12 Exhibits - Laserfiche WebLink

In response to an inquiry by Acting Chairperson Fox regarding additional cut-through trips being generated from people exiting the freeway, Mr. Knoedler noted that they were identified as a normal trip and that a cut-through trip could not be assumed. Commissioner Blank noted that a previous traffic model showed that the 1996 General Plan would work, and he believed that model ultimately proved to be flawed. He wished to confirm that generally, 2.8 per thousand trips was the traffic rate for this project. Mr. Knoedler noted that the rate was 1.2 in the a.m. peak hours and 2.45 in the p.m. peak hours. In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Blank regarding whether the traffic model took into account the amount of revenue produced in the environment, Mr. Knoedler noted that would be difficult to assess. Commissioner Blank noted that on May 24, 2006, Mr. Coda indicated that the current store generated $45 million of revenue per year and that too many clients went into the store because of customer service; the business model indicated that the store was overloaded. He inquired whether it was considered a superstore. Mr. Coda replied that it was not and that they also had a larger format store of 115,000-117,000 square feet. Commissioner Pearce inquired whether Home Depot was amenable to Larry Cannon's slight modifications he suggested in his peer review; Mr. Coda replied that they were agreeable, although he did not agree with the larger awnings at the main entry. He noted that their goal was to reduce the scale and did not believe the larger awnings accomplished that. In response to an inquiry by Commissioner O'Connor regarding the weekend hours, Mr. Coda replied that the Johnson Drive store's hours were 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Sundays. Every store manager is allowed to set the hours within a certain range. Commissioner O'Connor recalled an audience member's question about the legality of approving this project with a Level-of-Service (LOS) D, specifically at Santa Rita Road and Valley Avenue. The proposed project would maintain an LOS D, which he believed was an acceptable level of service under the General Plan. Mr. Tassano confirmed that was true and added that any LOS below D was not acceptable. In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Blank regarding whether the applicant would agree to a condition not allowing a grill or deep fryer restaurant, Mr. Knoedler replied that they would agree to a fast food condition for the drive-through. Ms. Decker noted that staff had discussed potential retailers with the applicant and had previously discussed the practice of limiting certain businesses. There was no category to address drive-throughs specifically and that there was a fast food category. The City was very reticent to restrict or condition a project in the manner of saying that one brand could be located there but another could not be. She believed the project was adequately conditioned to address any drive-through issues. The fast food use issues generally came from corporate architecture EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, December 13, 2006 Page 11 of 16