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low- income housing on West Las Positas Boulevard, and it seems that a concentration <br />of this type of housing is being put in this one area. She noted that there are already <br />some down the street and that this lot and the lot adjacent to it have been rezoned. She <br />expressed concerned that there may be an idea of putting two of these types of <br />buildings right next to each other. She pointed out that as was already mentioned, they <br />are a residential neighborhood right behind this project, and a better consideration <br />would be a kind of unique scenario where these projects could be put farther into the <br />business park or one of the other areas that had already been rezoned for this type of a <br />project in the City. She thanked Commission O'Connor for his suggestion of putting the <br />lower stories in the back. She indicated that a six- to eight -foot tall hedge is not very <br />tall, especially compared to the height of the buildings, and that bigger trees such as <br />redwood trees would be a better idea. She added that they do appreciate the wildlife <br />that is back there, the raptors, foxes, and coyotes; the geese, ducks, and red - winged <br />black birds. <br />Anthony Ghio stated that if anyone asks residents in the Parkside neighborhood if they <br />want this, the answer would be "no." He stated that he bought his house in 2006, and if <br />this proposed project had been there then, he would not have bought his house. He <br />noted that he does not think those pictures of what the view is from the neighborhood <br />looking at those buildings is accurate, as those buildings are much closer. He added <br />that the noise carries and recalled how a few years back, there was an accident on <br />West Las Positas Boulevard and the power went out; then the generator for a storage <br />building that stores data turned on, and he felt the vibration from that generator coming <br />off of his son's window. He stated that he complained to the City about it and can only <br />imagine what this is going to be like with noise traveling down from those upper levels. <br />Mr. Ghio stated that he thinks there should be strict guidelines on the number of people <br />living per unit because otherwise, there could be three families living in one unit. He <br />indicated that if his property value goes down, he will go to people in the same situation <br />and they will testify that their property values went down. He noted that Parkside used <br />to be much more expensive than the surrounding neighborhoods, and now it has come <br />down this much. He added that if there is a class action lawsuit, the City is going to pay <br />and this proposal affects Parkside mostly, but it also affects all of Pleasanton, all of the <br />parents who have students at Hart Middle School and Donlon Elementary, which has <br />the most students of any elementary school. <br />Mr. Ghio stated that he was in Hayward yesterday to serve for jury duty, and as he <br />walked from BART over to the courthouse, he hit this kind of a complex that looks very <br />nice from the outside but smelt of marijuana as soon as he got within its range. He <br />stated that he used to work in San Francisco and now works in Oakland, and anywhere <br />there is high- density population like that, there will be a lot of marijuana smoking. He <br />noted that one does not smell that in Pleasanton right now and questioned if anyone <br />has asked the police what they think of this proposal and if they think this is going to be <br />a good thing. He added that he thinks it would be really interesting if someone went <br />door to door or found some way to go to people in the Parkside neighborhood, and <br />asked them what they think. He stated that he does not see how this is good for <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 11, 2013 Page 14 of 27 <br />