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bringing it forward to the Commission. He indicated that the Association supports this <br />project and is looking forward to moving forward. <br />Christine Steiner, also a member of Citizens for a Caring Community (CCC), endorsed <br />Ms. Dennis's statements and stated that CCC does want win /win situations. She <br />indicated that she has also been a member commissioner of the Alameda County <br />Housing Authority for the City of Pleasanton for 28 years, but she is speaking for <br />herself. She pointed out that the Section 8 program is the County's largest housing <br />provider. She noted that participation in the Section 8 program in Pleasanton has been <br />declining for the last two years simply because rents have skyrocketed due to the <br />housing situation, and it has been increasing difficult for somebody who has a Section 8 <br />voucher to find housing in Pleasanton. She indicated that this reflects the need for <br />greater affordability. <br />Ms. Steiner stated that she is delighted with this project, noting that she was tired of <br />seeing parking lots that have nothing on them. She added that the air space is <br />valuable, and she thinks this project addresses all the needs. With respect to the use of <br />solar energy, Ms. Steiner stated that Eden Housing and Bridge Housing, which she is <br />very familiar with because CCC worked with them on many projects, including ones in <br />Pleasanton, have been putting solar on all of their apartment buildings to reduce the <br />maintenance costs at the insistence of the Department of Housing and Urban <br />Development (HUD). She noted that this was done at Ridgeview Commons, the senior <br />complex here in Pleasanton, and added that it kind of defies her how any project <br />coming in would not be looking at that seriously because this is what non - profits have <br />been doing. <br />Ms. Steiner stated that she realizes the Planning Commission cannot do anything with <br />respect to affordable housing, but she would like to think that in the future, the housing <br />advocates could be included in the process because they want to advocate for their <br />projects. She noted that they have done this before for developments and have, for <br />example, worked successfully with Ponderosa on its project on Busch Road, not just for <br />affordability, noting that when the 20 acres for the School District did not go through, <br />Ponderosa opted to build senior housing for purchase. She stated that everyone looks <br />at all of the needs in the community, but the lower end is the hardest one, and many <br />developers realize that. She noted that having non - profit build on so many acres of land <br />produces affordable units forever. She added that there are great non - profits, and their <br />greatest success in Pleasanton is having built some fantastic affordable housing which <br />very few probably know where they are located. She stated that she has been <br />surprised at how many people have driven by these places and said they did not realize <br />it was affordable housing, which just shows how good they are. <br />Ms. Steiner stated that she hopes there is a better path for affordable housing in the <br />future. She noted that many in Pleasanton's business community have a problem <br />finding employees now because of a lack of affordable housing. She added that the <br />City now has more sites to develop, and she thinks they can be great projects with the <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, March 27, 2013 Page 40 of 48 <br />