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With respect to the view from the site to Pleasanton ridge, Commissioner Fox asked <br />whether the viewer would be able to see the ridge or four-story buildings. Mr. Rodriguez <br />noted that was a good question, and that he would bring that back at the public hearing <br />stage. He would like to take a photograph of that spot and drop a building in visually. <br />Commissioner Fox believed that would be useful to the Commission if the visuals could <br />be created from multiple places on the property. She requested that the street view from <br />Downtown towards I-680 and Bernal Avenue be included in the presentation. She noted <br />that she did not want the buildings to obscure the view of the ridge, in the same way that <br />she did not want the lighted sports fields to do the same. She added that she believed that <br />may be a condition and requested staff to verify. <br />Mr. Rodriguez noted that it was valuable to re-evaluate these aspects of the project and <br />added that had been done significantly since 2000. He noted that none of the building <br />heights had been changed since 2000. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Fox regarding whether the developer was tied <br />into Safeway as a tenant or whether it could be Whole Foods, Mr. Trobbe noted that <br />when they started to re-evaluate the project from a retail perspective and considered <br />modifying the site, they believed that only two grocers would be capable of bringing the <br />quality and style to the site: Safeway and Whole Foods. He noted that Whole Foods was <br />focused on a deal in Dublin and would not come to Pleasanton. He noted that he had not <br />been able to persuade Whole Foods to come to Pleasanton. He noted that there would be <br />no other grocers on the balance of the property. <br />With respect to the office buildings on the south side, Commissioner Fox inquired <br />whether the applicants anticipated having eating establishments within walking distance <br />or whether they would have to drive. Mr. Trobbe replied that he did not know the answer <br />to that question. He added that with the assistance of staff and Larry Cannon, they tried <br />to make the pedestrian connections as inviting as possible, utilizing shade trees and <br />benches and creating sitting areas; they hoped to encourage people to stay on foot instead <br />of using their cars. <br />Commissioner Fox suggested moving the offices to the corner and inquired whether that <br />would be a good idea. Mr. Rodriguez replied that he believed it would be critical to the <br />retail use to hold a corner and noted that the ease of access would be critical with a corner <br />location. He added that a central location would segment the project enough that there <br />would be three projects and that from a marketing perspective, that would not move the <br />goals of the prof ect forward. <br />Chairperson Blank noted that the original project had eight buildings and that this prof ect <br />had eight buildings, since one turned into a Safeway. He noted that the layout, square <br />footage, and some of the uses had changed. Mr. Trobbe noted that he believed <br />Chairperson Blank's assessment was correct and that they kept the two buildings along <br />Valley Avenue and the two buildings that fronted I-680. He added that they did not alter <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 28, 2008 Page 8 of 17 <br />