12 ATTACHMENT 6 - Laserfiche WebLink

James Paxson, General Manager of Hacienda Business Park, stated that he appreciated the opportunity to work with the applicant and his design team, the same team that worked on the St. Anton project right up the street. He indicated that he believes that for at least the preliminary design, they have done a good job of trying to address the many issues that were brought up tonight and other things that are part of the Design Guidelines that have to be realized with any site plan. He stated that Hacienda has not had a chance to formally review the project and that they are waiting to hear the comments that were brought forth this evening and the direction that the Commission provides, and they will then go back and do their full review. Mr. Paxson stated that based on the receptivity that they have had, some of the initial issues that have been raised, they feel that the applicants have made a very good start. He indicated that they are very sensitive to one primary issue with all of this, and from what the Commission has heard this evening, it is the issue of adjacency and how a project like this fits in with the existing neighborhood and within the existing commercial/office context in the Park. He noted that simultaneously meeting all the different guidelines on this project is a very challenging thing to do, especially on a site of this size, and he thinks the applicants have done a good job in starting to address those things. He added that they would be very open to changes in direction in terms of where the density is feathered or how the buildings are arranged. He further added that they could certainly work on accommodating any desire to move more of the density up front to West Las Positas Boulevard. With respect to the issue of the carports, Mr. Paxson stated that this is something they will want to work with the adjacent property owner, and if the property owner is in agreement to that, they certainly would have no objection to doing something along that edge there. He indicated that they would also want to take a look at some of the other things that were brought up with regard to the circulation and traffic flow, especially with regard to the driveway along the west side of the project. He added that they also had some issues they wanted to make sure were addressed with regard to traffic circulation as well as pedestrian circulation on the site. He reiterated that he feels very confident that with the design expertise and with the work that has been done so far, these design issues can be addressed. Mr. Paxson stated that one thing he really wanted to emphasize is that Hacienda's Design Guidelines actually changed with regard to the landscaping that gets installed along flood control channels, including the Arroyo back there. He indicated that he thinks everybody will be very relieved to hear that Hacienda has a much more robust program back there for both trees and shrubs. He added that between the desire for screening and the types of evergreen trees that they have in the palette, they will be able to establish a very nice screen, especially with some of the quick-growing shrubs that they are suggesting, such as the "prunus"and the "ligustrum." Mr. Paxson stated that will help with some of the visual issues that were raised, he hopes that at some point, either staff or the applicant addresses the issue of affordability. He indicated that he thinks there is a misnomer that these units are going EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 11, 2013 Page 13 of 24