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Excerpts from the Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 15, 2014
<br /> Page 2 of 9
<br />exit gate automatically when a vehicle pulls up. Telephone/punch-in system would be installed on an
<br />island for vehicles entering the property and on the new pedestrian walkway to access the gate on the
<br />side.
<br />Planner Penaranda said the arm-style gates at Fremont Avenue that were approved in the late 1970s
<br />proved too insubstantial to work well. Subsequently, Floresta Gardens obtained a building permit in 2012
<br />to replace them with more durable gates. The proposed gates off Washington Avenue which the HOA is
<br />proposing prevent drive-through traffic and decrease property crimes, and would have a similar
<br />appearance, he said, but they would represent a major modification of the PD.
<br />As Planner Penaranda explained, it’s considered good urban design and City’s practice, based on 30 years
<br />of research, to discourage gating and isolating planned communities. The General Plan also discourages
<br />gating unless there are overriding public safety concerns. He said approving the proposal also could set a
<br />precedent with San Leandro goals and practice. Access is a priority, he added, and the gates could create
<br />delays along Washington Avenue.
<br />He noted that oral communication from two residents who oppose the proposal, Salma and Qudratul
<br />Afshar, is included in the staff report. The Afshars stated concerns about a gate causing traffic backups on
<br />Washington Avenue, and residents turning left to enter the community because it’s a busy street with
<br />businesses across from Floresta Gardens.
<br />Written correspondence, copies of which Planner Penaranda provided, included a letter from HOA
<br />President Karen Williams and supporting statements from 46 residents.
<br />Planner Penaranda also provided Commissioners with crime data sorted by Council district for 2012,
<br />2013 and the first four months of 2014. Floresta Gardens is in District 3. In reviewing the data, which
<br />includes violent and leading property crimes reported to the FBI, he said that of the 4,724 such crimes in
<br />2013, District 3 had 14 percent, compared to Districts 1, 2 and 6, where the rates were 17, 18 and 20
<br />percent, respectively. In 2012, he said, of a total of 4,397 such crimes District 3 also had 14 percent,
<br />which was behind Districts 6, 2, 1 and 5, at 20, 18, 17 and 15 percent, respectively. Of 1,394 such crimes
<br />City-wide through April 2014, 15 percent occurred in District 3.
<br />Planner Penaranda said staff recommends adopting the resolution denying the application and adopting
<br />the findings of fact for denial, suggesting alternative measures to gating, such as installing security
<br />cameras, improving exterior lighting and setting up a Neighborhood Watch program.
<br />Chair Abero invited the applicant to come forward.
<br />Karen Williams, Caliente Circle, brought additional statements of support from Floresta Gardens
<br />residents and read a prepared statement, in which she urged approval of the project, citing both crime and
<br />traffic elements that need to be addressed because they have worsened to the point that it’s “ridiculously
<br />unsafe.” Commenting on the staff report, she said the basis of the proposed project is to provide a safer
<br />environment by discouraging unauthorized vehicle and pedestrian traffic using Floresta Gardens as a
<br />shortcut to other neighborhoods. She said that because none of the 14 un-gated developments listed in the
<br />staff report has a through-way that serves as a pass-through and comparing them to Floresta Gardens is
<br />not relevant.
<br />When Floresta Gardens was planned 36 years ago, Ms. Williams continued, the vision didn’t take into
<br />account San Leandro’s growth, so the related concerns must be addressed after the fact. She noted that in
<br />1961, no one thought the San Mateo Bridge would need an emergency lane, a shortcoming that wasn’t
<br />corrected until 2003.
<br />Regarding the Afshars’ opposition to the project, she said over the past nine years, neither Mr. nor Mrs.
<br />Afshar have attended any HOA Board meetings in which this project has been discussed. She pointed out
<br />that Mrs. Afshar’s elderly father, using a walker, was almost hit by a speeding vehicle passing through
<br />Floresta Gardens. He is a prime example of people who’d benefit from having a gate at the Washington
<br />Avenue entrance, she said.
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