PC 062619 - Laserfiche WebLink

Steve Van Dorn, President and CEO of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, spoke of the Chamber's support of the Task Force. He said the Chamber's position differs from the Task Force on the active ground floor overlay but that the Chamber supports the residential overlay for the Shell site located at 4212 First Street and the Barone's site located at 475 and 493 St. John Street, which was not in their letter. The Chamber represents over 725 businesses throughout the City and all they hear is that parking is not sufficient downtown and that more parking is needed to keep downtown vibrant. There are also concerns with the added PUD process which constrains development and they would like this removed. Regarding the process, he recognized it as unfortunate that some of the stakeholders that are now speaking up were not involved in the beginning. In closing, he relayed that the Chamber supports the Task Force's recommendations and asked that more parking downtown be discussed. Peter MacDonald asked that the Planning Commission vote "no" on the draft DSP. He was generally in support of the comments submitted by the Chamber of Commerce and the Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA), Mike Carey and most of what the Task Force recommended at their last meeting. He said the plan's fatal flaw is that there is no mention of additional parking in the downtown area. The plan proposes to manage the parking problem by having shorter time limits for parking, and until the specific plan is revised to provide for substantial public parking in the downtown core, he asked to vote "no." Property Owner Shashi Raj said his architect, Tony Meo, has worked on hundreds of projects now and in the past and thinks foot traffic is what adds to the vitality of any neighborhood, as well as adequate parking, safety, and mixed use, and he favors mixed zoning in the downtown neighborhoods. Tony Meo, Architect, said he would love to live and work in the downtown and patronize restaurants, stores and businesses. He suggested having a shuttle to downtown from other areas and to allow mixed use and Live Work to encourage more people to live in the downtown. He referred to two- and three-story buildings and, commented that some two-story buildings can appear more massive than three-story buildings, and that three-story buildings can be better architecturally articulated, and hopes that three-story buildings will be permitted in downtown Pleasanton. Paulette Goodrich said she is a long-time resident of Pleasanton, is retired and was involved in a marketing career and active service with local organizations. She spoke of what Pleasanton used to look like in the 1970s, and voiced concern that the Planning Commission has turned down the City Council's height recommendations and concerns about residential uses. Having lived and worked in San Francisco, she indicated her position against having three-story structures on Main Street because of wind, shade, and aesthetics and she asked to keep the downtown core on Main Street as is. Jan Batcheller, DSP Task Force member, said there are things being presented in this plan that were not brought up during the Task Force meetings and not fully understood by the Task Force. The City used to want to hear from stakeholders, but now stakeholders are considered to have a conflict of interest and not allowed to be involved. She agrees with most of what the Chamber of Commerce and PDA has communicated, and they are key stakeholders. She Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 of 27 June 26, 2019