SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

CUUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL Provided to the City Council After Distribution ofYacket� �� Date 1��99 _ George Dunder 4713 First Street Pleavinton,CA 94566 October 3, 2015 Dear Council Members: We've owned our property at 4713 First Street for roughly 20 years, in that time parking has been an almost constant subject of discussion. During the workshop scheduled for October 6, 2015 I'm sure you'll hear the frustration from many property owners as they retell their experiences with Pleasanton policies of in-lieu fees,off-site parking requirements, and zoning process in general. I would encourage you not to hear this as the ramblings of a few people. As property owners we're the first place our tenants and business owners complain—if they never complained about the parking you probably wouldn't be hearing from us. Try to focus on the fact that when a business occupies a space(rents the premises or owns it)they do so based on the location meeting its and its customer's needs. So if a business wants to provide parking close by for its customers it selects a site that has parking included. That parking comes at a cost,the cost of property,the cost of maintenance and the cost of extra taxes—all of which are reflected in what the tenant pays. Most of the off-site parking facilities are used on a regular basis by people of Pleasanton who attend the Farmers Market,Concerts in the Park and the many other public events in the area as well as simple overflow parking for restaurants and downtown shops that lack enough parking. All maintained by the property owners without any compensation or expense sharing by the City of Pleasanton but all in the spirit of being a community and working together. You've heard all this for many years but it seems to escape the current conversation what is really happening. It should be clear that the downtown is a commercial hub—it exists because of business. When there isn't enough parking for the customers of one business—especially a popular one—people tend to park anywhere they can. It is the City of Pleasanton that controls how much parking there is and where. The simple fact is that many private off-site parking lots are impacted by people going to other businesses while the City seems to do little to improve the situation. So the end result is that those businesses that actually pay for parking either through rent or property taxes get displaced by other businesses that don't have sufficient parking to meet their demand and can operate at a lower cost because they don't have those expenses. When • . private lots are overused by people going to other locations, it puts the property owner in a difficult position—they're contractually obligated to their tenants to provide what was promised. It's not just a matter of convenience. At some point the property owners need to take steps to be