CCMIN09042018 - Laserfiche WebLink

Councilmember Brown noted there could be a lot of truck traffic in relation to warehouse uses and inquired whether the impact was taken into consideration. Mr. Dunn responded affirmatively. Christina Nystrom Mantha, Chair of the Economic Vitality Committee, thanked staff for updating the report to reflect their concerns. She expressed concerns the City is placing emphasis on the Livermore and Dublin fees, and suggested it would make sense to have a clear understanding when they have updated their fees, and the rationale for doing so. She noted there was discussion in terms of quantitative fees and asked whether there was discussion on the qualitative considerations for setting the fees. Noting there were no others speakers, Mayor Thorne closed the public hearing. City Manager Fialho reported staff is seeking City Council comments and feedback and will return with recommendations. He referenced the January 1st implementation and reported the ordinance that references the fees will include an index so that fees will be adjusted annually, based on the engineering index. The ordinance will require that a comprehensive study be done every five years. The five-year review would be the City Council's opportunity to remove projects that have been completed and add new, emerging and important projects that have not been contemplated; everything would be adjusted accordingly. Councilmember Brown stated she is comfortable with using Dublin and Livermore as comparable cities and liked the idea of using the rates. This would allow the City to adjust rates. She reported Pleasanton has been a "pay-as-you-go" community and indicated she would like to see it reflected in the staff recommendation. Councilmember Pentin understood the need for the City to be economically viable, attracting the ability for retail, office and industrial uses. He suggested the City could consider raising the Affordable Housing Fees to bring the single-family and multi-family up to the levels of Dublin and Livermore. He noted it has been twenty years since the fees were updated, it is now time to do so. He expressed concerns with the two different types of affordable housing in the City in terms of low-income and the ability of future generations to buy homes in Pleasanton. With any house that gets built, having $130,000 in fees alone, it is highly unlikely Pleasanton will see new homes being built for under $1 million. Although the City is right in raising the fees, the City has to work with developers to build true, affordable housing in Pleasanton. Mayor Thorne noted the need to keep some level of flexibility in dealing with individual developments as the City wants them to try to build, at least some affordable housing. He would like to see the City maintain that level of flexibility. Councilmember Narum agreed and suggested eliminating Option 1. She would like to see another alternative where single- and multi-family projects are charged the cumulative average Affordable Housing Fees between Dublin and Livermore. She encouraged flexibility in the rates to encourage home purchase in the City. She expressed concerns with the lack of entry-level housing and reiterated the need for flexibility. Councilmember Olson commented positively on the methodology and noted he would go with staffs recommendations rather than the alternatives, if the City Council were to decide tonight. He agreed with Councilmember Pentin's comments regarding affordable housing, however stated if the City solves affordable housing, it will be on a regional basis, not on a municipal basis. He agreed it is time to make an adjustment. City Council Minutes Page 5 of 6 September 4, 2018