs. After comparing service call data to similar data collected from the project site vicinity, it was concluded that the crime levels associated with a convenience store are primarily a function of location rather than use, with busier locations indicating higher demands for services. Furthermore, police staff concluded that the data analyzed reveals no significant issues or concerns related to the presence of the two existing 7-Eleven stores. Lieutenant Jeff Bretzing noted in his memo attached to the staff report that he has no reason to believe the presence of the project will produce any significantly different results. Councilmember Cook-Kallio asked and was informed that neither of the 7-Eleven sites also sells gas. She explained that she was concerned particularly with motorists stopping at the project site to purchase alcohol. She asked whether there was any discussion or analysis of crime data for other gas stations selling alcohol, as opposed to just the 7-Eleven brand of stores. Mr. Weintein said staff looked primarily at the numerical data for the existing site and the two 7-Eleven locations, but did discuss the combination of other proposed uses with police staff. Councilmember Cook-Kallio reiterated her concern with the focus on the brand as opposed to the use. She asked and Mr. Weinstein confirmed that police staff felt the issue related less to the type of use and more to its location, and that the vast majority of service calls related to traffic rather than crime. Mayor Thome asked if the police have found the need to increase patrols around convenience stores or 7-Eleven sites in particular. Lieutenant Bretzing confirmed that they do increased patrols in the areas of those types of uses, though not any more than they would around something like a supermarket. He stressed that traffic stops are the most significant type of activity they see and thought a significant portion of that could be attributed to the fact that officers are simply more saturated in those areas. Councilmember Cook-Kallio noted that a lot of the concern over the 7-Eleven at Santa Rita Road and Valley Avenue related to the tendency for teens to gather there. She asked whether this could be attributed in part to the conglomeration of other food uses there and its proximity to the high school. City Council Minutes Page 12 of 22 November 18,2014