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people who moved in specifically to take advantage of large lots to increase the size of the <br />houses. He felt they were only concerned about making more money from their homes. That is <br />the wrong thing to establish neighborhoods upon. A cohesive community is based on talking m <br />neighbors, developing a plan that works for everyone. He believed Mr. Crofion will move in the <br />furore and is doing this to take maximum advantage of increasing the value of his house. <br /> <br />Mr. Brozosky asked what relationship he had with the Diazes. <br /> <br />Mr. Couto said he worked with them. <br /> <br /> Karen Boyd, 302 Kottinger Drive, was sad this process has come to this, with neighbor <br />pitted against neighbor. She did not feel that the people who have lived in the neighborhood <br />since it was first built and plan to retire in the area are being taken into consideration. She <br />objected to the massiveness of the addition being proposed and supported the Diaz's appeal. <br />They are her parents and she lived in the home for a long time. Their hobby is gardening and <br />they plan to live out their years there. A huge wall will be unsightly for her parents. Once again <br />million dollar homes are being built in Pleasanton and it is losing housing for the children of <br />residents to be able to stay in town and raise their own children. <br /> <br /> Barbara Bacon, 4898 Cobbler Court, spoke in support of the Diaz appeal. She said the <br />Crofton design looks lovely, but she will not be seeing it every day in her backyard. She does <br />not know either family, but has spoken with both families. She noted the original developers had <br />suggested 480 sq. fr. additions over the garage. That is what had been set forth in the CC&Rs. <br />She noted the Crofron addition to the garage is 949 sq. fr., which is almost twice the original <br />recommendation. Just because there are precedents in the neighborhood for larger homes does <br />not make it right. The Diazes are the only affected neighbors. She said her lot is 16,000 sq. fr. <br />and if she followed the FAR ratio of 40%, she could have a 6,000 sq. fr. on her lot. Council <br />mentioned earlier about changing the zoning and she felt that FAR should be revised and the <br />actual square footage should be considered, not a percentage. <br /> <br /> John S chabacker, 1139 Mataro Court, said he was not a resident of Old Towne, but did <br />support the Crofron application. He thought it was a good idea that the Crofrons had shared their <br />plans with the neighbors before taking the application directly to the Planning Depmhnent. He <br />said the Crofrons had told him there was one neighbor particularly opposed to the plan. Mr. <br />Schabacker tried to put himself in the place of the Crofrons, a family outgrowing its current <br />home, and the Diazes, long-time residents who would have to deal with the addition and change <br />from what they have been used to. The majority of the neighborhood supports the Crofton plan. <br />He drove through the development and is familiar with the Crofron plans. He felt it was <br />consistent with other homes in the neighborhood and will add value to the neighborhood. He <br />thought about how the Croftons had gone through the planning process and he has heard how <br />difficult that can be. He liked the fact that City staffis careful in their considerations of projects <br />and try to do the best for the other residents. The Planning staff approved the plan with a few <br />modifications, the Planning Commission approved the plan, with some minor modifications. It <br />is now up to the City Council. He trusted that Council would make a decision based on the facts, <br />the recommendations of staffand the Planning Commission. He hoped the Crofrons would get <br />approval for their project. <br /> <br />Pleasanton City Council 18 07/15/03 <br />Minutes <br /> <br /> <br />