CCMIN 12212021 - Laserfiche WebLink

In response to Councilmember Arkin, Ms. Campbell confirmed staffs recommendation is to require solar and battery-powered lighting immediately, and perhaps down the road tapping in from the City's lighting could be an option if a CIP deemed it feasible. She noted the distance from a parklet to street lights would factor into this assessment. In response to Councilmember Arkin, Ms. Campbell confirmed staff's estimate is March or April would be feasible for having an approved parklet design available and having the application process ready. Councilmember Arkin commented that this timeline leads to March 1, 2022, as a good deadline to have current installations removed. She advised the City Council received a letter from the Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA) where this target date seems reasonable. She commended the staff report and added they need to be mindful of safety issues around impeded visibility of stop signs and crosswalks. She expressed support for the preapproved design concept for aesthetics. Councilmember Arkin agreed with having the annual fee waived for the first year to get businesses up and running. She also agreed with the $1,000 per parking space fee for the second year but added her desire to see a reevaluation after this point to assess what the costs are to the City, including an inflationary factor. Councilmember Arkin opposed the ability to build into an adjoining parking space beyond a business's frontage even with the neighboring businesses' approval. She noted this could be complicated in the future if either the neighboring business owner changes or if they are having difficulties in searching for a new tenant because of the unavailability of the parking space. She advised it could be particularly troublesome if a new dining establishment went into the commercial space and had another restaurant in their potential parklet space. She advised having a uniform parklet program downtown would be great and commended the proposal. In response to Mayor Brown, Interim City Manager Dolan clarified staff is looking for a formal vote, or at least a consensus, on whatever changes the City Council wishes to make to the proposal. He requested they dig into potential changes to assess if it is one Councilmember speaking or if their opinion speaks for the group. In response to Councilmember Narum, Ms. Campbell advised staff could have a draft design by the end of January for an internal review which would be finalized in February and, hopefully, has the program ready to roll in March or April. She noted March 1, 2022, would be a challenge. In response to Councilmember Balch, Ms. Campbell confirmed confirmed if the City Council decides to approve the program tonight, staff would have the guidelines and could start assessing the existing parklets. Interim City Manager Dolan advised the Operations Services Department has asked for a 6-8- week gap for tree pruning and street cleaning. Ms. Campbell explained it is more realistic to push back the temporary pop-up deadline than to move up the parklet program's rollout date. Councilmember Balch advised uniform designs are good but they should allow the uniqueness of the various merchants such as different colored umbrellas. He requested a list of design standards for existing parklets to move forward and permanent parklets be completed sooner through design review. Councilmember Balch reported he would stretch the width standard to eight feet because the length is being shrunk for the three-foot curb stopgaps so it would be a good compromise. He advised he would allow staff to evaluate the question of the parklets being solid wood or metal, especially if there is a design review process. He commended staffs answer to his inquiry about the reason for not having external advertisements. He agreed with solar or battery-powered lights but opposes having uniform umbrellas. He supported a future City Council review of the program's success as a whole rather than allowing the parklets in virtual perpetuity. City Council Minutes Page 13 of 18 December 21, 2021