PC 01/14/1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Cordtz requested that the Commission make a recommendation to the City Council requiring an EIR for the proposed plan. Ms. Seto commented that the Commission can make such a recommendation, but reminded them that the County would be the lead agency and would have the authority to ignore the City's recommendations. Mr. Cordtz feels that the noise problem is an issue that can be resolved by implementing an agreement that would limit the volume of noise coming from the amphitheater. He further suggested that some type of sound mitigation be considered for the amphitheater area. Finally, Mr. Cordtz stated that the Railroad Association has released a new fare schedule, noting that each station has an automatic $3 surcharge. Since there are two stations in Livermore and one in Pleasanton, it would cost $9 to get from Livermore to Pleasanton. He felt this surcharge would encourage Livermore residents to drive to Pleasanton to get the train, thus creating parking and traffic impacts in Pleasanton. He felt that this was not right. Phyllis Bullock, 5296 Golden Road, noted that during the fair, she expects to hear two weeks of noise. She noted that this is the first time she has received notice relating [o the proposed strategic plan. She reviewed it and asked if the intent of extending Rose Avenue is to force the traffic onto Pleasanton Avenue and Valley Avenue during the fair and if there were any plans to extend Golden Road. Mr. Iserson responded that there is no plan to extend Golden Road, and that the extension of Rose Avenue was to provide two points of access and to complete the circulation for that area. She also commented that during the fair, she can hear the noise from crowds, the rides, and from the entertainment. After reviewing the proposed plan, she feels that the Fair Board is trying to attract more activity to the fairgrounds in order to increase revenues. PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED Commissioner Wright noted that the Commission had previously addressed the temporary train station and he understood that it would be on a limited schedule on a trial basis to evaluate the feasibility of the fair schedule usage. He now finds in reviewing the report that a permanent rail station now exists. Although he supports the plan's objectives of increasing amenities to the community and use of the fair grounds for community events, he feels that there should be an EIR to evaluate the impacts. He further commented that he would like additional information as to how certain events are categorized, i.e., historical use, public use, etc., and that possibly the process for categorizing events should be redefined. Commissioner Wright also feels that the City should have some control and involvement with the fair relative to any events that are not considered to be agricultural or historical uses. He feels the sound issue should be dealt with either by way of an EIR or by enforcement of the city ordinance at certain events. Either way, he feels that there should be some expressed guidelines regarding the sound issue in that certain events should be allowed to reach only a certain decibel Planning Commission Page 10 January 14, 1998