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Commissioner Narum stated that she did not think the affordable housing piece is within <br />the Planning Commission's purview and that the Commission has never weighed in on <br />that. She noted that the Commission might want to consider some kind of statement <br />that the housing folks would be involved more in the front end of the discussion since <br />the Commission has spent a lot of time and energy in getting to this point, all based on <br />having affordable housing. Other than that, she stated that she thinks it is a great <br />project, and she likes the look of it; although she does not think it necessarily has the <br />Pleasanton look, she thinks it is an appropriate look for the site. <br />Chair Blank stated that for the record, while he is a big supporter of the Pleasanton look, <br />he did say at the Work Session that because of the uniqueness of this property, the <br />project does not have quite as much of the Pleasanton looks as one might expect in the <br />Downtown or in some other places such as the Bernal Corners. He added that he was <br />not sure he liked the yellow color. <br />Commission O'Connor commented that he thinks the colors are Pleasanton colors. <br />Commissioner Pearce agreed with the earlier discussion about the Green points and <br />noted that the Commission has been doing Green points for a long time. She added <br />that if the Commission wants to require more points, that conversation can take place in <br />the future. She indicated that she was comfortable with asking that Energy Star <br />appliances be used if available because it sounds like there was a pretty good dialogue <br />with the developer when Commissioner Posson brought it up, but she is not willing to go <br />any further than that. She stated that it does sound like the Commission is establishing <br />a system and then throwing stuff on it at the last minute, and she is not willing to do that <br />at this point. <br />With respect to affordable housing, Commissioner Pearce expressed appreciation for <br />those who came down to the meeting and noted that it would be within the Planning <br />Commission's purview if the City did not have a Housing Commission, but it does, and <br />that is that Commission's responsibility. She added that she also hears what the <br />Housing Commission is saying with regard to the fact that it does not have any policy <br />direction and sees that as a continuing issue as more and more of these properties <br />come forward. She proposed sending a recommendation up to the City Council <br />regarding the need to establish policy, whether it be for more affordable units or for <br />deeper affordability. She indicated that the Housing Commission needs some kind of <br />direction so its members are not just going in blind; perhaps a workshop at the Housing <br />Commission level is necessary where all those involved can be present. She then <br />stated that the colors are fine, including the mustard yellow. <br />Commissioner Olson indicated that this is a great project, and the colors on the <br />buildings are fine although he does not like mustard - yellow. With respect to solar, he <br />noted that the cost of those panels has been dropping dramatically and probably will <br />continue to drop; however, his view is that the Commission needs to stay on the LEED <br />program, and the fact that the project is at 100 points right now, the developer should be <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, March 27, 2013 Page 43 of 48 <br />