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Brad Hirst stated that two points he would like to make initially is that Mr. Roesbery is <br />not only the dealer and has been for 15 years, but he also owns the real property, so he <br />is doubly vested; and the other point is that he has the right to operate 24 hours today <br />as there are no restrictions on the existing zoning or use permit with respect to <br />operating hours, as there are for the adjoining shopping centers in terms of operating <br />and delivery hours. He added that the Conditions of Approval that staff has put forward <br />contain a number of restrictions on delivery hours, and Mr. Roesbery is in agreement <br />with those. <br />Mr. Hirst indicated that customers matter, and when 275 to 300 existing customers <br />support the project versus 30 people, most of whom may not be customers, are <br />opposed, the decision would be to take care of the customers, and that is exactly what <br />Mr. Roesbery is doing. With respect to traffic on West Las Positas Boulevard, all the <br />issues raised exist today, and there is not one problem about access or traffic that does <br />not already exist; therefore, the project is not making the traffic issues more difficult. He <br />indicated that Mr. Roesbery is as concerned about the opening on West Las Positas <br />Boulevard and the fire station turn as everybody else, and that is the reason his <br />manager came up with the idea of the caution signs along the sidewalk. He added that <br />the City Traffic Engineer came out and took a look at this matter at the request of one of <br />the neighborhood residents and the City immediately put up a second "No U- Turn" sign <br />at the fire station left -turn. He also pointed out that the opening does not line up with <br />the driveway from West Las Positas Boulevard into the fire station; and turning left into <br />the fire station from westbound Santa Rita Road is at a diagonal angle, which is both <br />dangerous and illegal. <br />As far as the inadequate presentation is concerned, Mr. Hirst stated that they have been <br />out to a lot of people. He noted that probably 15 percent or 20 percent of the <br />information in the staff report is from the applicant, and there were four or five levels of <br />traffic studies that were done. He added that all this documentation is public information <br />as anything an applicant turns in to the City is public information, so there is nothing the <br />applicant is trying to hide. <br />Mr. Hirst stated that there is something distinct about what Mr. Roesbery is proposing: <br />a food store with fresh delivery. He admitted that their petition did not say they were <br />going to sell beer and wine, but it also did not say they were going to have yogurt, <br />bananas, grapes, or sandwiches either. He indicated that each of the 2,300 products <br />available would not be listed on a short petition. <br />In conclusion, Mr. Hirst stated that the City Traffic Engineer has pointed out no <br />problems; so that is adequately cared for. He added that the Police Department has <br />also reported adequately, and City staff is in support of the project. He asked the <br />Planning Commission to approve the proposal. <br />Commissioner Allen addressed Mr. Hirst regarding his comment about the petition, <br />stating that he knew that the residents at the Planning Commission Work Session and <br />the neighborhood meeting, as well as through letters, had serious questions about the <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 27, 2014 Page 20 of 44 <br />