Minutes_February 27, 2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

congestion on Foothill Road during commute times, said there will be at least 25% more people driving and cited concerns with emergency drive times from Foothill Knolls north on Foothill Road and east on Las Positas to the hospital and asked for a less dense proposal. Bob Santos said he and his wife Sharon have been through this process and they live on Foothill Knolls abutting the southern-most border of the Merritt property. They wrote a letter regarding their concerns, and they believe the project should be placed on the high priority list. They are impressed with the developers and the company and believe the project will work. Arne Olson said in looking at the legislative direction out of Sacramento, the byproduct is a reduction in the City's ability to exercise local control and it was now even more of an issue. He was glad to see the Lester property is in process and regarding East Pleasanton, he agreed with Mr. Dolan's comments. He is glad the previous project did not move forward, feels strongly that the Lester property needs to be put on the list as a priority for this year, as well as the Merritt property, and said he loves his 55+ community where he lives. Jeff Schroeder, Ponderosa Homes, congratulated the Commission on approving the Parks Master Plan, said the Lester property they are developing has a nice component that would help complete the Pleasanton Ridge Trail plan with parking and access from the Lester property. He urged the Commission to place a high priority to restart the East Pleasanton Specific Plan process, and the plan is to amend the original plan. He introduced Mark Sweeney, in the audience, who is a partner and has worked with property owners on agreement, which is important. He also spoke of their long-term development and relationship with the Pleasanton community and looks forward to working with the Commission on the specific plan process. He recognized the housing crisis and there are many outside interests placed on the City, so this provides the opportunity to start planning the project now. Steve Kramer, applicant, gave a brief slide presentation and said he represents Principal Real Estate Investors and spoke of the Signature Office Center on Hopyard and noted this is only 6/10 of a mile from the BART Station. Their office building footprints cover only 12% of their 14.5 acre-site and the remainder consists of surface parking lots and under-utilized two-level parking garages. Their tenants use less than 50% of parking at peak demand, and have discussed utilizing these portions of the site by adding new high density, RHNA-compliant housing. They understand making progress is a top priority and they are encouraged to study the potential of closing Clorox Way. They have developed two concepts for consideration based on the City's desire to keep Clorox Way open or closed. He described the many benefits to the community with the project, said he looks forward to further refinement of the project, and asked that it be included in the work plan. Ernest Yamare gave a brief PowerPoint presentation and discussed the one option to keep Clorox Way. He displayed the proposed multi-family housing on both sites and a bit of retail, referred to Option 2 where residential is extended along Johnson Drive and a one-acre park which binds the office complex together. The park would benefit all ages and serve as a place where workers could go to have a break. With the 5 foot elevated podium, it sets itself up for a music venue, movie nights or other activities. He then displayed the back-side of the office buildings on Johnson Drive, which are now the fronts, the service areas open to the park, the experience of the new residential building, all of which serves as an example of integrating housing and repurpose commercial sites. Planning Commission Minutes Page 13 of 18 February 27, 2019