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Planning Commission Meeting December 15, 2021 City of Pleasanton Housing Element, Item #3 Dear Planning Commissioners, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this item. I support staffs Recommendations for Sites List with the following exceptions: 1. Keep Mission Plaza and Valley Plaza on the list. I have serious go -to shops in both locations, but I understand that their age and prime real estate value make them desirable for housing. But this is not an either commercial or housing issue. The sites could be zoned for mixed use, with development phased over time, thereby keeping tenants. By adding the adjoining Tri -Valley Inn properly (also on the Sites List), the City could take on a specific plan for the entire area. I understand that HCD allows for this rezoning up front in the Housing Element and gives cities three years to complete the specific plans. The Old Santa Rita site with its 30 parcels would also be ideal for this process. 2. Keep St. Augustine on the Site List. I generally believe that if property owners want to be on the list, they should be. Being on the list saves property owners time and money during the development process, particularly when building houses is the logical next step for the property, in this case St. Augustine's, but also Valley Plaza, Tri -Valley Inn, St. Elizabeth Seaton, etc. who all reached out to the City to be added to the list. (Steelwave is the exception. See below.) I wholeheartedly support staff's recommendations to drop Steelwave from the Recommended Sites List. The East Pleasanton Specific Plan was undertaken many years ago. It was large, complicated and contentious. I understand that Steelwave's proposal is much the same as that original plan, which was never adopted. Bringing it forward within the Housing Element process feels awkward, almost like circumventing any traditional process, especially for such a large, infrastructure rich project that will affect the entire City. There is a new City Council, new Planning Commission, new staff including City Manager, new residents, new Climate Action Plan, and a parcel of the original plan area was purchased by Amazon for a warehouse. Do we even want housing there if we can meet our goals with infill? Please drop Steelwave. Thank you, Jocelyn Combs 925-846-1906