PC 09/13/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

are too close to the parking lot edge. If the true distance is 35 feet, the eight trees would remain. He stated a total of 26 trees would be eliminated with the parking lot construction. The speaker commented on the associated problems of having the parking lot behind their homes. There are teenagers partying in the parking lot and some vehicles park overnight. Some neighbors feel vulnerable with this situation. Mr. Toland feels the additional parking is needed only occasionally, and does not feel the neighbors should have to accommodate this. Further, he does not understand why the City has allowed Safeway to reduce parking space and then ask them to accommodate the additional parking. Mr. Toland feels there is plenty of space east of the pool where there are no trees to be removed. Access could be provided from Santa Rita so that Black Avenue does not have to carry the increased traffic burden. Mr. Toland concluded that he feels this is poor planning, not fair to the longtime neighbors, and feels parking located to the east is a better alternative for traffic mitigation and accessibility to the pool entrance. Commissioner Wright clarified for the speaker that there are 91 spaces and there would be an addition of 60 spaces to make 151. ~ Commissioner Hovingh asked for staff's clarification on the discrepancy in the distance between the back fence line and the location of the proposed west parking lot. Ms. Bengtson stated that the old documents were not as accurate as they had thought, and the newly finished field survey shows there to be 35 feet. Ms. Bengtson will verify this figure for accuracy. She also understands that no redwood trees were to be removed. Regarding the hours of operation, she does not believe the hours will change significantly from the current hours of operation, however, staff suspects the number of competitive swimmers will increase. Chairman Lutz noted that the current problems associated with the parking lot are not related to the hours of the pool use, it is a policing problem. Commissioner Dove inquired if the parking lot could be gated. Ms. Bengtson advised a gate would eliminate the use of the parking lot to the users of the Cultural Arts building; however, she would be willing to look into a workable solution to the problem. Marvin Rice, 1648 Orchard Way, concurred with the comments of the previous speaker. He noted the hours of swimming meets are over an entire weekend and people are camping in the parking lots. Mr. Rice suggested moving the parking lot from behind the pool area to the front would help the police patrol the lot. David Stauffer, Brooktree Way, advised he walks through this park every day and sees a lot of debris from the "parking lot parties." He noted the west parking lot is not observable from Black Avenue because it is tucked behind the Cultural Arts Building. He feels increasing the size will increase the activity; whereas relocating it to the east would deter the activities. Planning Commission Minutes Page 8 September 13, 1995