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Las Positas Boulevard overpass. He added that all of his visualizations were peer-reviewed. He <br />expressed concern that Oak Grove appeared to have a different set of rules and that there was no <br />peer review of the project. He objected to what he believed to be misleading lens selections for <br />the visualizations. The size of the homes was half of what could be built. He did not understand <br />how designing a house with one story plus two stories equaled two stories. He believed the <br />landscape results were incorrect and believed the new staff report minimized the importance of the <br />visuals. He asked the Planning Commission to insist that the visualizations be fixed and be made <br />subject to peer review. He noted that the trees on the rolling hills of the site were a major benefit to <br />the area and believed the staff report and the EIR grossly underreported the tree impacts. He did not <br />believe those reports assumed any impact on the building sites themselves. He displayed a <br />representative image of a 12,000-square-foot house, plus pool, decks, landscaping and the required <br />fire safety zone. He believed the Commission should ask for the tree impact in the EIR, which <br />includes the trees affected by the proposed homes. He noted that the proposed design guidelines for <br />Oak Grove stated that the distance a tree had to be planted from a house of any type is 2x its <br />full-grown height; if the height was 40 feet, it must be 80 feet from the house. <br />Mr. Roberts believed the proposed Development Agreement removed the ability of the voters to <br />have a say in this project. He rejected the certification of the EIR because of what he believed to <br />be its many flaws. He urged the Planning Commission to direct staff to correct the EIR and, if <br />necessary, work with the developer and all of the community to propose a project which has no <br />impact on the community and which does not have major health and safety risks. <br />In response to a request from Chairperson Fox to clarify the wraparound in the Development <br />Agreement, Mr. Roush replied that approval of the Development Agreement would not prevent <br />this project from being subject to referendum. He noted that it would provide that a subsequent <br />action by the voters could not set aside the approval. If this project were approved, because it <br />was a PUD and a Development Agreement, both of those items would be subject to referendum, <br />and the voters could set it aside. It provided that once it is approved, a subsequent action could <br />not be taken to set aside those approvals because they would be vested. <br />Ms. Decker noted that there had been considerable discussion about 20-percent grades on EVAs <br />and wished to point out to the Commission that this is not an uncommon grade that has been <br />used with various projects. She noted that the recent Reznick project on the Vineyard Avenue <br />Corridor Specific plan had grades that exceeded the 15 percent; there were three lines of <br />approximately 20-percent grades for short distances that were approximately the same length <br />being considered in this project. She noted that the grades for the Reznick project, which was <br />approved in 2006, were based upon an analysis and review by the Fire Chief and Fire Marshall, <br />evaluating what met the site constraints and the project needs best, and whether it was a plausible <br />solution. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner O'Connor regarding whether the grades for the <br />Reznick project were mitigated, Ms. Decker replied they were not and that the grades were <br />presented to the Planning Commission with improvement plans. The grades were designed at <br />20 percent and have been constructed or were in the process of construction. She noted that the <br />water tank had been under construction for some time, and the road had been graded uphill. <br />EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, June 27, 2007 Page 3 of 17 <br />