23 - Laserfiche WebLink

PLEASANTON CHAMBERI May 22,2013 COMMERCE Planning Commissioners,City of Pleasanton c/o Janice Stern,Planning Manager City of Pleasanton 200 Old Bernal Avenue Pleasanton. CA 94566 RE: Planning Commission Agenda Item 6a. East Pleasanton Specific Plan Dear Planning Commission Members: On behalf of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback/recommendations regarding the progress to-date on the East Pleasanton Specific Plan(EPSP) alternatives you are considering at this time. There are compelling reasons to allocate more workforce housing for the east side. a) The prior work of the City's Housing Task Force demonstrated the many challenges associated with identifying and rezoning parcels for high density residential throughout the City where infrastructure limitations and compatibility with neighboring uses generates significant obstacles and/or resistance. b) While Alternative 3 goes the farthest toward meeting current RHNA obligations,no alternative conies close to meeting reasonable estimates for both current and future RHNA.obligations,and this is terribly short-sighted given the opportunities on the east side. c) It is imperative the City not find itself facing costly new litigation by the State of California,or find itself in a position where local control is lost to the courts or the State of California for failing to meet our RHNA obligations. d) Given the availability of approximately one million square feet of vacant light industrial property in Livermore at roughly 50-60 percent of the cost of like property in Pleasanton,we question the reasoning behind the inclusion of so much industrial zoning for East Pleasanton. There is substantial property available elsewhere in Pleasanton to accommodate future light industrial or precision manufacturing uses as both the need and opportunity arise. e) The extension of El Charro Road to Stanley Boulevard is important to improving traffic circulation in all of North and East Pleasanton,and it is imperative the East Pleasanton Specific Plan support its fair share of infrastructure costs which will require zoning to accommodate higher value, feasible,quality development. f) Lowering the amount of industrial property will make it significantly easier to gradually increase densities away from existing neighborhoods. g) We encourage more "affordable by design"such as small lot detached homes at 8-10 DUA to provide more entry level housing. Thank you for your consideration. Best Regards, f _l t Raty President/CEO www.plcasanton.org 777 Peters Avenue • Pleasanton. ( A 94566 • Phone: (925) K.0-585$ • Fax: (9_25) S16-9697