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Councilmember Brown reported that one resident said in an email that the yellow notification postcard she received listed the city's email address incorrectly and wondered if this could have affected the number of comments received. Mr. Weinstein explained that staff did go back to review the notices and confirmed that the email address was actually correct. Mayor Thorne opened the public hearing. Mike Roesbery, applicant, explained that the existing gas station with closed service station is no longer viable. He noted that most examples of successful gas stations now include larger convenience stores and carwashes. He said he has heard and addressed most of the concerns raised, including a concession on the operating hours and a commitment to having two cashiers on site during all operating hours. He also noted many concerns relating to the 7-Eleven brand. He explained that he has owned another 7-Eleven store and station for the last three years and feels the company does an excellent job in supporting, improving and monitoring its stores. Brad Hirst, representing the applicant, said one of the best things local government can do is encourage the type of capital investment Mr. Roesbery is proposing. These investments include $1.5 million of Mr. Roesbery's own money and another $300,000 in capital improvements from 7-Eleven. He reviewed several site elevations, noting the planned improvements. He said that the intersection of Santa Rita Road and West Las Positas is one of the town's two busiest intersections, with updated traffic counts revealing over 60,000 cars per day travelling through the area, and that there is already a tremendous amount of noise generated by nothing other than the streets. He referred to information he submitted showing that over 20% of the fire department's service calls come in between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. which also generates a significant amount of noise. He noted that nothing has changed with the site's circulation patterns and that any issues related to u-turns predate this project. He also noted that the site has housed a convenience store for over twenty years in the same proximity to the elementary school and said the applicant is not proposing anything new in that regard aside from a nicer looking facility and broader product selection. He acknowledged concerns about crime and said the project proposal includes having two employees on site during all operating hours and an increase in security cameras from 8 to 21. He also said they would welcome law enforcement's monitoring of the alcoholic coolers. He thanked staff and encouraged the Council to approve the project. Councilmember Brown referred to the petition submitted by Equity Enterprises and noted that it reports the store will be 1,627 square feet but the staff report indicates something closer to 2,400 square feet. Mr. Hirst explained that they are proposing to convert approximately 1,700 square feet of the existing footprint and construct an additional 715 square feet, for an overall store size of about 2,400 square feet. The remainder of the existing structure will be converted to the drive-through carwash. He noted the petition contains a total of 548 signatures, including an additional 30 submitted tonight, 75% of which are from Pleasanton residents and the vast majority of whom live in the Meadows area. Frank Brandes said he is dramatically opposed to the project. He said the site was zoned N-C so that both residents and the property owner could have a reasonable assurance of what types of uses would be allowed. He said that a prudent person would not have the expectation of be able to modify those uses and the city has no obligation to modify the zoning every time the owner wishes to change the use. He noted that the staff report acknowledges that two very successful carwashes already operate in close proximity to the proposed project and said that these businesses, whose owners also relied on existing zoning, would be unfairly impacted. He said residents have strong concerns regarding traffic which are not mitigated by staff's "guess" about how much additional traffic might result from the project. He strongly objected to alcohol sales in such close proximity to schools and suggested that police already monitor the area for issues aside from traffic. He asked, and Mr. Lowell confirmed, that City Council Minutes Page 15 of 22 November 18,2014