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zoning ordinance to something else because the residents got angry about what was going on. He indicated that the Commission can win this thing, and ten years from now, Livermore and Pleasanton will be used as an example of how its citizens do not want their backyard to look. Holly Chen that she has lived in Pleasanton since 2011 and expressed her concern about the overgrowth of high- density construction in Pleasanton because of its very big impact on schools, traffic, and water resources as the State is currently experiencing a drought emergency and citizens are trying to cut water usage by 25 percent. She stated that she did not think it is the right time for the City to focus on growth and that Pleasanton cannot afford to absorb such a great population in such a short time. She added that no one knows what the future of the water supply will be, but everyone knows that adding more people to the City will increase its water usage. She urged the Commission to think first about preserving its precious water and plan growth prudently. Jun Chen stated that he has lived in Pleasanton since 2007 and expressed concern about additional growth in the City. He indicated that his family moved to Pleasanton in large part due to the quality of Pleasanton schools. He noted that researchers have found that student achievement generally increases when class size is reduced to less than 20 students, and there are 30 children in his daughter's class. He pointed out that many of the schools are already overcrowded, which has a negative impact on the education of his children. He added that the impact of high- density housing that has been approved will mean even bigger class sizes, and rather than looking at new opportunities to build, the City's leaders should focus on maintaining the quality of its schools by keeping class sizes down. He noted that since the School District cannot currently afford to pay for any more new schools, this can only be accomplished by reducing or slowing down the population growth in the City. Jan Zhon stated that she has lived in Pleasanton since 2011 and expressed her concern about further development for high- density housing because not only will this cause some adverse impacts to schools and living environment, but will also cause serious traffic problems. She referred to the East Pleasanton development and noted that not only are there environmental and industrial zoning issues, but the development near the Stanley Boulevard and Valley Avenue will also cause very bad traffic. She further noted that Bernal Avenue is a one -lane road, and there is a lot of traffic driving toward the Vintage Hills area. She added that if high- density housing is developed in that area, the one -lane road with a steep grade will be even more congested than it already is, and if one car broke down, a second car cannot pass through. She indicated that she works for many jurisdictions with building, planning, and fire departments, and fire truck access would be a problem for this high- density development issue. She stated that a lot of people commute to work, and the traffic pattern in the morning from First Street to 1 -680 it takes about six to seven minutes, and the trip through the Downtown is along a high- traffic road as well. She indicated that the City cannot accommodate this kind of huge development and urged the Commission to take a good look at this situation and stop this growing pattern in the City. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 13, 2014 Page 23 of 32