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Mr. Schwaegerle felt with such a large project it would be nice to create public parking underground. Robert Byrd, 327 First Street, Brentwood, said he was aware of only one public parking lot, at the New Rochelle Restaurant, in the downtown area. The only reason this lot exists is because several property owners donated the land for the sole purpose of creating a parking lot. He said he visited several business owners in the area who stated they did not want the parking lot to be considered short term. He also felt short term parking encouraged short term businesses, such as a restaurant. He felt that type of business was not practical or community oriented. He felt the Council should encourage business mixes and leave the current parking zones the way they are. He asked why the task force did not study the Pleasanton Hotel block and why having long term parking on each side of town would be better rather than having long term parking in the middle of town. Mr. van Gelder said the idea behind having parking at the two ends of downtown, rather than one big parking lot in the middle of downtown, is to provide parking where the need is. He said the final decision has not been made yet. He said the recommendation now is to put long term parking in the north end of downtown, with additional parking at the south end of downtown. He said until the town square issue is answered there is no definitive decision. Mr. Byrd said if no study has been done on the northern end of town, why is the recommendation to put long term parking there. Mr. van Gelder said a section of the northern end of town was studied. He said the northern area has a problem with parking, especially at night. Glen Higgins, 159 Ray Street, did not want the north end of town studied farther. He was concerned with the amount of money that will be spent to add a few parking places. He said the only time he has seen a parking problem is during the lunch hour. He felt the problem stems from people not willing to walk more than a block to their destination. He said a parking lot north of Ray might benefit the downtown employees, but would not be used by people just spending a couple of hours in the downtown area. The lot could also be used for a special event. He felt the property north of Ray was too valuable to use for a parking lot. He hoped Council would consider how the limited funds are spent and get the most for the dollar. There were no further speakers. Mayor Tarver agreed with staffs recommendations. He assured people that staff understood the issues about two hour zones and that it needed to be a coordinated process working closely with the people that live downtown. The long term parking recommendations will be looked at to try and establish what is available (priorities, cost, etc.) as part of the Pleasanton City Council 13 03/24/99 Minutes