3A Public Hearing 2007 0507 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Meeting Draft Minutes Excerpt for meeting of April 12, 2007 Page 7 of 10 Acting Chair/Commissioner Dlugosh asked Mr. Gregg to wrap up his comments because his five minutes were up. Mr. Gregg indicated that there is apparently no basis for comparing parking needs and traffic generated by Stepping Stones. The current tenant approximately 20 employees and perhaps 50 people using their services daily. Off-street Herma Court parking has always been a big issue, he added, and families with children live right across the street from where a lot of the traffic from the development would exit. Acting Chair/Commissioner Dlugosh asked whether any Commissioners had any questions of Mr. Gregg. Mr. Gregg asked ifthere's somewhere he might send the rest of the concerns that he did not have time to address. Acting Chair/Commissioner Dlugosh replied yes, to the Planning Department, for consideration when the City Council meets. Sue Chen, 980 Victoria Avenue. She urged Commissioners not to approve mitigation on the parking. Just because the architect or builder hopes buyers will do so, she said, does not mean they will park tandem. She also noted that there is barely any parking on Herma Court now. Ten spaces for 23 units on an acre is not realistic. She also noted that she has heard nothing about contributions to the San Leandro tax base. With no retail space, she asked, is the increased cost of providing school, police, traffic and other services going to offset the tax loss? She understands that high-density is needed, and she has no problem with that, but this is too much density. She objects to an exception on the FAR, observing that fewer units would be much more acceptable. She also agrees (with Mr. Gregg) that there will be no privacy in any of the adjacent back yards. She indicated that "tremendous cooperation" would be needed for peuple to get in and out of their garages. She even questions whether there is enough space for neighbors to get around someone washing their car. William Artz, 1044 Broadmoor Boulevard, said that he is quite concerned about the number of parking spaces planned to go on MacArthur - 16 in front and an undetermined number across the street by the Imperial Garden. He says that 50% to 60% of the vehicles on MacArthur travel well over the posted speed limit, with enforcement officers seldom in the area to slow them down. It's a concern with family units going in. There are a lot of children with very little play space, which poses another density problem and possibly another reason to reduce the unit count from 23 to. 22, and use the additional space for more play areas or more parking within the complex rather than on the street. He considers erosion control and utility upgrades in lieu of taxes "ludicrous." Such things are standard for any type of new construction and should be a standard cost for the builder. It should not allow the developer to get out of paying taxes for schools, parks and streets. He also noted that although he lives within the 300-foot radius of the site, he recalls seeing only the notice for the March 29 meeting.