3B Public Hearing 2009 0720 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes July 7, 2009 Agenda No. 09-13 Page 3 of 11 Sunny Tong, Managing Director of Westlake Development Partners, LLC, updated the Planning Commission on the project's progress since the prior appearance before the Commission. Among items of note, the Applicant has participated in more than 28 sessions with various community groups, including four meetings with Pacific Plaza residents and representatives that led to a number of design changes to accommodate their concerns. He explained that the project has come to the Planning Commission in two parts (first, the 100 -unit affordable housing portion, called the Alameda, in February 2009, and now the market -rate housing portion with the replacement parking garage) because when they were positioning the garage, they discovered the need to purchase a slip of land from Union Pacific. It took until May 2009 to get that accomplished. Among the design changes to the Cornerstone — many of which went through a number of iterations — he listed: • Additional balconies with metal railings • Additional arches and Spanish design features in key areas • Removal of top floor bedrooms at corners to decrease massing • Substitution of tile for metal roof • Additional contrast colors to accent articulation • Revised window stacking to break up elevations • Relocation of parking entrances from Carpentier Street to West Juana Avenue • Additional ground floor units along Carpentier Street and paseo • Removal of loading dock and addition of loading area Changes to the Replacement Parking Garage include: Addition of piece of land to square off the structure, improving its architectural efficiency and design Addition of 10 parking stalls • Increase from three to four stories to minimize structure's footprint Mr. Tong expressed the developer's appreciation for the help and guidance of the Planning Department and Public Works Department staff, and introduced project architect Tom Cox. Tom Cox, principal of Thomas P. Cox Architects (TCA), reviewed the project's master plan, pointing out that the proposal focuses strongly on the TOD Strategy's key components. They used the strategy to create and craft all the big ideas for not only the master plan but also the Cornerstone and Replacement Parking Garage. Much of it revolves around "pedestrianization," getting people down to the street, interacting with retail with easy access to transit, street -level activation and ample public open space so people can enjoy the outdoors without being in the midst of traffic. The design team worked closely with the City as well as the community, the developer (Westlake), the landscape architect (Chris Pattillo) and Architect David Baker (David Baker + Partners — DB+P), who designed San Leandro Crossings' affordable -housing development, the Alameda. He said it was amazing how much time and effort went into the approximately 10 feet of property added to the Replacement Parking Garage, but as a result, he noted that the structure design is much improved, with good access, good pedestrian]zation, good connections to BART and AC Transit stops and multiple points of entry. Further, the structure should incorporate some of the architectural elements and ideas from the master plan, with attractive articulation, colors, plantings and other softening features. Among the significant changes to the Cornerstone, he cited that vehicle access from Carpentier Street in the previous design came up against considerable resistance. As a result, an entry/exit has been moved to West Juana Avenue, and the other access point on Carpentier is now a left-