PC 03/13/96 - Laserfiche WebLink

. . . . this and was permitted to state her reconsiderations. After stating her second item for reconsideration, it was apparent to her that there were not enough votes to pass any reconsideration, and there was no attempt to listen to her comments/opinions. Two items are of concern to her: (1) the downzoning of the Lemoine property. After addressing the committee, Ms. Lemoine was told that she had valid reasons for reconsideration of the downzoning of her property, but was told to let the City Council deal with the issue. (2) Comments were made by some Committee members that many items in the General Plan were going to be put on the November ballot. Ms. Ayala questioned if this determination was made in advance and by whom? She advised that she did not work on the General Plan for two-and-one-half years with the understanding that every item would still be voted on by the people. Ms. Ayala asked if the Planning Commission could answer this charge. In closing, Ms. Ayala commented that the Civic Team in Pleasanton spends hours on the concept "of the people, by the people and for the people." The speaker feels the Steering Committee disregarded the voice of the people, did not respect the members of the community voicing their opinions, nor did they show respect for their fellow committee members. Ms. Ayala asked the Planning Commission to turn this situation around by taking extra time to do what the Steering Committee did not do -- read public comments, study the issues, recommend changes, and look at the legal repercussions of some of the proposals. AI Spotorno, Sycamore Road property owner, advised that he served on General Plan subcommittees and participated in the final Steering Committee meeting. He stated that he felt it was a sham -- none of the constructive comments from the public were considered. Mr. Spotorno feels there was a foregone conclusion that there should not have been a meeting; and the meeting was a waste of the public's time. Roger Smith, 6344 Alisal Street, stated that he was also present at the final meeting of the General Plan Steering Committee, and he could not think of a single comment raised by the public which had not been raised at previous meetings, discussed and voted on. He thought it would be inappropriate for the Steering Committee to reconsider their vote at the last meeting. The majority of the committee members thought the final document reflected the development of the plan. This is why he felt a majority of the Committee approved the plan as written. John Spotomo, Sycamore Road property owner, noted that he also attended the final Steering Committee meeting and feels the General Plan is not a consensus of the community ideas; it is a melding of compromises and personal biases of the Steering Committee members themselves. Several of the recommendations by the Steering Committee are in direct contradiction to subcommittee direction. Several changes were made after the public testimony was done, such as density definitions and changes in gross developable acreage. Mr. Spotorno also noted that he brought up the fact that no one has discussed the ramifications of the development of Highway 84 as well as possibilities for a downtown civic center and how it might relate to the San Francisco property development. Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 March 13, 1996