8A Consent 2007 0917 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DRAFT MINUTES Page 5 City of San Leandro City Council, San Leandro Economic Development Agency, and San Leandro Redevelopment Agency Joint Meeting--September 4, 2007 This being the time and place for the Public Hearing on the above matter, City Manager J ermanis gave background on the matter and introduced Interim Community Development Director Luke Sims. Mr. Sims commented that tonight's decision represents another important step toward smart growth, community sustainability and the economic development of the downtown, and is one of the most far-reaching and progressive land-use decisions that has been before the Council in some time. Mr. Sims reported that the recommendation is the result of a collaboration of a diverse cross-section of citizens and groups: the City Family, including the City Council, Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments; homeowners and business groups; advocacy groups; regional transportation partners, including MTC, BART, AC Transit and Caltrans; City staff; and an exceptional consultant team. Tim Hurley, BMS Group, gave a short PowerPoint presentation, describing the study area, why and how the TOD Strategy was developed, and the role of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) in developing the vision for the Strategy. Mr. Hurley provided photo simulations to show how the Strategy might transform key downtown areas. Steve Noack, Principal with Design Community Environment, described the EIR process and [mdings, gave a summary of the public comments on the EIR, the current status and next steps. Mr. Noack described the environmental impacts that could not be mitigated to a less than significant level: air quality, construction and transit noise, impact of growth on schools, and transportation. Mr. Noack pointed out that the Strategy follows the General Plan and General Plan EIR very closely, and many of the mitigation measures were developed based on the excellent policies in the General Plan. Interim Planning Manager Kathleen Livermore continued the presentation, describing the proposed text amendments to the Zoning Code to create the Downtown Area Districts (DA-I through DA-6) and the Special Criteria Overlay for Special Policy Areas, as well as the extensive public outreach efforts. Ms. Livermore noted that in its recommendation, the Planning Commission did not forward any recommendation on Special Policy Area A. Ms. Livermore acknowledged the staff members in the Planning and Housing Divisions; Engineering and Transportation Department; and the CAC and its Chair, Anna Brannan, for their dedicated work on the TOD Strategy. Mr. Sims thanked Ms. Livermore for her excellent work, as well as the other staff involved in the development of the TOD Strategy. Due to the large number of speaker cards submitted for this item, Mayor Santos limited the time to three minutes per speaker. The Hearing was then opened to the public.