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calm traffic, an accident could eventually occur, and the seniors or children using that path <br />will be the ones who get hurt. <br />Mr. Couto stated that another big issue for him is the potential for cut - through traffic. He <br />noted that during morning and evening rush hour, traffic backs up on First Street, and <br />Vineyard Avenue /Kottinger Drive is a potential for cut - through traffic. He requested that <br />anything that can be done to potentially restrict that or choke it or somehow make it less <br />attractive for someone to drive through will be beneficial not just for the neighbors but most <br />importantly for residents using this site. <br />With respect to the parking lot, Mr. Couto stated that the folks who will live in the cottages <br />at the bottom of the site would have a long way to go for parking. He indicated that from <br />his personal perspective, he likes this parking scenario because the cars are all farthest <br />away from his property, but it does not do much for the folks living in those cottages. He <br />noted that what happens now to some extent is when people move in or move out or <br />ambulances come, vehicles traverse the concrete or asphalt pathway that goes around the <br />perimeter of the site and divides Kottinger Park to unload or load or for emergency access. <br />He expressed concern that when these buildings are constructed, those opportunities to <br />use that pathway will become more common, and there will be more desire to use that path <br />or develop something and that will impact the neighbors to the south. <br />Mr. Couto then stated that during the winter rainy season, Kottinger Creek gets a <br />tremendous amount of water and is dangerous. He recommended that the City or MidPen <br />Housing address that issue with either protection or re- landscaping because a lot of water <br />goes into the culvert which then goes underneath the other portion of the development on <br />the other side of Kottinger Drive. <br />Mr. Couto stated that in relation to the construction of the cottages on the southern portion <br />(the "peninsula "), if any attempt is used to stage from the park and potentially damage the <br />Redwoods or the Live Coastal Oak in that area, there will be some outcries from both the <br />neighbors and tree lovers in the area. <br />Finally, Mr. Couto stated that the area to the south of Kottinger Park has become sort of a <br />de facto dog park. He indicated that there are currently only 50 residents on that side, but <br />every afternoon there are at least five residents in the neighborhood who come and use <br />that park to let their dogs run free and play catch. He noted that there have been <br />numerous altercations between folks who walk dogs on leashes and children on bicycles or <br />strollers, and it does not seem to have any impact on either the City, which has a law that <br />dogs have to be on a leash, or on the residents of the development itself. He indicated that <br />going forward, with a whole lot more residents here, potentially frail folks walking out there <br />with walkers, this can become even a bigger issue. <br />Brad Hirst, Treasurer of Pleasanton Gardens Incorporated, stated that in the ten years that <br />the City has been massaging this project, the need for senior housing has quadrupled, and <br />by combining the projects and having twice as many living units as we now have in the two <br />projects, the City will be able to offer many more services and a higher level of quality of life <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, March 12, 2014 Page 14 of 24 <br />