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and pulls all the way up to his garage, and the height just blocks their view. He noted <br />that the trees are Heritage trees which have been there since he was a child. He <br />agreed that he will definitely get more of a view when the Plum tree is removed. <br />Francisco Matos, project architect, thanked the Commission and staff for reviewing the <br />project. He stated that it seems that Pleasanton is known for the ridgeline, but anyone <br />who walks up close enough to any building in this town will lose the view of that <br />ridgeline. He noted that it is just a matter of perspective, and the way proposed building <br />is designed will preserve the view of the ridge. <br />Dana Cintrone, a neighbor, stated that she had a picture of a tiny little home in a huge <br />city with skyscrapers all around it, which resulted from people's resistance to losing <br />what they had, and everything was built around this little home. She stated that she did <br />not want to be the person in that situation. She indicated that they have lived in this <br />area for a long time, her husband was raised here, and it was changed to high density <br />years ago. She stated that this is about views and preserving some open space in that <br />little place where they live. She added that they downsized to a smaller house in this <br />area because of the openness they had here, and that will change when a building is <br />built right next to their house. , and they do not want to lose that. She indicated that <br />they do not want to keep their neighbor from having this investment, but they do not <br />want to lose their view and openness either. She stated that talking about cantilevered <br />design reminded her of Frank Lloyd Wright: the concept is not always that ugly, and <br />sometimes visualizing from a plan to reality might not be that different. She added that <br />she liked the discussion with the applicant regarding the parking situation. <br />Ms. Cintrone stated that she is aware that the preference is for Option 1, but as <br />residents in the area, they did not find it very appealing as they would be driving into a <br />very close, confined area to park. She added that if they had a choice, they would be <br />storing their junk in a garage and park on the street. She indicated that they support <br />Option 3 because the structure would not be that close to their house, and it would <br />provide more openness so tenants would want to drive down there to park. She pointed <br />out that their community is old, and it is different from other communities. She noted <br />that it is not a cookie - cutter neighborhood; the houses on that street are not all the <br />same, and that is the value of their community. She indicated that they trusted the <br />Commission's good judgment and reiterated that they liked Option 3. <br />Girish Reddy stated that he has lived in Pleasanton for over six years and works for a <br />software company that hires a lot of young talent who have just graduated from college <br />and want to live in the Downtown. He noted that because there is not enough housing <br />in the Downtown for these folks, they go and live in San Francisco, which adds an hour <br />of unproductive commute. He indicated that there is a need for more housing with <br />smaller units that can support these fresh graduates, and that is the reason he is in <br />favor of this project. <br />Venkata Datla stated that he moved to Pleasanton eight years ago and started a <br />software business about five years ago. He indicated that he has friends who own <br />businesses in the Downtown, and one of the key things he noticed was that the traffic <br />volume and foot traffic have gone down. He noted that he sees Pleasanton Downtown <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 9, 2015 Page 7 of 17 <br />