01 - Laserfiche WebLink

Councilmember McGovern questioned if a density transfer would need to occur if only 300 units were developed at the West BART station. Mr. Fialho said the remainder would transfer into the City's available reserve for future General Plan growth. As projects come before the Council, the density would come from that reserve and applied to the land that could accommodate similar density. She confirmed with Mr. Roush that the City was more or less dedicating density and unit numbers through the City's adopted housing element and General Plan for future use, there was flexibility, and also several sites within the City that could accommodate units. Councilmember McGovern requested a way to use their land use element in the General Plan to encourage smaller homes because these are the types of houses the City does not have a lot of. Ms. Stern felt they could brainstorm ways to do this, whether it was through increased density or incentives. Councilmember McGovern also requested that the inclusionary housing ordinance be amended to encourage and mandate more affordable units within developments, and referred to the 240 units in Staples Ranch as an example. Councilmember McGovern said on the east side there is a huge amount of R&D, Industrial and Commercial and she asked how those numbers were determined for each land use. Ms. Stern said they looked at the acreage, used a conservative FAR and multiplied it out. She said it was simply a placeholder so they have something in the traffic model. Councilmember McGovern referred to State Route 84 and the possibility of getting it back on the sequencing plan for the Triangle Study and others for funding. Mr. Tassano advised they did a general project study report and submitted it to Caltrans in 2003. Caltrans requested a specific study report for each segment that looks at detailed traffic analysis. Each of the two that are currently moving forward have additional project study reports so this was the next step they needed to undertake. The normal timeline is 1-2 years to complete a project study report. They have this identified in their Tri-Valley transportation fee and plan to go in June to request funding. Regarding the ramp metering at EI Charro, Councilmember McGovern confirmed with Mr. Tassano that this could not be done unless it was approved. She questioned how traffic peak times were conducted and confirmed they were taken over prolonged periods of time. Councilmember McGovern referred to the last slide on cut-through traffic and Stanley Boulevard. On one slide it states that without Stoneridge Drive in the morning, the cut-through traffic is almost 44% and even with it, it is 45% traveling east to west. In the afternoon only 23% of cut-through traffic is shown and she questioned the reason for this. Mr. Tassano said some of it has to do with where drivers find their congestion points and other cut-through routes, but if the freeway is moving, people do chose to stay on it. Regarding ramp metering for EI Charro, Councilmember McGovern said she was hearing the long queues were bothersome to people. Mr. Tassano said before ramp metering was turned on, they actually had longer lines and longer waits, and metering actually provided a better balance. Mayor Hosterman referred to Staples Ranch and said it mentions 240 units, and she believed this was the assisted living center. She asked if the city counted assisted living or senior living in their housing cap anywhere else in the city. Ms. Stern said they had not counted the units of other assisted living projects. In this development, there are about 800+ units, some of which look like independent living units; they are duets with full kitchens. There was some analysis done looking at the impacts of different units on City Council Minutes 8 May 1, 2007