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investigated running for the City Council in order to bring the message of the need for affordable housing, not subsidized housing. Susan Miller, 4653 Cochise Court, described her situation and the fact that she now needs affordable housing for her mother and will need affordable housing for her children when they move out on their own. They will not be able to stay in Pleasanton. She agreed there are many middle class families that cannot afford to live in Pleasanton. She did not understand how the community can be so callous. She understands the desire to preserve the beauty in Pleasanton and the effort that was made to preserve the Ridge. Beauty is what people make of a community, not how many parks, museums, cultural centers, or roller parks. Who will use these facilities if the kids can't afford to stay here? She felt there was a lot of unused property in Pleasanton that could be used for public facilities and affordable housing should be built on the Bemal property where it is needed. She wanted beauty as much as anyone, but we need to take care of the people. Howard Neely, 448 Amador, referred to the draft Housing Element dated May 2002. Pleasanton is fortunate to have a staffthat produces a tremendous amount of information for the various Commissions. He has attended many meetings. He said it is apparent from the Minutes that Commissioners and Council have changed their opinions based on testimony from the public. He referred to past projects that had been built to assist low income families and seniors. In the 1970's, volunteers and organizations worked to get affordable housing because fewer small units were being built. As of April 2002, there were 1063 affordable units with a potential for 444 more units. However, there are some units that could be lost. He felt there were two kinds of thinkers in the community: those with "tunnel vision" and those with "total vision". Those who want all 318 acres of the Bernal property to be park would deprive the community of "stepping stone housing". That is tunnel vision. As of April 2002, there are 320 acres of developed parks, 315 acres of open space parks, 65 acres of strip medians along roadways, for a total of over 700 acres. The business parks also have beautiful park like settings that are open to the public. He felt the community could spare fifteen acres from the 318 acres on Bernal Avenue. That would be "total vision". The Bernal Task Force has spent hours and hours taking public testimony from everyone from 4H Club members to those looking for a cemetery. The list of possibilities are wonderful and would give future Councils something to work with and still keep a park like atmosphere. Many people agree the City should have total control of the Bernal property and the land can be leased, not sold. It is true there are lots that could be purchased for $500,000 and the City could buy twenty acres for the $10 million in the housing fund. But there would be no money left to build the houses. By the time the City reaches buildout of its 29,000 units, he did not think there would be any money left. He urged people to read the goals of the Housing Commission. The top three are: secure as much affordable housing as possible on the Busch property; secure sites on the Bernal property for future affordable housing; and immediately start working on plans to save housing units before they lose their restrictions. He said we need total vision in this town. Trudy Fabian, 4552 First Street, supported affordable housing. This community is a unique and caring community and she felt it could find room for everyone. Pleasanton City Council 10 05/07/02 Minutes