PC 111214 - Laserfiche WebLink

Eric Luchini presented staff report and described the scope, layout, and key elements of the proposal. Commissioner Balch inquired where the closest park to the school is located Mr. Luchini replied that he was not certain. Someone from the audience replied that Mission Park would be the closest. Commissioner Balch noted that the children could potentially walk to it. Mr. Luchini stated that it might pose some problems for safety and the operations of the school. Chair O'Connor noted that it would mean taking 30 children all the way up Junipero Street and across Mission Drive. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED. Dr. Mary Kenefick, representing Young Ivy Academy, first responded to two comments brought up earlier: 1. In connection with Kathy Ferreira's email that the school's two school buses are parked in the shopping center's parking lot, she stated that they have only one bus as they are in the process of selling the second one. She explained that there is a 30 -day overlap to allow for inspections to ensure the bus functions in all the ways it should. 2. With respect to a neighborhood park, she stated that there is not a park close enough to make it possible for the children to use. She indicated that they do use public parks in the summertime when they can bus groups of children for a period of an hour -and- a -half to two hours to go away. She explained that the problem and the reason they desperately need the playground area is that during the school year, going to a public park is not an option due to time constraints as the children come at about 3:00 p.m. Dr. Kenefick stated that Young Ivy Academy (YIA) was first approved in Pleasanton as a tutoring center and the request is to convert it to a Heritage School, for which staff has recommended approval. She noted that what they are asking for regarding the playground is a little unusual in context as it is not the norm, but that does not make it unreasonable, unworkable, undesirable, or inappropriate. She noted that the proposal is, in its context, an entirely reasonable, workable use of available space and will be a significant plus to the children who are students at YIA and to the community. Dr. Kenefick stated that the Oakhill Shopping Center is a retail development serving local families with a bank, a full service grocery, Mountain Mike's Pizza, Subway, Taco Bell, and other venues of food, as well as a pet food vendor, a dance and music school, a martial arts academy, a Gymboree, and YIA, a nail parlor and needlepoint shop, and a dentist. She noted that most of the families locate in Pleasanton because it is a great place to raise children; the parents are upwardly mobile professionals who both work so they can afford Pleasanton and provide their children with the best education possible. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, November 12, 2014 Page 22 of 35