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DISCUSSION Staff and the Planning Commission believe that the proposed site plan and positioning of the building is appropriate for the subject site. Furthermore, the proposed building is attractive and contains design elements that add visual interest to the elevations. A detailed analysis and discussion of the proposal is included in the attached Planning Commission staff report dated June 27, 2007, including: General Plan and North Sycamore Specific Plan land use conformity, zoning and uses, development plan conformity with the North Sycamore Specific Plan, site plan, traffic and circulation, parking, grading and drainage, building design, Green Building, signage, landscaping, and North Sycamore Specific Plan cost responsibilities. This report includes additional discussion regarding the U-turn concern raised by Mr. Kevin Close at the Planning Commission hearing. U-turn Concern Raised by Kevin Close Because the two Sunol Boulevard driveways at the project site would be limited to right- turn only ingress/egress per the NSSP, vehicles wishing to travel southbound on Sunol Boulevard from the project site would first need to travel approximately 535 feet northbound on Sunol Boulevard (measured from the project's northernmost driveway) to reach the first left-turn lane north of the project site located at Applied Biosystems' service driveway. Mr. Close is concerned that vehicles making U-turns on Sunol Boulevard would create a traffic hazard. Although a large number of U-turns could impact the traffic flow and/or intersections on Sunol Boulevard, the City's Traffic Engineer believes that traffic from this small-scale project, including vehicles making U-turns on Sunol Boulevard, would not significantly impact traffic flow nor create traffic hazards on Sunol Boulevard. Furthermore, the signalized intersection at Sunol Boulevard/Sycamore Road would create breaks in traffic, making it easier for vehicles leaving the project site to move over to the left-turn lane at Applied Biosystems' service driveway. Staff also worked with the applicant to reduce the number of U-turns generated by this project by creating an on-site parking "loop." The City's Traffic Engineer believes that most vehicles will enter the site from the southern driveway. If parking were not available in the southern parking area, then vehicles would most likely head towards the northern end of the site searching for an available space. If parking at the north end of the site happened to be full, then vehicles would need to leave the site and make two U- turns on Sunol Boulevard to reach the site again unless there was an on-site turn around. To allow vehicles to stay on site, the applicant, with input from the City's Traffic Engineer, modified the on-site circulation plan and created athree-point turn around in the parking area on the north side of the building that would allow vehicles to turn around on the site. Ideally, this project would have access to Sycamore Road, allowing vehicles wishing to travel southbound on Sunol Boulevard to use Sycamore Road to reach the signalized Sunol Boulevard/Sycamore Road intersection. However, the project's long, narrow, 10- Page 5 of 7