PC 051315 - Laserfiche WebLink

Robert Byrd stated that he has lived in Downtown Pleasanton since 1952 and has built a new building Downtown and restored old ones. He indicated that he currently owns and manages commercial property Downtown, one on Main Street and one on St. Mary's Street, so he knows Downtown as well as anybody does, and he knows of no property north of Neal Street suitable or available for new parking within acceptable walking distances of the vast majority of north -side Main Street business customers. He requested this leadership organization to discuss the fairness to existing north -side business and property owners of selling in -lieu parking fees to new north -side property owners, knowing there will be no new parking on the north side. He added that if there will be new parking, then the responsible thing for leadership to do is tell the existing business and property owners where this new parking will be at the time the in -lieu parking fees are sold, so they could plan for their own success and livelihood in the future. He pointed out that this is the way real partnerships are supposed to work. Mr. Byrd stated that based on facts and the parking study, parking Downtown is near saturation. He indicated that the majority of people arrive Downtown by automobile, and people like to sit outside when they dine. He pointed out that the proposed project has 2,000 square feet of outside dining, and this so- called parking credit for this outdoor space is just another way to get around not supplying the project's fair share of parking. He reiterated that there is not going to be any parking on the north side and that leadership should indicate where the parking will be before in -lieu parking fees are given out to other people, or free parking to the project on the corner of Main Street and Neal Street. Al Bronzini stated that he owns the property immediately to the south of the proposed new building. He indicated that he purchased that property in 1983 and operated his own retail furniture store at 719 Main Street for 10 years until 1994, ending a 46 -year career as a furniture retailer, then leased his building for 14 years to an antique dealer, importers of furniture from Europe. He noted that although he is not a resident of Pleasanton, he is very passionate about the success of Downtown Pleasanton, and acquiring quality tenants for his location has always been a top priority. He stated that his current tenants are Rick's Picks and Jaime Bridal. Mr. Bronzini stated that he was heavily involved in the reconstruction of Main Street, so he knows a lot about what went on to make Main Street what it is today. He added that he served as president of the Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA) in its early days and as block captain during the construction period. Mr. Bronzini stated that a week ago, he met with Mr. Dondero, who showed him this magnificent rendering of their proposed project, and to say that it is impressive would be putting it mildly. He noted, however, that he did have a concern about the potential risk of damage, given that the buildings are going to be so close together, probably a zero clearance situation. He added that he was concerned about the foundations of his building because he does not know if that soil was compacted enough to hold after the demolition of the Union Jack Pub, which had a basement which was known to be there until the demolition. He indicated that he brought this to Mr. Dondero's attention, and he PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 13, 2015 Page 6 of 32