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<br />meaningful were some policies suggested such as making the remaining residential <br />potential under the cap the best fit for the workforce in terms of location, affordability, <br />and types of units? That addresses the issues of affordability and some of the other <br />sustainable development policies. He also supported the policy to encourage smaller <br />homes. He wanted to explore current options before consideration of reducing the <br />housing cap. There is Staples Ranch, Hacienda, the project in the hills and other <br />variables to be worked on for the community. We need to see if those options work or <br />not. They may not and fewer housing units than the housing cap could be built. He did <br />not want to hamstring any future efforts. He supported reserving some units for the <br />future, but he wanted flexibility in that regard as well. <br /> <br />Steve Brozosky referred to the Staples project and said it is not an assisted living <br />facility, but a continuing care facility. That is why he wants it for this community. A <br />person can start living there independently and stay they as they proceed to needing <br />skilled nursing. He agreed with Mr. Sullivan that a definition needs to be found of how <br />many residents are independent versus assisted and determine the proportion. In the <br />October staff report, there were 690 units apparently for independent living, 76 assisted <br />living and 89 skilled nursing beds. Using those figures, it seems the 690 units should be <br />counted towards the housing cap. Pleasanton doesn't treat apartments different than <br />single-family homes in terms of the housing cap, so he did not think an apartment on <br />Staples should be treated different than a duet. If those units are not counted towards <br />the housing cap, he felt it would be going against the intent of the 1996 vote for the <br />housing cap. The goal is not to see how many houses can be squeezed into the <br />community. The cap was based on midpoint density in the 1996 General Plan. He <br />supported keeping a reserve of 300-500 units for the future. He did not know how <br />affordability could be included in the Staples project because of all the services included <br />and suggested the developers pay in-lieu fees so units could be built in other locations <br />in the city where it makes more sense. If these are counted as housing units, more in- <br />lieu housing fees could be collected and that would be more than if the project were <br />treated as commercial and fees were based on square footage. He would like to see <br />that calculation. Regarding growth management, he felt it was a good thing, but the <br />reports take a lot of staff time and are not worth much now. The reason for growth <br />management was to make certain the infrastructure kept up with demands. That has <br />not occurred yet as evidenced by the traffic problems. Some type of growth <br />management is still necessary to keep that balance. Referring to the jobs/housing <br />balance, he said many people in Pleasanton work out of their homes and that is not <br />counted in the jobs/housing balance. He felt if the number of business licenses were <br />reviewed for those in commercial property versus residential property, the jobs/housing <br />balance would be very different than as appears in the staff calculations. He felt that <br />was better than transit-oriented development. Building a bigger house with office space <br />included is better than having to commute somewhere. He said 70% of Pleasanton <br />residents commute out of the city. He did not think there was a chance to reach a <br />jobs/housing balance, and it should not be pursued. People change jobs more often <br />and many times they stay in the same home. There are two income earners in many <br />families who work in different cities. A jobs/housing balance in a company town in the <br />old days might have worked, but it is not relevant today. He again stated his belief that <br /> <br />Joint Workshop <br />City Council/Planning Commission <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />11/29/05 <br />