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Tim Ward, Ward -Young Architects, Project Architect, together with Scott Sherwood, <br />SLP Properties, property owner, stated that they have worked over the last five or six <br />months with Planning staff refining this project prior to coming before the Commission, <br />including details such as materials that reflect some of the other buildings Downtown. <br />Mr. Sherwood stated that a couple of years ago, he talked to Pamela Ott, the City's <br />Economic Development Director, and came up with this idea. He indicated that they <br />had challenges along the way, but it has been great. He noted that he is involved in the <br />racing industry and has a lot of history with Pleasanton, where he has been looking for <br />opportunities. He added that he is basically just looking forward to completing this <br />project. <br />Commissioner Allen stated it is great to see this project, whose design is really first <br />class. She noted, however, that she wanted to probe a little bit regarding the outdoor <br />plaza, hoping it would be a little more, especially with the in -lieu parking fee that had <br />been given up in its place. She indicated that she would like to see a little more of a <br />plaza with additional seating and maybe a stone table or two. She added that she is <br />also concerned about the potential for damage from skateboarders who love open <br />spaces. She asked Mr. Sherwood if there is anything more that could potentially be <br />done in terms of those two aspects. <br />Mr. Sherwood stated that he was planning on putting tables out there, not a totally <br />permanent type but something that was of a heavier weight and better quality, and as <br />many as they could put in. He indicated that when they did some rough designs, <br />anchoring the corner and having brick and trellises and some other things did shrink the <br />plaza a bit. He noted, however, that his idea was always to have seating of a higher <br />quality nature that was just open to the public. <br />Mr. Ward indicated that having a larger space for the plaza will mean redesigning part of <br />the building to make that space bigger. <br />Mr. Sherwood stated that they talked a lot about it and negotiated purchasing the <br />property next door. He indicated that he wished he had more land, but noted that in <br />terms of property value, capitalizing and developing that corner and then selling it would <br />be worth a lot more than those in -lieu parking fees; and that does not even include the <br />second floor. He stated that the plaza actually started smaller, and after conversations <br />with Mr. Dolan who voiced the same concerns, the plaza actually increased in size up to <br />660 square feet. <br />Referring to putting out some tables that are more permanent, Chair O'Connor inquired, <br />if the ground -floor tenant were a restaurant, if it would not use that public plaza area as <br />part of the restaurant. <br />Mr. Sherwood replied that part of the agreement he made with the City is that the plaza <br />would be open to the public, and as such, it would be open to a restaurant customer <br />who might want to go sit down there; however, there can be no table service. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 28, 2014 Page 4 of 16 <br />