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Peter MacDonald, 400 Main Street. representative of Mrs. Lew, suggested that Council <br />develop and adopt genetic rules to apply to any piano teacher in any neighborhood without <br />notice to all the neighbors. He believed Council could make a finding that one teacher teaching <br />one student at a time in a home is not a nuisance and does not create a traffic haT~rd. He <br />believed the public heating process stirred up past hatreds and created bitterness in the <br />neighborhoods, Mr. MacDonald did not believe the hours of teaching should be set by the <br />neighborhood. He objected to allegations of Mrs. Lew's violations of the previous home <br />occupation permit and related a history of operations at the premises. He stated the staff report <br />raised three issues: noise, traffic and crime. Mr. MacDonald indicated the piano playing could <br />not be detected beyond the property limits. With regard to traffic, he stated that 50% of the <br />students walk or tide their bicycles to the lessons. At the worst case, if each student were <br />dropped off by a parent and then picked up after the lesson, the most traffic would be four trips <br />per hour, which is not too much for a residential area. He referred to an allegation of concerns <br />about strangers casing the neighborhood for Cambodian gangs. <br /> <br /> He presented suggested modifications to the conditions of the use permit. He indicated <br />Mrs. Lew needed additional hours to allow flexibility for students to make up missed lessons. <br />He stated piano teachers try to have 40 students per week in order to break even financially. <br />He objected to making parents park in the driveway and forcing Mrs. Lew to clean her garage. <br /> <br /> Gall Lew, 2145 Camino Brazos. desctibed her professional associations and a history of <br />her teaching since the 1970's. At the beginning, no restrictions or permits were required. <br />However, that situation has changed. The conditions are her major concern. She did not <br />believe there was a traffic problem and she stressed that the request for more hours is to <br />accommodate the schedules of her existing students, not to add more. She stated she had lost <br />four students to another teacher who does not have the same conditions imposed on her. She <br />believed there should be one set of rules applicable to all teachers in the city and disgruntled <br />neighbors should not establish city policy. She believed the four neighbors currently objecting <br />to this permit were acting on the basis of past problems. <br /> <br /> In reference to the concern about bring strangers into the neighborhood, Ms. Lew <br />reviewed the ethnic makeup of her students and felt that her piano teaching is not the real issue <br />in this neighborhood. She reviewed the actual car trips to her home in a week which averaged <br />three cars per day. She believed the fact that her two teenage sons had gone away to college <br />had drastically reduced the traffic in the neighborhood. She objected to the requirement of <br />parking in her driveway and stated that a parent parked in front of her house is not a traffic <br />hazard. She pointed out that Camino Brazos is a public street and the parents of her students <br />pay taxes in Pleasanton and should be allowed to use it. She referred to a map of the <br />neighborhood and read the addresses of students who walk to their lessons. Ms. Lew presented <br />a petition signed by her supporters. <br /> <br />10/18/94 <br /> - 6 - <br /> <br /> <br />