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Item 3A Attachment 1 A ASAN O Pl_E _TpN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION February 19,2019 Downtown Specific Plan Task Force Members City of Pleasanton P.O. Box 520 Pleasanton, CA 94566 Dear Downtown Specific Plan Task Force Members, The Board of Directors of the Pleasanton Downtown Association has spent countless hours engaged in the process of updating the Downtown Specific Plan.This document is vital to the current and future success of our incredible district.We truly appreciate the work that has gone into this update process thus far and we appreciate the opportunity to share our thoughts on the ideas and directions presented in the draft new plan. There are several key issues and concerns we have in the draft document that we feel are not in the best interest of our downtown and we ask that the Task Force take a closer look at the potential impacts and implications of these items. 1. Building Height&FAR One of the goals of this update process is to streamline and simplify the planning process in downtown.With that in mind,we would like to see more consistency throughout the document in regards to building height & FAR. We strongly recommend allowing 300% FAR throughout downtown (as it is currently) and not having varying FAR in the new MUD (recommended at 150%)and MUT(recommended at 125%) districts.This seems counterproductive to wanting to maximize the use of space in downtown especially when it comes to potential redevelopment on the current Civic Center location. Additionally,we strongly encourage the task force to reconsider the height restrictions being recommended in these new districts.We see no reason why height cannot be consistent at 40' in the CC district and the MUT district. Further, we believe it is shortsighted to not allow for greater height with new development in the core of the MUD district. We would like to see that district allow for up to 46'to provide options and alternatives if and when the project moves forward. We also believe the hours of operation should be consistent throughout the CC, MUD and MUT districts. 2. Active Ground Floor Overlay Overall, our Board is in support of an Active Ground Floor Use Overlay in the commercial district of Downtown. However,for this to be successful and achieve its desired intent,we do not believe it can exist in a vacuum. • We do not support the extension of this overlay beyond ground floor on Main Street. We do not want this extended to any side streets and ask that be removed from the document. (Page 47). We would, however, be open to considering certain streets within the Civic Center development area. • We agree that exceptions should be overseen by the Director of Community Development with any appeals going to the Planning Commission. We believe that exception decisions need to be handled quickly and efficiently. • We would like more conversation regarding whether only one non-active use can exist