CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Attachment Subject: Request for a Fair, Transparent, and Streamlined Permitting Process in Pleasanton Dear Mayor Balch, Council Members, and City Staff, My name is Kanwar Sunny Gulati, and I have proudly called Pleasanton home for the past five years. I'm writing to express both my deep appreciation and sincere concern regarding the city's current permitting process. Before I go further, I want to acknowledge that this letter is as much a compliment as it is a complaint. The progress made under Mayor Balch's leadership has been remarkable. His business -minded approach and focus on efficiency are exactly what Pleasanton needs to continue evolving into a thriving, financially sustainable city. I sincerely thank him for his commitment and encourage all Council members and staff to follow his example in making Pleasanton a model of smart governance and resident -centered service. Two years ago, I purchased a lot in Pleasanton with the dream of building my forever home. Before committing to such a major investment, I met with city officials, presented my proposed plans, and sought guidance to ensure compliance and feasibility. At that meeting, I was reassured that my plans appeared sound and ready for submission. Unfortunately, after formally submitting my application and spending over a year diligently addressing every comment from multiple city departments, including repeatedly resubmitting information already provided, I was met with more than 20 pages of additional comments. Many of these contradicted earlier guidance and created confusion and frustration. To make matters worse, the estimated project fees suddenly increased from approximately $180,000 (already higher than most comparable cities nationwide) to nearly $600,000. This unexpected escalation placed me in an extremely difficult position: either take on significant debt or abandon the project entirely, along with the $78,000 1 had already invested. I was close to walking away until Jack personally stepped in to help reevaluate and guide his team to see whether the project could still be made viable. For that, I am deeply grateful. Most of the staff I have interacted with are wonderful, experienced, and genuinely eager to help. However, they are bound by a collection of unique and unnecessary rules, rules whose purpose or benefit no one seems to fully understand. Instead of facilitating progress, these rules often create needless hurdles for residents and discourage investment. For years, no one seemed willing to challenge or change them. But with the city's new leadership, I am hopeful that this will finally shift. Someone within this team now clearly understands that we cannot achieve different results by repeating the same actions.