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Mr. Weinstein stated that staff got the word out about the meeting in as many ways as <br />they could think of: notices were sent out to about 2,700 residents and occupants and <br />surrounding neighborhoods; emails were sent to interested parties; it was posted on the <br />City's website and Twitter account; it was published in the Contra Costa Times as a <br />display ad; and an article was published in the PleasantonWeekly.com. He added that <br />in full disclosure, it took longer to get the notices via mail to folks than staff had <br />intended, so some people received their notices a little bit later. He noted that for the <br />next meeting, staff will get the notices out much earlier and are working on sending out <br />and getting word out about the meeting in different ways beyond the ones used at the <br />last meeting because public involvement and public input are an important part of this <br />process. <br />Mr. Weinstein stated that because the meeting was on the night of the 49rs- Seahawks <br />game, some people felt they had better things to do than come to a neighborhood <br />meeting; however, it was impressive that over 40 people came out to the meeting. He <br />indicated that staff gave a presentation on the project and the Draft Supplemental EIR, <br />including its key findings. He pointed out that a lot of the people who attended ended <br />up speaking as well, and the microphone was essentially just passed around after staff <br />made their presentation. He noted that probably everybody who spoke at the meeting <br />either seemed to be opposed to the project or had some significant concerns, so staff <br />spent a lot of time hearing people's concerns and answering questions. <br />Mr. Weinstein stated that the comments made generally echoed what staff had heard <br />previously at the Draft SEIR comment meeting several weeks ago. He indicated that <br />issues of economic impacts and retail leakage came up a lot, there were lots of <br />questions about developer involvement in the process in terms of who was financing the <br />studies being done, to what degree the City was promoting the project, and whether the <br />project was developer- driven or City- driven. He added that there were definitely lots of <br />questions about Costco and how that played into the project, as well as questions about <br />traffic, air quality, and other environmental impacts of the project. <br />Mr. Weinstein stated that staff is definitely taking public involvement seriously for this <br />project and is planning another meeting, a community meeting on November 12th, to be <br />held at Hart Middle School. He indicated that notices for that meeting went out today so <br />people will get much more advanced notice than they did for the previous meeting, and <br />staff is using the same forums and outreach as at the last meeting, but will add some <br />more, such as having a press release and posting at the library and on the bulletin <br />boards outside City Hall, and routing the notice to PUSD so word can get out to school <br />parents. He indicated that the City is interested in having as many people as possible <br />come to the meeting and make their concerns heard. He encouraged the <br />Commissioners to talk to folks as well and let them know. <br />Mr. Weinstein stated that along the same lines as enhancing public involvement, staff <br />have also extended the duration of the DSEIR comment period: the statutorily required <br />45 -day review period has been extended to a total of 67 days, and the last day people <br />can submit comments will be November 23`d. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, October 28, 2015 Page 11 of 15 <br />