09 ATTACHMENTS - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Olson referred to sidewalks and questioned the percentage of sidewalks in the development. Mr. Tassano said there would be access to a sidewalk by crossing any street everywhere except at two courts. Commissioner Olson noted that vehicle volume is not going to be that great in the development, and Mr. Tassano commented that pedestrians are not going to cross to the far side to walk on a sidewalk to then cross back; they will simply walk along the edge of the roadway. Commissioner Olson referred to the mitigation at Valley Avenue and Santa Rita Road and inquired whether it was fair to say that the condition which is to be mitigated existed long before this project came forward. Mr. Tassano said yes. Commissioner Olson stated when he read the traffic report which was part of the original packet, the conclusion on page 9 led him to believe that traffic is not a big issue here, particularly when compared with what the alternative high school use of the site. He questioned if the project would generate as much traffic in the way of parents driving children to school in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon. Mr. Tassano replied that a lower traffic volume would be generated with the proposed use than if it were a high school use. He noted that the streets had been designed and could accommodate the school use. Commissioner Olson noted that having lived in the City for a while, he sensed that much of the morning and afternoon traffic involve local people taking children to and from school and that this would continue regardless of whether this project goes forward or not. Mr. Tassano agreed. Commissioner Fox noted that the Iron Horse Trail is nearby and asked what pedestrian path someone living on the south or north sides of the development would take to get to the Iron Horse Trail. She stated that the development is so near to the Trail but gated and that access to the Iron Horse Trail seems to be convoluted. Mr. Tassano replied that someone on the north side would have to get down to the right side and walk along the east side of the roadway until the sidewalk ended just prior to the gate, cross the street, walk down and around Reimers Drive, cross the street again, and continue south out to Busch Road to meet the Iron Horse Trail. He confirmed there was no way to get to the Martin Avenue bike path or the Iron Horse Trail except through the gate of the facility. Commissioner Fox inquired if this was an ideal situation in conforming to the Community Trails Master Plan. Mr. Tassano replied that he was not involved with the design of access and was not sure where this process ended. He noted, however, that he was aware there were some access issues with some adjacent residents for access to the Zone 7 area along the north side, which would then have direct access to Mohr via a more direct route to Iron Horse Trail. Commissioner Fox referred to the original plan for the school where access was to be from Busch Road. She was not sure at the time the second Ponderosa project was EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, July 9, 2008 Page 6 of 20