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with a side of sexy servers is soon to be on the menu for Northern California," she was <br />personally not proud of having it in this shopping center. She recognized that the <br />Planning Commission's job is to define uses and not to prevent vendors from coming in, <br />and asked Mr. Blake to shed some light on this matter. <br />Commissioner O'Connor stated that his first reaction upon reading the article was that <br />this shopping center has been touted as an Asian center all along, and Tilted Kilt did not <br />seem to fit in. He asked Mr. Blake to provide the Commission with some input. <br />Mr. Blake stated that he was made aware of this article a short while ago. He indicated <br />that they had nothing to do with that announcement and thinks it is a bit premature, <br />given the conditional nature of the agreement they have with Tilted Kilt. He added that <br />he appreciated any comments the Commission may have and can take that into <br />account as they decide to proceed further with the restaurant. He noted that they have <br />a number of approval rights that go into that that have to do with government approvals, <br />various financial approvals, and various other conditions that go into it, so part of the <br />reasoning behind it is we were encouraged to seek out some mainstream tenants that <br />would appeal to the broader Pleasanton community. He stated that he is sure it does <br />not appeal to the Commission, but it may appeal to others, and this was some attempt <br />to do that, given the nature of their business. He indicated that they take the <br />Commission's comments seriously and will go back and consider what their alternatives <br />are. <br />Chair Allen stated that this is the first time she encountered this matter and has not <br />consulted with staff on it, and she is speaking as a person, a member of the community, <br />and a Planning Commissioner. She then asked staff for some guidance with respect to <br />what the Commission's role here is in considering this one way or the other, and if staff <br />would be willing to accept not having establishments like this in this beautiful gateway <br />that everyone has worked so hard on and wants to be proud of. <br />Mr. Blake stated that the short answer to the question is that they will take the <br />Commission's comments seriously, noting that there are other factors they could take <br />into account that he could not talk about publicly. He pointed out that it is a bit of a <br />slippery slope because this is basically a restaurant, and the Commission is basically <br />saying that it does not like what the waitresses wear. He stated that that is a difficult <br />position for the City to be in, regardless of what the use is, and that would be up to the <br />City Attorney and the Planning staff to comment on. He added that on their part, they <br />would have that discussion with the restaurant and the other parties that have certain <br />rights of approval over this. <br />Mr. Dolan stated that this is also new information to staff and that he just started a <br />dialogue with the applicant right before the meeting. He noted that it seemed to be a <br />good dialogue and that he thinks that this needs to continue and see what can be done. <br />He further noted that it will be a period of time before this comes before the City <br />Council, and he is certain that there will be at least some members of the Council who <br />will feel exactly the way the Commission does. He stated that he is glad it was brought <br />up and is on the table, and that it is all right for the Commission to proceed. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, February 11, 2015 Page 6 of 17 <br />