08 ATTACHMENTS 9 -16 - Laserfiche WebLink

trying to make a good decision than this Commission has, and the sincerity of staff trying to find a resolution to this. He noted that one of the comments made was that an option of simply not building this development was not discussed. He pointed out that one could make a very convincing argument for not going forward with it, but the fact is it is in the General Plan, and the developer has done everything the City has asked. He indicated that this is fundamentally a well-designed development and that he supported it going forward. Commissioner Nagler stated that the comments he made at the last meeting, which very much mirror what Chairman Allen and others have said, absolutely stands pat. He indicated that fundamentally, what is most important is the weight of all the prior discussions and agreements and direction that has been given to this over the course of many meetings and many years. He added that what has changed for him is exactly what Commissioner Balch was talking about: an attempt to further refine the compromise just maybe was not well-founded logic, and so he supports Option 2. He stated that he believes, as he explained last time, that this road that could be built without a retaining wall, is completely plausible, appropriate, allowed under Measure PP, and as Commissioner Balch said, the amount of traffic being discussed now going through the Sycamore neighborhood is substantially less than has ever been considered before, such that, in fact, the neighborhood comes out much better under this current development plan, which the Sycamore residents agreed to allow when they acknowledged the CC&Rs for each of their home purchases. He noted that Option 2 holds true to those agreements and recognizes that the level of traffic is not ridiculously burdensome to that community. He further noted that the option of building the connector road without a retaining wall speaks to all the issues and is the right position for the Commission to take. Commissioner Piper stated that her position has not changed a bit and that she feels so very strongly that Ventana Hills should not take the burden of this traffic for so many reasons that have been touched on many times tonight. She indicated that she feels so deeply about this and is so distraught over this because she also feels like it was the intent of the voters at the time Measure PP was passed that a road was a structure. She added that she has to take into consideration what the voters would think today if they were asked to approve another 50 homes, and she did not feel the voters would approve building any more homes. Commissioner Ritter stated that his thoughts have not changed from the Work Session dates. He pointed out that Greenbriar bought this site in 1998 and has been working on it ever since, going from 149 homes down to 50 homes. He indicated that he understands what Commissioner Piper is saying about not to build, but the Commission does not decide who builds what; the Commission's job is to zone and to make sure the zoning fits the application and the need of the community, and to see if a developer makes it feasible or not. Commissioner Ritter stated that he thinks Measures PP and QQ were measures everyone believed in as the actual Save Pleasanton Hills and Housing Cap Initiative; EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 26, 2015 Page 23 of 26