PC 072507 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner O’Connor expressed concern about making an exception for what appears to be ordinary apartments because they form part of a senior housing project. He stated that if that would be the case, then other senior housing facilities should not be counted, and the Hacienda Business Park TOD units should not be counted as well. He noted that the low-cost housing that have been constructed in the past, a great majority of which were for seniors, have been counted. Commissioner Narum noted that there are about 60 units in the Staples Ranch assisted living proposal come with garages. She stated that if the unit has a garage and, therefore, a car, there would be an impact on infrastructure in terms of traffic and transportation, and the units should be counted. She added that she supported transferring the 240 units towards TOD but that those units with garages should be counted as the whole point of the housing cap is to manage infrastructure. Commissioner Pearce noted that these units would not be using other infrastructure such as schools. Commissioner O’Connor stated that the Commission can make a recommendation for the 240 units; however, things could change between now and when the final plans are presented, and the actual number of available units would not be known until then. The Commission then reviewed the Draft Land Use Element text and made the following recommendations on the redlined version: Text Page 2-1 Commissioner Pearce indicated that she liked placing Sustainability at the beginning of the text. Commissioner Fox stated that she would like to add back the deleted text in the last paragraph, “In general, major business parks, regional shopping, quarry operations, and freeways are located at the periphery of the City, while housing tends to be more centrally located.” Commissioner Pearce noted that the City is looking into more decentralized housing with residential projects by BART and TODs. Commissioner O’Connor noted that the approximately 1,000 units near BART are certainly on the periphery. In response to Commissioner Blank’s inquiry if the Introduction is part of the General Plan, Ms. Stern stated that it looks at the existing conditions. She explained that the sentence was struck because there has been an increase in peripheral residential development since the 1996 Plan, such as those along Foothill Road. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 25, 2007 Page 14 of 35