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Mr. Dolan said yes and added that most of the comments were very positive. <br />Commissioner Olson requested verification that none of this applies to commercially -zoned <br />buildings in the area. <br />Mr. Dolan replied that none of the proposed changes apply to the commercial. He <br />continued that the Task Force did not roll back what already applies to the commercial and <br />that if the Council adopts this package, what applies to commercial today will be exactly the <br />same down the road. He confirmed that these new policies apply only to residential. <br />Commissioner Allen inquired how this proposal compares to other cities that have a lot of <br />old homes, such as Livermore, Danville, and others. She inquired if Pleasanton is being <br />more lenient or stricter compared to the others. <br />Mr. Dolan replied that there is no standard approach, and they are all over the map. He <br />stated that there are some communities that have National Registers for Historic Districts, <br />and the process for protecting them is pretty regulated. He indicated that a certain quality <br />of resources is necessary before that approval is granted and that it is not the locality that <br />makes the determination that the district is eligible. He added that once a district is <br />deemed eligible, the rules are pretty strict, and it requires the creation of a commission, <br />whose membership must have a certain amount of expertise, to consider all changes other <br />than minor ones that can be designated to staff. He stated that it gets pretty involved and <br />that there are some communities that ignore this issue entirely and only do it when <br />somebody uses CEQA to challenge something that they have done. He indicated that <br />Livermore has probably a more aggressive and involved approach than what Pleasanton <br />has; it has a fairly complex ranking or rating system of its resources, Levels 1 through 6, <br />based on the national model of rating. He added that Livermore also has a commission, but <br />in most cases, smaller items are eligible to be determined by staff. He added that it has a <br />very similar set of policies to Pleasanton's and a similar set of guidelines, but the decisions <br />are made at either the staff level or through this commission that it has established with a <br />certain kind of expertise. <br />THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED. <br />Peter MacDonald stated that at the Chamber of Commerce meeting this morning, a <br />member of the Task Force, who is also a Downtown homeowner, expressed concern that <br />Downtown is the only neighborhood in Pleasanton that is not protected by architectural <br />restrictions. He indicated that he agreed and that it shows in the highly diverse architecture <br />that makes Downtown Pleasanton so interesting. He noted that Downtown is the most <br />spectacular neighborhood in the City; the quality homes and eclectic architecture of <br />Downtown is the product of individual property owners, each improving their own property <br />in their own way. He pointed out that there are already substantial controls on Downtown <br />property improvements; every project has to go through design review. He added that the <br />Historic Preservation chapter of the Downtown Specific Plan spells out policies for <br />preservation of historic resources, and there are design guidelines as well. He stated that <br />the Task Force recommendation addresses the right issues but has some flaws that should <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, November 13, 2013 Page 24 of 50 <br />