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Ms. Hagen said yes as it is zoned for office which allows up to 30 feet high. She added that this proposed project is zoned for multi - family, which can go up to 40 feet high. Chair Allen stated that the staff report also talked about the trees maturing and inquired how old the trees seen from the rear bedroom are and if they could obstruct the current view in ten years. Ms. Hagen replied that the tree on the right of the view is a fairly new, recently - planted Plum tree, and the two on the very left of the view are Heritage trees which could grow taller and which staff would most likely request to be retained with future construction. She indicated that the Plum tree is proposed to be removed as part of this development, which would provide the neighbor with a wider view to the right. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED. Alok Damireddy, Applicant, stated that his team spent six months working with City staff and the neighbors to arrive at multiple plan options, and after four neighborhood meetings and ten revisions, they arrived at a consensus with three full - scale, fine -tuned designs. He added that he also created a public poll so citizens could comment on these plans: there were about 15 respondents, most of whom had previously applied for building permits, and of the 15, 12 liked Option 1; two liked Option 2, and three liked Option 3. He noted that they made every possible effort to make sure they met all the Code requirements and to have a good balance with what they want to have on this site. He then thanked the staff and the neighbors for their cooperation. Regarding the preservation of views, Mr. Damireddy stated that no scenic or view corridor easement exists on the current property, and the neighbors should have reasonable expectations that future construction and landscaping could and would obstruct the views. He added that the Planning Commission has a precedent of approving residential projects where there were view concerns. He stated that he has been working with the neighbors to address all these concerns and come to a consensus. Mr. Damireddy pointed out that the current zoning on the project site allows for four additional units, and they chose to build only three, pretty small in design ranging from 697 to 829 square feet. He noted that any further reduction in size would make them too small. He added that they have addressed all of the privacy issues, especially in the north- facing elevations: the window has been minimized, and the structure to the rear of the property has been set back. He requested the Planning Commission to approve one of the options today to avoid further design issues. Commissioner Piper inquired to whom the public poll went. Mr. Damireddy replied that they were Pleasanton residents who were property owners and had applied for building permits over the past two years. He indicated that he pulled their emails from public records and sent them the poll. Commissioner Balch inquired if the respondents were only within a certain area. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 9, 2015 Page 5 of 17