01 SPECIAL MINUTES - Laserfiche WebLink

jurisdictions do about global warming and where they must build homes, what densities, how tall, etc. This is of concern to him, and in this case, the State has severely limited the City's ability, as an elected body, to do what we believe is in the best interest of the community and for residents of the park without exposing the City's treasury to damages. He noted in the minutes of the Planning Commission, they determined that when making their decision, they did not feel they have been chartered to protect the public treasury; theirs was strictly of planning decisions. The Council; however, must protect the public treasury. Over the last few years, Councilmember Thorne has met with many residents in the city's mobilehome parks. There were maintenance issues at the park next door. He toured the park, he is a senior citizen, and when an element of uncertainty is introduced into your life, it creates a lot of anxiety. When there is not enough information to make good decisions, it does have an impact on anxiety. Many people will not have the opportunity to replace their nest eggs and how they planned to live out our lives. He believes the State has limited what the Council can do, knows the land owner has made significant concessions, and he asked the owner to consider alternatives such as removing the income level requirement from the rent determination process when the conversion occurs for those who reside there forever and not just to 2025. They should have their rent guaranteed at a low income level for as long as they want to stay there. He also wants to see the owner provide information in the form of an appraisal to give seniors a starting point to determine what the cost of the property might look like 10 years from now. He also asked to ensure the property is always age restricted, and that the Bylaws allow renters to have more representation than a single liaison once conversion occurs. Councilmember Thorne said generally he is one of the strongest proponents of property rights on the Council, but in this case, he does not believe the State has made decisions that are in the interests of the majority of Pleasanton citizens as well as for those who are residents in the park. He does not believe the survey is a bona fide survey; it was done too long ago, citizens did not understand the information they had and its impacts, and he asked to have the survey redone and receive additional information before making a decision. Councilmember McGovern said she also did not believe it was a bona fide survey. She wished the land owners would have shared all of the information they were giving residents with the Council, as she feels left out of the loop as to what information was given. The resident survey letter of 3/17/08 states in paragraph 3; "We understand that because the conversion is so far into the future, you do not currently have enough information to make a final decision as to whether or not you would want to purchase your lot..." Because purchasing the lot is 10 years out, she did not know how anybody could make a decision on the conversion. She also did not know how many conversions have been done in California where the sales would not start for 10 years. Mr. Roush said his presumption is that there probably are not a lot; this particular owner sees it as an estate planning issue and therefore does not have a desire to sell the lots immediately but this is not the typical process on conversions. Councilmember McGovern felt this could have confused the matter more and voiced concern with the number of surveys returned; 119 out of 208, which looks like 81 people did not know what was going on, and only 41 out of 208 said yes, which is of concern. She suggested staff work with seniors to help them understand the information. Mr. Fialho said it depends upon what the Council's interest is. He would encourage the property owner and his representatives to work with the City's housing specialist to do outreach, convey information in an easy to understand matter so that when people are faced with the revised survey, they can make a decision. City Council Minutes Page 12 of 17 May 5, 2009