PC 08/28/96 - Laserfiche WebLink

. The project parcel is an irregularly-shaped site, and staff feels the applicant has done a good job designing the site, making use of orienting the buildings toward the freeway. The retail buildings also back up to the rear of the hotel so the uses of loading and service area have minimal amount of exposure to public areas. The freestanding restaurant would be located at the comer of Johnson and Owens Drives and will have good visibility, access and parking. The In-n-Out Burger is proposed to be located across the street from the Taco Bell fast food restaurant in Pleasanton Square I. There are a few issues to be decided with regard to the abandonment of Johnson Court. A letter was received from Lamorinda Development which owns the parcel where Denny's is located; they have some reservations on the abandonment and want to be included in the abandonment discussions. Staff will work closely with Lamorinda, the Denny's officials and with the applicant in this matter. A traffic report was conducted in conjunction with this project. The intersection of Hopyard and Owens is a critical intersection that is reaching its capacity. A Level-of-Service D will be maintained at this intersection after the development is completed. This intersection would be improved through the NPID. The Traffic Engineer indicated that it would be wise to do the intersection improvements at this time. It has been put in the CIP and the applicant has indicated a small dedication along the Owens Drive frontage to accommodate some additional right-of-way to modify the median to allow lengthening the left-turn stacking. The Commission was given a detailed schematic of how this intersection would be widened and restriped. The widening of Owens Drive would necessitate taking up to 8 feet along Owens reducing the 33 ft. setback to 25 ft. This is acceptable to staff. The tradeoff in loss of landscaping is a reasonable tradeoff to make the intersection traffic flow more smoothly. . There are three driveways on Johnson Drive which coordinate well with the driveways on the other side of Johnson Drive, and these three driveways will encourage the traffic to become more dispersed as well as encourage traffic to exit the site on Johnson Drive, minimizing the impact on Owens Drive. Access to the Candlewood Hotel from Owens Drive was discussed. There is an existing median opening on Owens Drive at this time. Staff looked closely at the left-hand turn movement and was considered precluding left turns out of the hotel drive. Staff feels it can be left as is at this point in time. This is an important access point for Denny's. However, staff will monitor the traffic after the development of the project to determine if the left-turn movement should be eliminated. The applicant would be required to make such an improvement by creating a median island that would allow right-turns only. Staff concludes that the circulation on the site for both traffic and pedestrians is very well done. In-n-Out Burger has room for an 11-vehicle stacking lane, and circulation works well. Usually one issue staff prefers not to see is parking directly in front of the retail buildings for circulation issues. In this project, most of the traffic would not be inclined to drive in front of the stores as part of through circulation. Staff supports the location of the. parking in the proposed configuration. The parking is well distributed, and staff concludes that the 535 parking spaces is a sufficient amount of parking, exceeding the 378 required spaces. . Planning Commission Minutes Page 10 August 28, 1996