CCMIN030106 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Iserson said there was support for a reserve of 200-500 units, but nothing more specific was done. He asked if Council wanted more specific action or just to include the range in the final options. Mr. Fialho believed the general consensus of Council from previous workshops was 200- 500 units in reserve. He preferred the flexibility of presenting a range of options at the next workshop that includes that range. Depending upon where it is put, it might be 200, 300 or 500 units. Mr. Sullivan supported the concept, but until the options are presented he did not want to commit to anything. Ms. McGovern was still interested in the concept of study areas. She felt it provided more flexibility if certain numbers of units are not assigned to a given area. Mr. Fialho thought the idea of the concept was to identify large areas of town for future study. You could identify potential uses within those study areas, such as commercial, office, industrial or residential. However, it is not possible to avoid identifying a range of residential units for some of those areas. Ms. McGovern said her main problem is that whenever the midpoint is used in discussions, it automatically becomes the number landowners believe they are entitled to develop. She wanted a better way of planning to avoid that kind of expectation. She would like to see a better way to use study areas to increase flexibility. Mr. Fialho indicated study areas are used and it is really another term for a specific plan. Ms. McGovern asked if staff had talked to the East Bay Regional Park District about what types of properties on the ridge lands it was interested in trying to secure for enhancing the park. Mr. Fialho indicated staff has had discussions with the District. However, they have not talked to them lately about new opportunities like the Alviso Adobe and the connection with the Lester property or whether or not there is trail access to connect to the ridge. In conjunction with the General Plan discussions, some time needs to be set aside for a meeting with representatives from the Park District, so Council can formulate a direction. Ms. McGovern wanted to see where the staging sites were located and how they connected to trails, what other pieces of property the District may be interested in for expanding the Ridgeland's park. She asked if that was part of land use? Mr. Fialho said it could be, but staff is trying to present options for land use. If too many more workshops are added, then it is not possible to get through these discussions in a timely manner. He felt there were ample opportunities to get to the information Ms. McGovern wanted through the Public Facilities and Open Space Element of the General Plan. That can then be layered upon the Land Use Element. Ms. McGovern did not want that to be forgotten because it was a great amenity to the community. Joint Workshop City CounciVPlanning Commission 21 03/01/06