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Mr. Rosenbaum stated that the area definitely needed a reinvestment, which is <br />essentially the purpose behind this specific plan for this area, which was caught <br />between the General Plans. He indicated that they very much welcome the effort and <br />the time staff has put into getting the process to this point, and look forward to working <br />with everyone as this process continues. <br />Doug Giffin, Chamberlin Associates, stated that they are a local commercial developer, <br />owner, and active members of the Pleasanton community. He indicated that they own <br />the Federal Express facility on Johnson Drive, as well as Arbor complex on West Las <br />Positas Boulevard. He added that he is also a Pleasanton resident. <br />Mr. Giffin stated that the FedEx property is included in the EDZ. He added that the <br />facility was built 17 years ago, and they are proud of the quality of the building and the <br />design they came up with in collaboration with the City of Pleasanton. He noted that <br />FedEx likes to say that it is the Taj Mahal of their buildings. He indicated that its <br />location at the intersection of 1 -580 and 1 -680 provides a critical facility as well as a great <br />late -night shipping options for the residents of Pleasanton and local businesses. <br />Mr. Giffin stated that they support the EDZ with two primary conditions: first, that the <br />currently permitted industrial uses be left as permitted uses; and second, that traffic on <br />Johnson Drive and at the intersection of Stoneridge and Johnson Drives does not <br />deteriorate to a point where it impacts FedEx operations. He indicated that they have <br />shared these use concerns with City staff on multiple occasions, including an owner's <br />meeting prior to the issuance of the Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the EIR, and at that <br />time they were told that allowing industrial uses to remain permitted is workable. He <br />noted, however, that the project removes industrial uses and would leave FedEx as a <br />non - conforming use which is not acceptable. He requested that the industrial uses <br />remain permitted and that this be addressed in the Draft Supplemental EIR. He <br />indicated that they provided a written comment letter to the NOP during the comment <br />period, but it was not included in the Draft Supplemental EIR or the staff report. <br />Mr. Giffin stated that he forwarded the Draft Supplemental EIR to their attorney for <br />review, and they had a number of significant concerns about the study: <br />1. By excluding industrial uses from the list of permitted uses, the project is <br />inconsistent with the General Plan's requirement to limit the conversion of sparse <br />industrial space to non - industrial uses. <br />2. The Draft Supplemental EIR fails to evaluate the project's potential to cause <br />urban decay. The project's industrial uses are non - conforming and thus unable to <br />grow or evolve. The addition of significant traffic would impair the viability of <br />existing industrial uses, making them likely to relocate the two buildings. Market <br />conditions could easily not support redevelopment at that point or for quite some <br />time. These impacts on ongoing industrial uses must be analyzed in the Draft <br />Supplemental EIR. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 23, 2015 Page 5 of 19 <br />