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Corp Yard Site - 2 - July 15, 1997 DISCUSSION The Land Utilization Plan of the Plaza 2 Redevelopment Plan designates the property at 960 San Leandro Boulevard for Residential or Office Use. It was envisioned that it would be desirable to locate employment and medium to high residential uses close to the BART station. However, office uses have not proved to be a viable use in the current and mid-term real estate market, and residential uses would be severely impacted by the noise from the adjacent commercial streets and the BART tracks. Adding retail sales as an additional permitted use is recommended because it gives the opportunity to bring community services that do not exist, and because retail is the land use that gives the public maximum opportunity for enjoyment of the creek area. Also, per the General Plan policies, it is appropriate to locate retail uses in or near the downtown area. The environmental review that was conducted noted that this use is compatible with the adjacent residential uses (north and east) or commercial uses (south and west). Under the terms of the letter of intent, it is proposed that the property be sold to Creekside Center Associates specifically for an upscale community shopping center as described in the design documents presented to the City Council on June 30, 1997. Copies of the basic line drawings are attached, and a full slide show presentation will be presented at the July 24, 1997 Planning Commission meeting. The proposed tenants include an upscale grocery store, Walgreen's, video store, Crogan's Restaurant (or equivalent) and Twisted Vine wine bar, and several other smaller shops such as a bakery, juice bar, optical wear store, etc. The public open space to be created includes a creek walk for the entire length of the site, outdoor patio areas and dining areas overlooking the creek, a creek -side plaza, and a corner landscape feature at Davis Street and San Leandro Boulevard. The areas related to the creek give the community a special place where people can dine and stroll in a landscaped setting. This type of public open space does not exist in San Leandro, and is unique in the East Bay. The letter of intent also requires an extremely high standard of architectural quality. It establishes that approximately one million dollars will be spent to upgrade the architecture and site plan over what would normally be spent in a typical neighborhood shopping center. This amount will be credited against the land price, based on documentation of actual dollars expended for this purpose. The slide show presentation will show the extent and quality of the architectural details, landscaping, and site furnishings that will create this high standard of quality. REQUIRED PLANNING CONMUSSION ACTION Under Government Code 65402, the Planning Commission must find that the proposed Redevelopment Plan amendment and the disposition of the property by the Agency is in conformance with the General Plan. There are a number of goals and policies in the General Plan that support the development of the site for a shopping center use with top quality design and public open space related to the creek: