12 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission O'Connor indicated that he just wants to know if it could be built that way. Commissioner Blank stated that based on the information he has about the traffic patterns other than Mr. Tassano's summary, he sometimes has questions about traffic that are not in the traffic report. He indicated that based on the information available right now which can be summarized in about 35-45 seconds of testimony, as opposed to looking at the data, his recommendation is to leave it as is with the two options because he believes that over time, staff, the City Council, and the Planning Commission may need to forward this on and not be able to make a specific recommendation about traffic or the environmental effects. He indicated that he is hesitant to try and design this beyond what is in the document. Commissioner O'Connor stated he understands the need for the safety regarding parking and the bicyclists. Commissioner Blank commented that there may be other ways to mitigate that that the Commission is not aware of. Commissioner O'Connor stated that that is the reason he was asking if it can be done with just a curb. With respect to the number of lanes, Commissioner Pearce stated that her experience with looking at TODs and in talking with consultants indicates that when a road is very wide, it no longer is a TOD but becomes a TAD, Transit Adjacent Development, which does not do anybody any good. She noted that the people from BART are not going to come across to these stores, and the people who live there are going to have a hard time getting across the street. She indicated that she has always been in favor of anything that would narrow Owens Drive, which will make this a more successful development and will ultimately make this retail more successful. Chair Narum agreed with Commissioner Pearce and added that she would be supportive of some configuration that was one through lane in each direction. She inquired what the plan was in terms of who would be paying for this and if the owner of Parcel 1 would have do half of it when the Parcel 1 project came in. Mr. Dolan replied that the payment plan is not entirely spelled out. He stated that there is grant money available for capital projects particularly around stations, and there would be no project more qualified for some of this money than this one; however, it takes time and processing and other things. He added that the most that the Parcel 1 owner would have to do is its side, and the cost is not as significant as some people have said it is because while it involves changing sidewalks, utilities will not be moved, and the grade will not need to be changed much, if at all. He indicated that the median might have to be moved, but it is not out of the question that, if it comes down to this particular improvement tripping the feasibility lever, the City would participate or take responsibility for some of it. EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, January 26, 2011 Page 33 of 40