PC 10/12/83 - Laserfiche WebLink

MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION 10/12/83 Page 8 Mr. Shaper made reference to the letter received from Parks and Recreation and stated consideration should be given to a park in the area. He urged the matter be postponed for a recommendation from this Commission. He said currently there is no access to a parks and recreation facility without negotiating major streets. He said parks in the downtown area were installed in the Berkeley area quite successfully. He said such a park could be used by children senior citizens and merchants alike. Commissioner Getty asked Mr. Shaper how he felt about apartments in the area. She stated she has always felt that there was no money for new park development. She said it scared her to have a residential/commercial mix. She said that if one of the lots was to be developed as a park area, it could create a situation of a child running into the street after a ball, etc. She didn't want to see this happen. Mr. Shaper addressed the general plan change for one lot deep. He said it would not be a clean division. He stated that the City owns a 10' strip and asked if the general plan amendment would include the strip or the building nearest it. Commissioner Getty said there are only two spots on Peters left over from the construction of Peters Avenue. She referred to the map attached to the staff report. She further stated that just because the property would be zoned commercial doesn't mean that one has to give up the residential dwellings in the area. She further stated that any new building would have to be oriented to Peters Avenue and that staff has alluded to this in their report. Mr. Shaper said that if the general plan is changed he would support staff's recommendation that the Planning Commission stipulate for the record that the zoning would be for office use only. He said that zoning the areas commercial would place a prohibitive expense in making any part of the property for parkland use. Commissioner Getty indicated that the only thing now being considered is the general plan and not the zoning and that conditions would be put on the properties at the zoning stage. Mr. Shaper said it is his observation that progress is difficult to control when it gets to the rezoning stage. There are no guarantees the same Commissioners will be on the Planning Commission in the future and the intention of the current Commissioners could be lost. Greg Buckley, 420 Division Street, supported the statements of Mr. Shaper. He also felt the line would have to be drawn some where and questioned the need for additional commercial property in the downtown area. He felt Peters Avenue is better suited for park or recreational use. Alice Mohr, 4331 St. Mary St. spoke in opposition to the general plan land use change. She wants it to stay as it is. She said she has no desire to sell her home and wants to keep it historical. She would rather see a park or high density apartments in this area. -8- _. ____ ,.Y_.,_ _._... _ .. .._~__ _ _ __ _ T. _.