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<br />Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
<br />Agenda No. 07-13
<br />
<br />July 12,2007
<br />Page 3 of8
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<br />use it. Current parking ratio requirements - which would relax gradually with TOD
<br />implementation - tend to impede new development, because fulfilling the requirements
<br />can be costly. Structured parking, which goes along with high-density developments, can
<br />run upwards of $25,000 to $30,000 per car. He said that long discussions, involving
<br />BART, the parking consultant and the City, resulted in a plan that reduces BART parking
<br />by a total of 11 % but simultaneously increases ridership thanks to the new developments.
<br />The strategy also calls for creating strategically located "reservoirs" of parking around
<br />the downtown area, which would free up current surface parking lots for mixed-use
<br />developments, such as lower-level retail shops or offices and residential units on upper
<br />floors. He noted, too, that currently only two zoning areas (corresponding to the northern
<br />and southern sections of East 14th Street) allow for mixed use; implementation of the
<br />TOD Strategy would put more parcels in mixed-use zoning areas. He said that the
<br />strategy also goes to great lengths to establish streetscape design guidelines that would
<br />not only improve circulation but also incorporate open spaces for community gatherings
<br />and recreational purposes. The strategy focuses primarily on residential development, not
<br />only to increase use of public transit but to enhance the downtown vibrancy, with people
<br />around seven days a week. "Bring in the people," he said, "and all the other uses tend to
<br />follow." Already, he pointed out, the predominately residential neighborhoods within the
<br />TOD area are not subject to any kind of redevelopment pressure; these neighborhoods
<br />comprise 330 acres, accounting for more than half of the 502 acres within the TOD
<br />Strategy area. Of the remaining property, several of the "opportunity" sites are currently
<br />vacant, under-used, or dominated by parking, auto-serving and auto-oriented uses -
<br />including fuel stations, body shops, and convenience stores.
<br />
<br />Ted Heyd, Associate, Design, Community & Environment, discussed the Draft
<br />Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), which he described as a broad-brush, long-term
<br />"program" EIR that proposes a long-term strategy, as opposed to a "project" EIR. Future
<br />development occurring under the strategy, which would require project-specific
<br />environmental review, could "tier" from the program EIR, resulting in streamlined future
<br />environmental review. He contrasted the General Plan growth projections within the
<br />TOD area against those in the TOD Strategy:
<br />General Plan
<br />193,300 square feet
<br />781,200 square feet
<br />590
<br />
<br />Commercial/Retail
<br />Office
<br />
<br />Housing Units
<br />
<br />TOD Strategy
<br />120,870 square feet
<br />718,240 square feet
<br />3,431
<br />
<br />The most significant difference, of course, is in the residential units - 2,841 more under
<br />the TOD Strategy than under the General Plan. The EIR analysis projects 426 of these
<br />residences developed by the year 2015, and another 2,557 by 2030. The California
<br />Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) al10ws issues for which there is no likelihood of a
<br />significant impact to be "scoped out" during EIR development. In the case of the TOD
<br />Strategy, agricultural and mineral resources were scoped out under this provision. In
<br />compliance with CEQA, however, the DEIR examines all of the following:
<br />· Aesthetics . Geology, Soils and Seismicity
<br />· Air Quality . Hazards and Hazardous Materials
<br />· Biological Resources . Hydrology and Water Quality
<br />· Cultural Resources . Land Use
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