12 Exhibits - Laserfiche WebLink

"This was promised to the residents of Pleasanton and ripped out from under us by the City Council. This was done under fear of creating "cut-through traffic." The City's own data has shown that there is no cut-through traffic. The Mayor fears that they will create a mini-580 by opening the Stoneridge extension. If she wants to see a mini-580, she should try driving down Santa Rita and Valley on several occasions. We need relief. She can't fix it by fixing the freeways in 10 years. The Stoneridge extension is the only solution that will balance the traffic load on this side of Pleasant on and restore faith in the City Council. If you want your Home Depot and associated development, then solve our traffic problem first. Right now, we are stuck with noise pollution and lots of cars. It is difficult for me to support you when my son can't feel safe enough to ride his bike to schoo I." Daryl Mullins, 3428 Smoketree Commons, spoke in opposition to this project. He expressed concern about business blight and was concerned about what would happen if this store did not succeed. He noted that should business conditions change, the big box would remain. He did not believe the Planning Commission was the proper forum for that consideration and noted that the City Council may be the proper forum. He noted that he had a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA and that he ran a business in Pleasanton. He had heard no verification from the traffic engineer that his ITE surveys and simulations had been verified by the rubber-hose data taking. He expressed concern that the driveway widths; the Safeway driveway was 44 feet wide, and the standard home driveway was 21 feet wide. He noted that the applicant was depending on the additional lane to have an entrance into the center at a certain speed. If the driveway is not wide enough, it will slow the traffic down. He noted that the CEO of Home Depot had expressed a desire to change the customer makeup of Home Depot from retail to contractor, which meant more early-morning visits. Commissioner Blank disclosed that he knew Ms. Dennis personally but that they had not discussed this issue at all. Sherryl Dennis, 3768 Nichols Avenue, expressed concern about morning traffic in this area and that the left turn from Mohr Avenue to Santa Rita Road was very difficult. She added that the afternoon traffic was equally difficult and that a 30-percent increase in traffic and the addition of trucks would make passage through that intersection onto Valley Avenue impossible. She noted that she would never let her son ride his bike to school through that traffic. She asked the Commission to consider the neighbors' quality of life when making this decision. David Bouchard, 434 Vineyard Place, noted that he was CEO of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce and a resident. He had attended the May workshop and supported this project. He believed the tax revenue generated by this project would be increasingly valuable to maintaining the quality of life as the City reached buildout. He added that there would be millions of dollars paid in impact fees. He noted that there was the potential for capturing additional retail dollars from pass-through traffic going to Livermore. He noted that this property would enhance this gateway site and would create an atmosphere of common space and close service retail for residents of the neighborhood. He noted that he lived six-tenths of a mile from this project. He was sympathetic to the residents' concerns about noise and congestion; he believed the congestion was a function ofthe El Charro Road/Stoneridge Drive issue. EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, December 13,2006 Page 9 of 16