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<br />Mr. Arkin said yes. He wanted to build fewer traditional single-family homes, <br />especially in the hills. He did not want homes built in environmentally sensitive areas, <br />but in areas with the least impact to existing residents, such as the type of development <br />for transit oriented areas. He believed many people wanted the housing cap reduced. <br />He wanted more discussion by Council about reducing the housing cap and bringing it <br />back to the voters for approval. He felt the reason people wanted this is because of <br />traffic. <br /> <br />Mary Roberts agreed with most of what Mr. Arkin and Ms. Fox said. She <br />believed the proposed assisted living facility on Staples is different than what has <br />happened in Pleasanton before. She wished to find a nexus for how to count the units. <br />She felt it was clear 65 units could be counted, but she was not willing to go as far as <br />Mr. Arkin. She was intrigued by the suggestion of Ms. McGovern that some units be <br />reserved under the housing cap for the next General Plan. She did not think people <br />understood enough about where the community was headed in the next ten years to tie <br />up all remaining units. She felt something great may come up, such as a green <br />development, and there ought to be 300-500 units set aside for some unforeseen plan. <br />She did not agree with the concept of a jobslhousing balance. She remembered when <br />the Hacienda Business Park was being planned and the statements that Pleasanton <br />was the perfect place for it because it had a well-educated population that was <br />underemployed. Things changed. She believed that people did not want to be required <br />to live in the same city where they worked. She referred to the idea of reducing fees for <br />smaller units, but she felt if the transportation fee were reduced for a 1,200 sq. ft. house, <br />the residents will use the streets as much as anyone else. She said there was a need <br />to find more ways to encourage smaller houses and felt that is something the Planning <br />Commission can do case by case. <br /> <br />Jennifer Pearce did not think a jobs/housing balance could be legislated, but it <br />could be encouraged. It would be an ideal community where the majority of the <br />residents lived and worked in the city. She felt anything to improve bike trails; use of <br />public transportation, and mixed-use facilities such as the Hacienda project is worth <br />reviewing. When people live and work in the city they spend their commuting time <br />investing in the community. With regard to the housing on Staples Ranch, she was <br />loath to call anything housing that can't be deemed affordable in one-way or another. <br />She was encouraged by the fact that staff is talking to the developer to figure out a way <br />to make part of these units affordable. <br /> <br />Jerry Thorne referred to the Staples Ranch project and felt that the existence of a <br />kitchen or a driveway should not determine whether or not something should be <br />counted under the housing cap. He felt the key is that this is a congregate facility where <br />meals are served and it has very little impact on infrastructure, traffic or schools. <br />Personally, he did not think any of the units should be counted. If Council felt the 65 <br />units should be counted, he would go along with them, but personally he did not want to <br />count anything else. As far as the growth management goals, policies and programs, <br />he supported the staff recommendations and agreed that Program 14.4 should be <br />replaced with a directive to staff to include a reduction in the frequency of reports and <br /> <br />Joint Workshop <br />City Council/Planning Commission <br /> <br />12 <br /> <br />11/29/05 <br />