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<br />Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
<br />Agenda No. 07-13
<br />
<br />July] 22007
<br />Page 2 of8
<br />
<br />I Item 6: Public Hearing I
<br />
<br />a). Public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Downtown San
<br />Leandro Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategy. The City of San Leandro
<br />released the draft Environmental Impact Report for the Downtown San Leandro
<br />Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategy for a 45-day review period from June
<br />5 to July 19, 2007. Oral and written testimony may be given at the July 12, 2007
<br />Planning Commission. Comments related to the DEIR should be directed to Kathleen
<br />Livermore, Interim Planning Manager, 835 E. 14th Street, San Leandro, CA 94577
<br />(fax 510-577-6007). All written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on July 19,
<br />2007. Anyone challenging the item noted above may be limited to addressing only
<br />those issues raised in the notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City
<br />prior to the close ofthe comment period.
<br />
<br />Secretary Kathleen Livermore (who has served as TOD Project Manager) recapped the
<br />presentation on the Downtown San Leandro Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)
<br />Strategy that she made at the Joint Work Session with the Board of Zoning Adjustments
<br />on June 28. Explaining that the TOD Strategy is a plan that provides a framework for
<br />future development, she noted that projects will follow as the private sector steps forward
<br />with applications for particular properties. She reviewed the origins of the TOD Strategy
<br />effort, its guiding principles, key goals and policies. She described the Citizen Advisory
<br />Committee (CAe) process and activities, a series of public workshops, the involvement
<br />of a team of consulting experts led by BMS Design Group who provided reports on
<br />existing conditions, market studies, financial feasibility, housing needs, traffic and
<br />parking studies, the participation of a Technical Advisory Committee and
<br />interdisciplinary representation of staff from the Planning Department, Engineering
<br />Department and Office of Business Development. Most important tonight, she said, is to
<br />gather public comments on the Draft EIR and discuss next steps.
<br />
<br />Tim Hurley, Senior Urban Designer with BMS Design Group, noted that the team
<br />assembled for the TOD Strategy, led by Kathleen Livermore and former Community
<br />Development Director Hanson Horn and including a team of consultants, including
<br />Design, Community & Environment (DC&E) working on the environmental analysis, as
<br />well as economists (Bay Area Economics), architects (Seidel/Holzman), and traffic
<br />engineers (Kimley-Horn and Associates). He said the idea behind San Leandro's TOD is
<br />to facilitate "home-grown" development that is of and for the people of San Leandro,
<br />making the downtown interesting and attractive. He reiterated a quote used in one City
<br />meeting, "If you build for cars, you'll get cars; if you build for people, you'll get people."
<br />To accomplish that requires an urban framework incorporating the street and block
<br />pattern, circulation system for pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, a parking system, and
<br />planned open spaces, as well as supportive land uses and densities for the optimum mix
<br />of residential, office, retail and commercial uses. Primary arterials will remain as they
<br />are, he said, but over time, implementation of this strategy would enable San Leandro to
<br />knit together parts of the pedestrian grid that are now interrupted by various
<br />developments and enhance the bicycle routes. He suggested that traffic-calming measures
<br />downtown would improve the area's pedestrian- and cyclist-friendliness. At this time, he
<br />described San Leandro's zoning codes as "aggressive" in terms of parking requirements,
<br />and pointed out that the more parking provided, the more people are inclined to drive to
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