CCMIN030106 - Laserfiche WebLink

valley and Pleasanton special and should be protected. She believed Council should carefully balance the pros and cons of possibly reducing individual property owner's opportunities to develop with what she viewed as providing a balance in the quality of life for the entire city of Pleasanton. Mr. Sullivan expressed confusion regarding the Knuppe property. The developers indicated there is an approved project but they wanted to do something different and discuss it with the neighbors to get support. He wanted to see if that worked before making any decision. Regarding the West Dublin BART station, he indicated he very much supported transit-oriented development. At the Economic Vitality Committee meeting yesterday, it was recommended for the long-term sustainability of Pleasanton's economy and fiscal soundness that the city be able to transform the economy as time goes by. One of the suggestions was for a transit oriented, mixed use development at Hacienda Business Park. For those reasons as well as environmental reasons to build where infrastructure already exists and transportation and job bases exist, it makes a lot of sense to him. He was a little concerned, given the number of housing units left, that the project be viable. He wondered if there were enough units to build two transit oriented developments at both east and west BART stations successfully, or would the result be two developments that are only halfway successful. He was concerned that the West Dublin BART station development would be strictly residential units between the freeway and the mall with no place for the people to go for groceries. They would have to walk to Dublin or get in their cars and drive somewhere. That was not his concept of transit oriented, walk able development. Regarding the Evangelical Free Church, he did not support residential units on the property. The neighbors have made it clear for twenty years that they did not want residential development on that property. He felt it made more sense to put the limited number of housing units left under the cap in some other location, such as Hacienda Business Park or other places. He sympathized with the church and noted it could sell public and institutionally zoned land to raise funds for the church and said he was open to the park idea. But felt there were other ways for the church to get what it wants without doing something the neighborhood could not support. Regarding the Guesthouse Inn property, he did not think high density residential was good for that location. It did not fit with the neighborhood and would be more appropriate for other locations. Mr. Thorne said in general terms, his vision for the way things would develop in Pleasanton was to have lower density out in the foothill area and increased density near the transit oriented development. He opposed higher density in the hills. Regarding the BART development, he agreed it did not make sense to encourage people to use BART to work and then force them into their cars when they get home to go get other things. Regarding the Church's application, he preferred to have a better understanding of the needs for public and institutional lands before changing that designation for the church property. Addressing the people in the neighborhood, he said Ponderosa Homes has a reputation for being able to work with neighborhoods to get solutions for both the neighbors and whoever is trying to develop their property. He referred to the housing cap and noted there is a limited number of things that be done within the cap. As one looks at the entire city, this may not be the best place to add housing. He indicated he has met with the Austins to review their project and he was quite impressed with it even though it is a couple of houses more than originally allowed. It is only eight houses and what they are offering to give to the city is unbelievable. He really liked the project and hoped it would be allowed to move forward. He was uncertain what was happening with the Knuppe project, so decided not to make comments until he had more information. Regarding the Guesthouse Inn, he also agreed the proposal was for too many units. Joint Workshop City Council/Planning Commission 18 03/01/06