Chair Price: This commission is called to order at 630.
Would you call the roll?
[Reading names]
Would you please join us for the Pledge of Allegiance?
[Reciting Pledge of Allegiance]
At this time we have no cards that are brought forward clerk?
Nothing on the comment cards?
>> No comments.
Chair Price: Thank you.
So at this time we will have comments from the public.
I have two cards that are submitted.
You have three minutes to respond.
I will call you up to the podium Here.
Kathy Ashford is the first one to come up and make
a presentation.
>> I just don't think it's a good idea to have a liquor store
next to a senior building.
I don't think that alcohol should be sold there and brought
on the premises and it's going to attract all kind of people
and it's just for the safety and well-being for seniors
that are living there.
That's my take.
I hope I'm presenting this properly.
Because there's a lot of homeless people coming around
and sleeping around there and doing all kinds of weird things.
So I think alcohol being sold would be a nuisance.
Is that it?
Chair Price: When we have this come up on the agenda later
would you like to come up and make comments about this?
We will be -- this is for stuff not on the agenda.
There are no other public comments
on items that are not on the agenda.
We will now move to The consent calendar.
I would someone like to make a motion on the consent calendar?
>> I will make a motion to approve the consent calendar.
Chair Price: Please take the roll clerk.
[Reading names]
We now move to public hearings.
The first one is on the library center.
>> I think they're loading up the Powerpoint.
Thank you.
Good evening chair and commissioners.
Next on the agenda is a design review
for the proposed community center located at Main Street.
Before I begin I just wanted to say how excited I
am to present this project to you all not just on my behalf
but on behalf of all the staff, the leadership
team friends of the Oakley Library City Council past
and present and residents who all envisioned this library
and have taken part in the various steps along the way.
As you know this is one of the biggest projects
the city has taken part in in quite a long time.
And we are all just excited about it.
But with that being said I will start my Powerpoint.
If the control works.
Next slide please.
So as you know the project site is here at our Civic Center
site on Main Street.
Next slide please.
Surrounding uses include single family residences
to the east and south and city Hall
to the west and commercial shopping
to the north of Main Street.
This application is requesting approval of a variance
for the proposed library and community center.
Originally the proposed library was going to be a new single
story approximately 13,000ft².
And this library was meant to replace the existing
library that shares a space with the library at Freedom High
School.
Some updated plans after publication of the notice
of public hearing the project team in conjunction with city
management agreed on a minor modification on square footage
that reduced overall square footage of the project by adding
approximately 500ft² of interior space and reducing the covered
exterior space.
The changes to the square footage of the library
and community center would result in approximately 13,030
square foot building which approximately is 12,000ft²
for the building.
A little over 1000ft² exterior space.
The overall building design and layout
does remain unchanged for Mac existing conditions at the site
here as you see is relatively flat.
There's a zone on the vacant parcel south heading up
towards the property lines south to the residential properties.
The site is developed with city park
and associated improvements including the amphitheater stage
area bathroom and parking and roadways.
The site south to City Park is currently
utilized as a staging area for city vehicles, vehicle parking
for other equipment that we have and storage of other equipment.
A little background as previously mentioned the Oakley
Library shares approximately 3000ft² of space within the high
school library and was originally intended
as a temporary facility.
The proposed facility is intended
to serve as the new permanent library and community resource
building for Oakley residents.
This project will bring a highly anticipated building library
to the heart of downtown Oakley.
I won't go through the entire background
as I previously mentioned since we became
a city I think we have envisioned
having our own library but most recently in 2023 efforts
to have that library built and brought forth began.
Many of the dates show meetings that staff
has had with City Council common design
and envisioning meetings with the public and other meetings
to discuss financing and things of that sort.
That ramped up in 2023.
So what we have before you is we have a design review
for the proposed library and community center
which includes evaluation of the site parking and circulation
landscaping and architectural design of the building
itself an overall consistency with the downtown zoning
standards.
We also have a variance request for setback variances
within the downtown core district
which will help a better integrate
the library with the surrounding facilities and public spaces.
As I mentioned the design review which
is required for new above ground buildings
we have before you the design review
helps the city ensure compliance with applicable standards
established by the city's zoning ordinance.
Through that design review we review
consistency with our parking standards
and landscaping and things of that sort as well.
Here we have the proposed parking and landscaping layout.
The parking layout is envisioned for the southern side
of the building which will also tuck it in and bring
the building forward in front of you.
45 spaces are proposed including Ada spaces.
The site also has a variety of landscaping
proposed which includes about 19 trees
a mix of shrubs ground covers and other plantings.
With those 19 trees we also achieve about a 50% shade
coverage for the parking area.
Here we see a rendering of what the building would potentially
look like.
The building is oriented with the primary entrance
and Le frontage facing the Civic Center park
area with Main Street beyond.
The facility is designed as a functional community
hub intended to replace the existing Oakley Library.
New orientation of the building also
helps it be visually prominent and welcoming to the public.
The design incorporates articulated roof forms covered
exterior areas and extensive glazing
to support interest natural daylight and a connection
between indoor and outdoor spaces.
Exterior materials include metal siding metal roofing
and aluminum frame doors and windows and storefront systems.
Wood board is incorporated into the design
to provide a break in materials.
The building's architectural design and material palette
are carefully selected to ensure long term
durability easy maintenance and civic esthetic that
reflects the Oakley community.
This is an example of the metal siding proposed
for the building and different lighting
to provide how it would look at different times of the day
or in the shade.
As I previously mentioned we also have the variance request.
The applicant is seeking variances
for the front setback facing east
towards the north cross lane.
The side setbacks and city park and south towards the existing
residential properties and then the rear setback
to the west towards City Hall in order
to allow for the proposed library to exceed the setback
maximums in the Downtown Specific plan in order to create
and enhanced library siting that allows minimal disruption
to the existing facilities.
To grant variance the Planning Commission
must make three findings for approval which
are outlined in the resolution.
The project is exempt from environmental Quality Act
pursuant to guideline section 15 in developments.
As I previously mentioned draft findings for the designer
and variance application can be found
in the proposed resolution.
As such staff recommends the Planning Commission
approved the proposed resolution and variance as conditioned.
I would also like to mention that the applicant team
or design team is here with a brief presentation that
will show some great pictures as well.
Thank you.
Chair Price: Any questions from the Commission?
Commissioner Oliveros: I do have a quick question
for the applicant if possible.
The design is great.
>> We will let them do the presentation.
Commissioner Oliveros: I got ahead of myself.
I'm too excited.
>> Thank you very much for this opportunity.
My name is Susie here with the project Architect
and together we will walk you through some
of the backstory on the design and how we got to this place
in our design.
This is always the test.
Look at that.
So part of our process is this gamma to listen and observe
and then to design and we've had a great opportunity
to do that with your community here.
Our process so far has been organized
into three phases so far gamma a validation phase which
was programing, a concept design phase which was the concept
and now we are in design development
and that's the point at which we submit for the planning
department preview.
As a foundational step we began with the spatial programing that
includes this great number of meetings you see there,
many of them with the library and with city staff,
15 informational interviews where we talk
to 26 people in the community.
The concept design included all of those meetings there
plus three community engagement sessions
which were wonderful opportunities for us to hear
directly from folks also.
And then finally the design development we have done
a number of meetings with the library and with the city staff
and with our core team and the subsets of that including Parks
and Rec, the IT folks, etc..
So it's been a pretty inclusive process
and it is based on that that we have developed this design
starting with project goals.
Fundamental project goal for this project
that we heard from the community as well as many of you
here in this room is that the library and community center
should be a welcoming hub where residents of all ages
and backgrounds can come together
for enrichment and connection.
This is a place that will serve as a centerpiece
of your downtown Civic Center and it's
designed to embody Oakley's family
friendly and characteristic supporting collaborative feeling
that you get when you visit and you are in this town.
And supporting collaboration come
a lifelong learning and smart development
has been incorporated into our thinking
complete with indoor outdoor connections?
Cost efficient spatial organization,
cost efficient construction methodology.
Cost has been at the core of every decision we've made
and all of this plus sustainability integrated
into a design that's meant to capture the essence.
With these goals as our foundation
we then went into programing sessions with the city
and library staff.
We came to a 1200 zero square foot library
over half of that is attributed to the library itself
and the support spaces and the remainder
is for shared community spaces like the large community room
and dedicated city spaces also within the plan.
So you can see those spaces that are to scale on the left
and the spatial adjacency is what
should be next to what is in the diagram on the right.
We also had the opportunity to spend some time
on your site looking and the park is obviously
a huge asset to your community life and the city
and it's already a great local public gathering
space in its own right.
We spent some time researching and taking consideration
of the environmental factors.
We learned things that you already
know like it's hot in the summer here.
Not so much in the Bay area we will say and it is foggy
and chilly in the winter and this site
offers this excellent orientation opportunity
for north facing natural Daylit library spaces and community
spaces and a south facing move for mounting
arrays for electricity.
We also map the site's critical landscape elements.
You have some tremendous trees come on that beautiful oak
heritage tree there on the Western side of the site come
a vehicular and pedestrian circulation patterns
and these outlook opportunities from the library site itself
all of which complement and work well together
except for your existing bandshell and restroom building
and we were delighted when we were given the green light
by city staff and council to remove and replace those two
components as part of this project which we think
is great news for the project and for the park.
In our analysis we also recognize the importance
of that pedestrian connector that
goes from City Hall and then the paths that
go through the park towards the City Hall or Main Street
all of which are very important.
With input from the city staff we
are proposing that the vehicular traffic be one way moving
east to west to kind of cut off the tendency for people
to use the shortcut through that parking lot that would be south
of the library site making it more pedestrian
friendly and safer.
And we spent some time on your delta really
taking that in and understanding what that's about
and what that feels like as a way
to figure out how we might incorporate
the feeling of the delta into this library design which
takes us to design.
This is a plan you have seen and you're probably
familiar with now as mentioned the design approach is
to place that new building tight towards that central walkway
as we've been calling it and with a grand porch
that looks out towards the central pavilion which
now sweeps across this design instead of being a three
quarter or two thirds it is now a full half circle
that sweeps across the northern side of the park opening
that up for your wonderful special Friday
night and weekend events you have on this site.
In the building itself gamma the shared spaces for the city
and city spaces are on the left in blue
and the library public spaces are in orange with the library
operations in that pink band that's on the bottom
and you can see the parking lot in that plan.
So the approach we adopted for bringing the delta in
was the sense you get when you're on the delta
there's the open water and then there's
that wonderful magical transition between the Delta's
edge and solid ground.
We brought that thinking into the site plan.
Our approach here is the amphitheater
if you will is open water and that
transitions through this rich variety of spaces which
is the pavilion gamma Delta inspired landscaping
that big grand front porch and into the reading
room with these glorious north facing windows
and there's that south facing roof
that you can now generate electricity
for this all electric project.
And here is the rendering you've seen before.
The library is on the left side and the community room
is on the left side and the pavilion is right in the middle
and behind that is the main porch and the entry
into the library, one of the two entries into the library.
And here is the site plan.
Chris will talk about the floor plan here in a minute
but you can see there's the reconfigured amphitheater,
the pavilion right there pushing out into the amphitheater
zone, the rich landscaping on either side of the walkway that
takes you to the porch and takes you into the lobby and community
center rooms.
With that I will let Chris walk us through the plan.
>> I know we are limited at times so I will cover this
at a bit of a high level.
We have our shared entry hall in yellow
which allows access for the building from both park
side to the north and also the parking lot side to the south
which puts you in that same central hall
and then everything is accessed off of that.
As you mentioned you have the library programing
on the right which is in red.
Specifically located the adults teens and children's area
against that northern side which is
right against the large windows that face the park's
so you can see what else the community is doing
and also get views of the great greenery and surrounds.
Similarly on the left hand side of the plan
we have community spaces in city spaces and the main program
being that community room that similarly
is right against the north side double doors that open out
to the patio so it kind of enhances this connection as
much as possible.
I just want to bring up a few changes
we made since the community outreach sessions.
We heard a few different things which we have tried
to incorporate into the plan.
One was is there any way we can make the library any bigger
given the limited scope and budget and we were able to push
the glass wall just about eight feet which got us that 500ft²
behind us and the library is super excited about that and we
are excited to just give that little bit of generosity
into the plan.
We also heard a lot of feedback about making that area bigger.
So we have reworked the Bookstacks a little bit
to provide more seating for the teens
and also provide some seating with the stacks
next to it that can serve as a overflow.
In the children's area we heard a bit about wanting sensory play
and rotary has donated panels that we
will go into that section.
And then lastly we heard comments about the exterior
bathrooms where those are best located
and we have moved those to the southeast corner of the building
with a path directly to the playground area which
was a big concern for parents.
Here is just a taste of -- these aren't fully developed but gives
you an idea of the spaces in the community room.
It will have an exposed wood structure
to provide warmth inside alongside a wood
ceiling and those full height windows
on two sides of the community room to the greenery beyond.
This is looking from the adult section, the adult seating
area along the glass wall and then the covered porch
as well both defined by a slightly lower roof that
is a more human scale next to the grander scale.
And then the kids area similarly is against that large glass wall
so you can get a good sense of daylight and view to the outside
then there's the sensory panels.
For exterior materials durability and low maintenance
and affordability we're kind of the main drivers here
so we're choosing a metal siding that does that.
A big generous roof that provides
shade and then again indoor outdoor connection.
We talked about this a little bit.
This is just another photo of the exterior materials
we are proposing.
It's a pretty neutral palette that
allows plants surrounding it to really take the forefront
and have their shadows get cast against this more
neutral palette.
In the middle siding there is the main siding
that goes towards the park and has a slight pattern that
captures the light and also reflects
a little bit of the surrounding nature similar to the water
in the Delta which is kind of a reflection back.
So here is what we are calling the Paseo which
is a path from North Cross to City Hall.
You can see the dome in the background.
You can see the rich variety of small intimate seating
areas and larger seating areas beyond the plant palette that
references the Delta, reedy plants and grasses and then
trees and large overhangs for shade.
This is an image of the new pavilion which
serves the functions you guys had before for performances
and movies, concerts but it also adds this other level
of programing where it can be for picnics or small gatherings.
An event on Saturday so it opens up
new possibilities for the park.
And finally just an overview aerial of the park
with the new library.
So thank you all and I'm ready to take any questions.
>> Thank you.
>> Any questions for the applicant?
Commissioner Oliveros: First and foremost thank you very much.
I am very excited about this and I
did attend one of the planning sessions
so as I was hearing your feedback I said good
that they are adding this.
I think what makes anything successful is that you get input
from the community to make sure that it benefits it.
And also that it's aligned with our mission and vision which
it truly is.
One question I did have on the design
were two questions I know this is just a sample
but just to confirm this park will
be staying the same correct?
>> I'll answer that.
So you're talking about the playground portion?
>> My second question is one of the feedback that I did have
and it is for the pavilion area where it will be performing is
it incorporating the sound and lighting already?
Because it's currently set up now at night time
we have a very hard time listening to the sound and
or the lighting.
When it's start time we can't really
see what's going on on the stage so I
know that's something that was asked in the feedback session
so I don't know if that was reconsidered or considered.
>> I don't know if that building gets into this amount of detail
but definitely some feedback we'd be happy to take back
to the city management and I'm sure those are elements that
they are talking about when we rebuild that amphitheater.
Commissioner Oliveros: That was it for me.
Thank you.
Chair Price: No other questions?
I will now close the public hearing for deliberation.
Would any commissioner like to make a motion?
[Reading names]
The motion passes.
Chair Price: We are now moving to item 4.2.
>> Thank you.
The next item on tonight's agenda
is the main street liquor use permit.
The property is located south of Main Street with the Oakley Town
Center to the west and the Edgewood Drive to the east.
Here is a map that shows the surrounding neighborhood
in the area where the supermarket grocery
store will be located.
A little background the parcel currently consists
of a three story 130 unit age restricted and affordable
senior apartment complex with a one story 5667
square foot commercial space that fronts Main Street.
The General Plan designation is commercial
and zoning is general commercial as well.
The property is surrounded by residential and commercial uses
and the grocery store supermarket proposes to operate
from 7:30 a.m.
To 10 p.m.
Seven days a week.
The applicant is requesting approval of a use permit
to sell distilled spirits alongside other grocery store
slash supermarket offerings including
fruits vegetables and snacks.
No physical changes are proposed for the exterior of this site
or a change in product inventory.
The distilled spirits would be located
within an approximately eight by ten foot shelf
space behind the secure customer service counter only accessible
to an employee.
Why do we have a conditional use permit?
They sell those spirits for off site consumption
have been interpreted as liquor stores
under the Oakley Municipal Code and pursuant to that code
section require a conditional use permit
to establish this use.
The proposed project conforms to the required findings
for approval in the Oakland Municipal Code
partly due to its limited scope and permitted
use of the supermarket grocery store.
The required findings for conditional use permits
are primarily concerned with ensuring quality site
development when a new business is constructed
and that the adjacent infrastructure
is able to accommodate the new land use.
The small size of the shelf space dedicated to the distilled
spirits helps address the concern expressed
within the municipal code.
Furthermore the applicant would integrate the new use
into broader displays within the grocery store.
With liquor purchases occurring at the point of sale
counter like other items.
The project is categorically exempt from the requirements
pursuant to section 15 301 existing facilities.
And staff is recommending the Planning Commission adopt
the resolution approving 2603 Main Street Liquor 2026-001
as commissioned.
Thank you.
Chair Price: Any questions from the Planning Commission?
>> I have a couple of questions but I recommend we have that
members of the public feedback on this.
Chair Price: Are there any comments
from the applicant that would like to come forward and speak
to this?
>> The applicant is here but I don't think they have a full
presentation.
They're just here if there are any questions by the Commission.
Thank you.
Chair Price: This time I have two public comment
cards of people who would like to speak
and the first one is Kathy Ashford.
>> Again I will say that I think alcohol would be a nuisance
for seniors and could attract who knows what type
of environment is going to be coming and I'm not trying
to have a biased attitude but I just don't think it's a good
place for seniors.
We try to live a quiet life and I
think it would probably draw a lot of different kind of people
especially with alcohol on Friday nights seven days a week.
So the same response I said earlier
that I think it would be a nuisance.
Thank you.
Chair Price: We have one other public comment Lynda Carter.
>> Good evening.
I didn't know I would be talking either.
I just wanted to reiterate what my predecessor said
about the fact that with the people that
moved in there have moved in there for it
to be a quiet place to relax and at a certain time of the evening
it's quiet and there isn't a lot of traffic or noise
and especially the people that live on the north
side of the building it's going to face the parking lot.
These are the people that are coming into this
are going to be going through.
It's just not something --
I know we signed a paper knowing something commercial
would go into that area but I don't
know that anybody realizes this is
what was going to go in there so I just want to again state
that I wish they wouldn't be selling alcohol just
for the sake of the people that live there
and the peace of the community currently
for it to not be disturbed.
Thank you.
Chair Price: Thank you.
I will now close the public hearing for deliberation.
Are there any comments from the commissioners?
Commissioner Ireland: I had a lot of questions.
I was concerned about the effect so I
do have a few questions in my main concern
is about any kind of guardrails in place here.
Reading through the resolution it
seems like if there was a problem
there is an allowance for withdrawal
so without getting too granular I
think I'd like to better understand what that looks
like if there is a problem.
It looks like the period goes through a one year period
and then there is some kind of renewal process.
Is that automatic and someone would
have to step in to withdraw it or what does that look like
as far as renewal of this?
>> The use permit would grant the sale of the distilled
spirits .
The grocery store supermarket is a permitted use.
They are able to sell beer and wine
without the requirement of a use permit
as the presentation mentioned.
It is the sale of distilled spirits
for off site consumption that triggers
that use permit requirement.
The resolution as you've mentioned
does have those built in triggers
that if it does become a nuisance the Community
Development director along with the police chief
can revoke that permit or if it does become a nuisance then
they can speak to that a little bit more at.
>> So condition of approval number seven I believe
you're referring to.
It was written in a way to provide
city staff with a bit of flexibility
if there's minor inconveniences that could be potentially
addressed by the police chief and or community development
director and we could implement those on the business.
If there was a more egregious offense or a bigger nuisance
we always have the opportunity to bring the item back
to the Planning Commission for reconsideration.
That reconsideration can include anything from modification
to conditions of approval such as the hours of operation,
the size of the shelf space, and even revocation of the use
permit which would remove their ability
to sell the distilled spirits.
So all of those options are on the table in the resolution as
presented tonight.
Commissioner Ireland: So if this does turn out
to be an issue if yourself the community development director
or city police feel like there's a problem we
do have an opportunity to come back from this come on not just
once we say yes it's going to be a thing in perpetuity.
>> Absolutely true.
Commissioner Ireland: That's my main concern in.
And we have a couple of public comments tonight
and I don't know if this is appropriate but were there
any other comments you were seeing
from any members of that community or anyone
around about this that had called the planning
department as questions or anything like that?
>> I did not receive any.
>> Okay.
>> Just to quickly clarify for the commission if you want
to receive additional public testimony you would need to move
to reopen the public hearing.
>> I could pause my time if we want to open up public comment.
Commissioner Ireland: If you can fill up a card
you can come up and make a comment if you'd like.
And we are happy to wait.
We can take our time.
I would greatly appreciate that.
Chair Price: We will reopen the public hearing
and address these comments coming forward.
>> Thank you.
We are all very old seniors.
Sickly and can't hardly get around
so the alcohol is a problem but the problem
is security and the parking, the way
the cars are going to come in.
So that's the problem we are having and we
know that they sell alcohol right up the hill
and there's another place.
Why do we have to sell it next door to us?
When we become seniors, we wanted
to get away from that kind of stuff not add to it.
So we moved that to have a resting place, not a place
where there's going to be lots of noise and lots
of people acting stupid because they are drinking alcohol.
Can you understand?
You don't want all of that.
So I'm asking you all tonight to consider what you're doing
and think about how you want your life to be when
you get to be as old as we are.
Thank you.
Chair Price: That is all the public comment.
Did we have any other cards that were turned in?
>> No other comment cards.
Chair Price: Next, Ava Jackson please.
That was the one that was -- all right.
Rosetta Samson?
>> I live in the apartments there at 2605 Main Street.
I've been there for four years and the way
they have the parking is to the side of the store
and there's a gate there that we come out
of and it's going to be very congested
and the way we go in which is wrong,
there are two entrances when we are coming from lucky shopping
center we turn into the first one and we go around to the left
and go in.
Then when we come out all the way around we go out on the same
one --
on a different one.
And it should be reversed because when we go in,
we go to the right and it's the first one we go in
and the ones coming out are going to be in front of us.
And another thing there has been a lot of riff Raff
there that try to come in some of the people that
live there have their friends or whatever
and there's a lot of different people.
They will sleep on the bench outside and all of this stuff
and have liquor there I don't think
so unless they have a security guard
because it is going to be terrible
and that's not where I want to be.
We waited for this place before COVID to open
and I just wish no liquor.
They can go to Lucky's and get their liquor.
I said security.
Of the store is going to be open that late they
need to have security.
Thank you.
Chair Price: Looking for a comment
from one of the commissioners?
Commissioner Ireland: The only other question I had here
and I did send this ahead of time just
to make sure his advertising.
If this is passed it is limited to essentially a cabinet is
what it looks like and the display needs
to be kept in that area.
It sounds like there is already a city municipal code
about advertising signage outside that if this is approved
it would not be permitted for them to put
large signs on the exterior of the building
or anything like that.
>> They would still be subject to our sign ordinance and any
other requirements therein.
Commissioner Ireland: I'm not super familiar with the sign
limits so perhaps I should have read it before the meeting.
That would preclude advertisements
for distilled spirits like this?
>> Generally we don't permit large advertisements of beer
and things like that.
Trying to think of what sign you may have in mind.
Commissioner Ireland: Excuse the hyperbole
but a giant sign that says buy tequila in here.
It seems like the scope of this is intended to be small
and my one concern is always is guardrails with what you don't
think about that could happen and it
seems like we have a way to claw it back
but I'm concerned about what slips through the cracks given
the nature of where this is going to be which again I
have some concerns about.
>> Understood.
Any indoor signage we don't necessarily
look at but windows signage common
signage they may think of having on the exterior would all
be reviewed or we would look at in our limited
by the sign ordinance.
Vice Chair Harvey: Is this the same location that our police
department went in and evaluated and looked at how small it was
going to be and they didn't really think that there would be
-- >> Typically as part of our review process we route plans
out to public use to review.
There weren't any adherent concerns
with their proposal for a secure area
where cabinet behind the counter that would be similar to other
previously approved distilled spirit use permits.
Commissioner Goudie: The public concern
is about a lot of the double dashes
there a way that we can fix something
because the store isn't even open yet
so they're going to experience this without the liquor.
>> Is part of the use permit that is not proposed to change
the site circulation parking come a number of parking stalls
it was all previously reviewed in around 2019 when the overall
project was reviewed it was more in depth formal review of that
was conducted then which at that point the commercial aspect
of the project was also reviewed but again that was back in 2019
the original project.
Commissioner Goudie: Would that On the property owner
if they decided for a security guard or something like that?
>> The security guard component I don't know if that would
necessarily be a condition we can impose .
A supermarket or grocery store .
>> I can chime in a bit.
It would be a unique condition.
I will say that.
We have several of these similar types
of use permits for convenience stores mostly
and the liquor store is a bit misleading.
When people think liquor store they
think a store that is predominantly selling liquor.
This is a small -- relatively small area to hold the distilled
spirits so the conditional use permit being presented tonight
limits how large of an area they can store and display liquor
and it's approximately ten foot by eight foot area behind
the counter so this is not going to be similar to a store where
you may walk in and have shelves of liquor available
for the public to grab and take up to the counter.
This would require someone that wanted to purchase the distilled
spirits to go up to the counter and ask for the clerk
to provide them and sell them that specific bottle
or whatever they may be purchasing.
Security has not been something in my memory
at least that we have required for this type of use.
I think if we were at a point where the issues were such
that security was required we would definitely
be questioning whether the conditional use permit could
be approved.
I don't know if we have a reason to believe that.
I understand many of the concerns
and I definitely understand where those are coming from.
At this point we have not heard from our police department
of any issues with any of the other recent ones
to have very limited sales and this one is similar to that.
I would say just looking at the other approvals we have not
seen such issues reoccurring.
Staff we can provide this input.
The applicant is here.
I would encourage the commission to ask them what their plans are
and what plans they have in place to try
to minimize loitering or people that may be breaking the rules.
This is not for on site consumption.
This is for off site consumption.
You purchase it and take it home.
So that would be my recommendation
is to allow the applicant to come up and address
some of these and staff will continue to try to address them.
>> If the applicant is willing I think we could ask
if they're willing to address any of these concerns about
on site consumption and security issues that have been brought up
because it's a delicate situation.
Commissioner Oliveros: Just to confirm only beer and wine is
going to be sold there?
>> Good evening everybody.
So with regards to the signs it was stipulated by the landlord
that we cannot have any outside signs so besides our normal
business signage that's it.
We are not going to say we sell this or that.
Is just going to be our name of the store and that's it.
That's regarding the sign.
With regards to parking or entrance
we each have our own entrance.
So the seniors come to their residential space
or whatever you want to call it they have their private interest
and we have our own private entrance
but with regards to the exit it is one exit so we share an exit.
However it is spaced well and anybody
that has a driver's license should be
able to exit without a problem.
With regards to -- with regards to security we are security.
We have had stores in the surrounding area for the last 15
or 20 years with a good track record of no crime happening
in front of the stores or the surrounding areas .
And we have a very good name and reputation for our stores.
I think their main concern is noise
so it doesn't matter if it's a store
or if it's a bungee jumping place for kids or trampolines.
I think they just want quietness but as for people
who I think their problem is more so
with the landlord if anything.
We are running a normal business and applying for a normal part
of modern supermarket to occur.
I think that's about it.
Is there anything else I can address?
Commissioner Ireland: One question
I would have is a mixed use development
do you see your business as your customers are more
coming into the area from the rest of Oakley and other areas
or are you supporting the residents of the building
that you're in?
Where do you see a mixture of that?
>> We are a store open to everybody.
We come from China.
We close at 10 p.m..
So it's not like a 2 a.m.
Store.
As far as customers are concerned
whoever wants to be a customer they're allowed to come.
As long as they are able to purchase
and are respectful customers and we have good relationships
with the Oakley Police and as long
as we are keeping things safe then I don't see a problem.
And we also reserve the right to refuse service to anybody.
Commissioner Ireland: That was the only question I had.
Thank you.
Commissioner Oliveros: Does the landlord or tenants
live here in Oakley?
>> We are here in Oakley.
Commissioner Oliveros: So you know that we
are a bedroom community.
It means that everything shuts down around 8 p.m.
Here so I don't understand the reason of opening until 10 p.m..
I think we are putting guardrails
we would probably need to revisit
what those hours look like.
The second piece is has there been a traffic report analysis
of how many people are driving through there and have we seen
a huge influx of traffic that this needs to be here between
the hours of the evening which is --
I'm just curious if there's been a traffic report
analysis on this.
>> Not on this specific conditional use permit before
you tonight.
As Jose mentioned the 2019 senior Residence Mixed Use
project was proposed to the city as on a commercial piece
of property to have mostly apartments with a small --
500 zero square foot or less commercial component
and at that time the site plan was analyzed and went
through all of the environmental study and everything checked
out.
So if there are issues with the apartments
and the operation of the gates or whatever
it may be with residents being able to exit the gates
and I know there have been issues completely unrelated
to this project tonight with the gates and things like that
in the past that management has had to work out,
that is really not on the applicant to solve.
Those are gates for the customers --
for the residents to get into the gated off portion of parking
because the site has a gated portion which is on the sides
of the apartments and the back of the apartments and then there
is what we would call public parking that is in the front
of the building for would be tenants to talk to customers
of the commercial locations where they can use those.
So two separate parking areas but there
is a gate that you access from the public parking
to the private parking.
A traffic study not so much.
What we look at is is circulation safe?
Is there a turning radius for things of that nature.
Commissioner Oliveros: I think as any business
that's going to open that should be part of their analysis right?
Does it make sense to be selling this here
where Lucky's is right next door.
How is this going to benefit the senior community there?
What is in it for them?
>> I understand.
Going back to your first question regarding
why we are open until ten.
If the community is a bedroom community then being open until
-- and not much traffic will occur after eight so it
doesn't really matter whether or not we are open from seven
to eight or 7 to 10 but those extra two hours does give
a little bit of leeway for any people who --
if they want to make a late night bowl of cereal and they
forgot their milk and they don't have any milk and just want
to go real quick to the grocery store.
I understand.
It's just a part of business.
Commissioner Oliveros: And second
question how does this benefit the senior community?
>> It's a supermarket.
Commissioner Oliveros: Those are all my questions.
Thank you.
Chair Price:
any other comments from the commissioners?
We will now close the public hearing.
Would any commissioner like to make a motion
to adopt the resolution?
Commissioner Oliveros: I do not approve this resolution.
Commissioner Ireland: It seems like we have strong guardrails
but I just don't see a compelling reason to approve.
Is just too close to a community so I'm not
going to make a motion.
Can I ask a question of the city attorney just as a process
because I don't think we've quite
had this happen where none of the commissioners
want to make a motion to approve do we table
or what is the next step for us?
>> If there is no motion then no action has been taken
on the item .
In addition a commissioner could make the motion to table
the item to a specific date in the future at the next Planning
Commission meeting or when in the future so
that could be an alternative motion
to table this item to a future meeting.
For further discussion.
Otherwise there no action taken on item.
Vice Chair Harvey: I will make a motion to table this agenda item
until the next --
>> Can I ask a clarifying question of the Commission?
Normally when we are tabling an item
or continuing it to a date certain
there is some direction provided to staff
or additional information the Commission wants us to analyze.
We don't want to just bring back the same thing on June 16th
so we would ask that if that is what the Commission is going
to end up doing that staff provides some additional
direction.
What do you want us to look into?
Do you see a solution to this to move forward?
Are there additional conditions on signage or anything
that you want us to look at and bring back
for consideration in addition to what's already being
Commissioner
Ireland: I would definitely support coming back
in looking at this because I do want
to balance the right of the applicant with the residents.
I think my larger concern is how this affects
the residents and not just the issues that came up
but selling distilled spirits is another step
beyond a normal market and I understand
that but I would just like to understand better
how we are going to prevent any issues especially with things
going on being right next to a resident
selling that kind of liquor.
Commissioner Oliveros: They're not even open
yet so we don't know what that traffic will
look like so I think we are getting ahead
of ourselves of this whole piece in terms of this.
Can we wait and see how this traffic
is going come out how the residents are feeling in terms
of noise and Vice Chair Harvey: Could we
have an evaluation of any possible changes that could be
made to approve the traffic >> Could you repeat
the last part of that again?
Vice Chair Harvey: Could we have an evaluation
of possible solutions to the difficulty of the exit?
>> We could bring something back as a report.
This use is permitted.
It is a permitted grocery store.
The only change they want to make is a ten by eight
foot section to sell distilled spirits.
It should have zero impact on traffic or parking or anything
like that.
They are replacing -- if there are concerns with the selling
of distilled spirits whether it is signage hours of operation
etc.
Loitering, those are the types of items
we would from a planning perspective look to address.
The traffic although heard they are not
proposing the use of a store today.
So we're not looking at whether there's
adequate parking or there's adequate circulation.
That's already established.
So we could look at solutions or potential solutions related
to the sale of distilled spirits or the display of distilled
spirits or the signage that is associated
with distilled spirits or security whatever it may be.
Things that are related to specifically the sale.
That's what we should be focusing on.
And I think I've heard one of them
was the potential impact on the senior community that
lives in the adjacent apartments or connected
apartments I should say.
That's one item I don't know if there's a second specific item.
Commissioner Ireland: Specifically I
understand the parking and other issues are ancillary
and that's just going to come with running a market.
My specific concern is what level
of impact adding distilled spirits on the residence
is going to have.
I know we have this permitted and there's
a grocery store around the corner
and a gas station around the corner
so I do want us to be consistent but we
do need to properly balance property owner rights here
but I am especially nervous because this is a senior living
facility.
I think it's just a little bit different situation mixed use
is what it is and there will always be an impact
but I just want to understand what that's going to look like.
Thank you.
And I do want to thank the staff for preparing a very
thorough report and I apologize in some ways
but want to make sure at least to myself
that we are careful about this moving forward.
>> They are selling beer and wine no matter what.
That's just part of the supermarket.
So my main concern would just be if there is loitering.
I know the parking is a big issue
but if there's a diagram that shows how they would
be parking how that would work.
That might be a little more .
Commissioner Ireland: So I would ask for staff recommendation
and.
I know this meeting was in the middle of a month
normally at the first of the month.
I would assume that the first meeting in June is too quick.
Does that mean we need to look at this again
first week of July?
I want to be reasonable to the applicant.
I don't want to keep them hanging.
We are obviously okay but that's a lot
of work for staff in two weeks.
>> The meeting in June will be the third Tuesday.
However it is still a pretty quick turnaround of one month.
One of the positives about continuing to a date certain is
that the public hearing is continued so there is no re
noticing requirement so that can help staff a little bit with
processing time .
June 16th may be a pretty quick turnaround.
I would say either the June or July
meeting would be adequate times to continue this.
Commissioner Ireland: Is it feasible or reasonable
for us that it be added to the June agenda
and if not move it to July?
Take a moment.
Jose is requesting if we do continue to a date certain
and that would be the July meeting.
Commissioner Ireland: I would make a motion
to move this to July meeting and revise it
with staff recommendations.
>> I think we need to make that date specific correct?
Commissioner Ireland: July 7th for that motion.
Commissioner Goudie: I will second it.
Chair Price: We have a motion and a second.
Clerk please.
[Reading names]
Motion passes.
Chair Price: Thank you.
Moving to the regular calendar.
Do any commissioners have any questions for staff?
Commissioner Ireland: Talking about 5.1?
I did have a general question just
want to make sure that the Planning Commission is
confirming that this is in compliance with the General
Plan.
I apologize.
>> We do have a presentation.
Commissioner Ireland: I will save that for after.
>> Good evening chair price vice chair Harvey commissioners
and members of the public.
I'm the public works director city engineer for the City
of Oakley.
Tonight before you I am presenting the five year capital
Improvement program and the request tonight
would be to adopt the resolution finding
that the program that I'm presenting tonight
is consistent with our General Plan.
Next slide.
The public Works Department has had a very busy year
as you have seen and noticed there has been construction all
throughout our growing city of.
There are several projects as listed
in the report that have been completed
in fiscal year 2025 and 2026.
I will spare you all the details on all of them but just a few
to highlight was the Laurel road Widening project
that included repaving Ohara in coordination
with the Oakley Shops Development that has been opened
at that Northeast corner.
Some other notable projects I want to highlight
is the East Cypress Road widening just east
of Rubens Way.
This is a coordination effort with the developers
for the subdivision and that built the full infrastructure
for East Cypress Road in that segment with the median
and that has been completed.
And the two other notable projects I want to highlight
is adjacent projects on Sellars Avenue
and that was for the reconstruction for the pavement
for a full reclamation in coordination with the developer
also for that subdivision as they install sewer and water
utilities for Sellars.
As for current project highlights we have some --
many projects that are currently in the process.
Just three of the ones that I'd like to highlight
is this project has been in our books for several years.
This is at the Northwest corner of Carpenter Road and Rose
Avenue.
If you haven't visited the site I highly suggest you do so.
You can start to see the magnitude
and the size of this park has several fun amenities.
This is a splash pad that will have several features
for the kids to play and enjoy during the summer months.
It also includes shade structures and two play
structures for the children and this
will be a great amenity to the neighborhood
and future residents for this area.
The second bullet item is all too familiar.
Our East Cypress Road widening project.
I think I have gained a few white hairs over the last years
building this project.
It's the three segment currently in construction
between the Avenue to Bethel Island Road.
The project is in the thick of it with construction as you see.
We hope to complete the full segment by summer
next year with the Canal Undergrounding
for the second phase progressing on the South Side
this summer so more large pipes coming into the site
to underground that canal.
The third bullet item here is our Oakley Library
and Community Center.
As you heard Jose present to us this evening
it's a beautiful library that is going to break ground here
in fall this year if all goes well with design
and getting all of the permits issued
that's another great amenity and a huge investment to our city.
Looking forward to see that project materialize
and take off right before my eyes in front of my office.
As for upcoming projects there are many.
As you see in the five year plan there's
over 43 projects in there.
Not all of them are funded for next fiscal year
but there are several projects, exciting projects
that are going to be progressing for next year.
The first few that I will talk about are --
currently we are looking to advertise the resurfacing of two
large neighborhoods the Magnolia Park neighborhood and Teakwood
neighborhood and that's going to be happening in construction
this summer.
The second project on the slide is our annual maintenance
for our 50/50 program replacing sidewalk and curb and gutter.
The third -- this is an annual improvement to look at areas
where we can introduce speed bumps as part of our traffic
program for our city.
More annual maintenance projects.
This is our Ada program replacement project to replace
all of -- in our city that don't meet Ada standards.
Our signal modernization project which
continues to modernize our signals especially
some of the older ones we have in our city and the fiscal year
26 and 27 Street where repair and maintenance project.
The three segments of roadway we are focusing on
for designing this upcoming year is Laurel road as you enter
into our city come on the widest portion between the railroad
tracks there to Empire starting to look a little tired so we
are looking at the best way to improve that asset.
The second roadway we are looking at
is Main Street between Laurel and East Cypress.
That's another segment there starting
to have several base failures that will need to be addressed
and the third segment we are looking at
is Empire Avenue between Laurel to Main Street
and that is essentially the northern half of Empire North.
That's another segment we will be looking
to design this upcoming year.
Another exciting project we are looking
to finish design and start construction this summer
is CIP 343.
This is our City Hall remodel for the police department.
This project will remodel the reception area
in the front gamma expand the evidence and records office
spaces and create additional report writing office spaces
and construct a new conference in City
Hall with private doorways to secure the access to the police
Department.
This is consistent with the growing needs of our police
department as we continue to hire more officers to meet
the demands of our city.
Another exciting upcoming project this year is --
this is an accessible pathway as you may know right now it has
a path surrounding the entire park that is not paved and this
project we are looking to pave that path and also improve some
ramps and access to the areas of the ball fields to allow for use
.
This project is a high priority from our city Council
when we did the budget retreat.
This is CIP 211.
This is Main Street and Rose Avenue intersection.
This is to signalize the current intersection and it serves
multiple districts such as Ironhorse ,
East Bay regional parks and the water District to the north.
This intersection will be a four legged signal.
The design has been completed.
We are looking into advertise this project in the coming
months as council balances the budget
and we will begin construction this summer.
The other signal project I've been waiting for is CIP 268.
This is Main Street and Delta Road as many of you
have traveled that area it is very difficult to make
that left turn on Delta Road and becoming
difficult to make that right turn out of Delta Road.
This project also has been fully designed
and we are looking to also advertise this project
to construct this summer.
This also received high support from City Council.
This project is O'hara Avenue near Grapevine Lane.
This is a continuation of the improvements we've installed
of O'hara widening it.
This completes the gap between the Pheasant Meadow subdivision
that was recently constructed all the way to the north
where we ended the sidewalk.
This completes O'hara's four lane configuration
for a general plan for this segment
and will include bike lanes and a sidewalk.
This project is also designed and we are waiting for Council
to approve the budget to advertise this project
and begin construction this summer.
The next project is Main Street widening just north
of Laurel road.
This project is -- there's a gap in Main Street on the southbound
direction.
As you see there there are some trees and fences
that will need to be removed to widen
the roadway to its ultimate four lane configuration.
There will be some associated with this project
still in design not quite ready to go to construction yet
but we are hoping to move the project forward
in the coming year and when that is obtained
we will proceed with construction.
Last but not least is the most exciting project
that has been in the books for many decades.
This is the CIP 273 Laurel road extension between --
[No Audio]
>> I do want to take a moment and say thank you especially
for getting across town the improvements here but the Delta
Street light potentially the Laurel expansion gamma Cypress
and as someone who lives out in that area these improvements are
--
I just want to say thank you to you and your team
for making all this happen.
I know it is a ton of work.
>> Thank you Commissioner Ireland.
All the white hair is worth it hearing comments like that.
Chair Price: Any other questions?
>> Thank you.
Chair Price: Would someone like to make a resolution
to adopt this?
Commissioner Ireland: I will make a motion to approve it.
[Reading names]
Motion passes.
Chair Price: Thank you.
Moving to agenda item 6.1 staff reports.
>> Just a couple of items to provide information .
The first one is in two nights so on Thursday May 21st at 6
p.m.
Right here in the Council chambers
the Oakley Police Department will
be holding their military equipment report community
Meeting which is an annual report that the police
department does so if the public would like to attend
it will be right here on 6 p.m.
This upcoming Thursday.
Second announcement is the city will be holding the Memorial Day
ceremony on Saturday May 23rd and that will be approximately
from 10 a.m.
To 11 a.m.
Right here in the Civic Center Plaza and that is Saturday
the 23rd and then my final announcement we kind
of addressed earlier but the next Planning Commission meeting
is scheduled for June 16th and that is the regular date that
was approved when those 2026 dates were approved.
The commission has been paying attention
to when meetings fall on election days
so that people don't need to decide between going to vote
or coming to the Planning Commission meeting.
They went ahead and scheduled it for the third Tuesday of June
so June 16th will be the next Planning Commission meeting.
That concludes all of my reports.
Thank you.
Chair Price: Any reports from commissioners?
Commissioner Oliveros: Just to save the date for October 21st
doing our first Oakley Business forum partnering in this space
to help all of our local businesses really thrive.
We've been doing business analysis and surveys serving
a lot of the small businesses here in Oakley just
to get a feel for what support they need so we are really
excited to bring a one of a kind forum
that we are going to set ourselves apart
from our neighboring cities so I would love if you're
able to fill out the survey if you do own a business
or know of someone who owns a business here in Oakley that
is in our Chamber of Commerce website
and hopefully we get a good group of folks coming out.
Chair Price: Thank you.
Any other reports?
Request for future agenda items from the commissioners?
Now moving to item 7.1.
>> Thank you commissioners.
Tonight we have a work session on objective design standards.
First we will start with some background.
Design guidelines are the city's adopting
a direction for what quality development should
look like in Oakley.
They apply to all types of development
from a single family residential development
a multifamily residential development
a commercial development, industrial.
Tonight will be exclusively talking
about residential development.
These standards can cover the amount of open space
in a development's design com a small architectural aspect
such as window trim to more impactful standards
around building massing.
They really cover a wide range of architectural aspects
and design aspects of a housing project.
We hope decision makers applicants and the public
evaluate whether a project fits the community's character
and expectations for site planning building design
landscaping streetscape and compatibility.
Over the last decade come a the California Legislature
has passed a series of laws intended to streamline housing
production by requiring certain types of projects
to be reviewed solely against objective standards.
At the same time as that cities have been required
to zone for additional housing.
This has pushed cities to adopt more objective design standards.
Let's cover what odds are.
Objective design standards are design requirements
that are clear measurable knowable in advance
and applied in the same way to all qualifying projects.
Here's an example.
An example here is instead of saying the building should
be compatible with the neighborhood,
an objective standard might say primary building entries should
face the public street or publicly accessible walkway.
That way the developer and the builder
knows a little bit more what we are
looking for while they are designing it
before they get to our review and then on to a public hearing.
The goal is not to remove good design.
The goal is to define what good design means
in measurable enforceable terms that applicant staff decision
makers and the public can all understand before an application
is submitted.
In Oakley we have two illustrated manuals
that have residential design guidelines.
We have the 2003 Residential Design guidelines
and then we have the downtown specific plan.
They have a mix of subjective standards
and objective standards and in the downtown it's more modern
and it has more objective standards.
We feel that it has sufficient objective standards
that it does not need to be modified but the 2003
Residential design guidelines are a little bit more subjective
and so we are looking to update those.
With this project we are talking about tonight.
As Oakley continues to grow come a new housing
may be proposed whether we have these standards in place or not.
Objective design standards give us
the tools to make sure that new housing fits in
with our community and is nice to live in.
Projects are well evaluated to our standards,
housing is reviewed efficiently and consistently
and we meet the requirements of state law.
Without adopted objective standards
the city has limited ability to shape
the design of housing projects that
qualify for streamlined review.
These standards are how we ensure housing construction is
aligned with our goals and values
while still welcoming new Oakley residents.
We have some areas of focus we want your feedback on in.
We want to see if we're on the right track.
While we provide some draft guidelines to you
we are not expecting you to provide us
with specific details on each of the guidelines.
Rather staff would like to know what
areas of the guidelines we should focus
on and for you to provide us any significant topics you
may feel we may be missing.
The first one we have is public Safety.
This one took a little bit of explaining to my colleagues
because we already extensively reviewed Public Safety.
It's a huge priority for us.
When we get a project in it doesn't
matter that the design guidelines
don't tell us to do this.
We routed out to these agencies.
The fire department the police department
and we require that projects incorporate their comments
and so anyone who is familiar with reviewing
housing projects will turn their head at this do we need this?
We have staff and our team who have been in public hearings
for these streamlined projects and the public
wants it explicitly said.
When it comes time for public comment
on these streamlined housing projects
come a public safety comes up and they don't just
want to hear from staff that it was routed.
The other instigator of this is when
we are at the permit counter and we
have someone who wants to build a housing development.
We will slide over our guidelines
and they start thinking about their project
from that perspective.
I would like them to think about it
from the early pages about public safety evacuation routes
things of that nature so when they
go to their architect that's the first thing on their mind.
Next is site design.
Another area of focus for us.
We want new housing to be a nice place to live.
We want good site design open space pedestrian pathways
and connections to ways of getting around.
That's important to us.
We are also looking at the building envelope.
Rather than being overly prescriptive
about every aspect of design planning staff
are focused on ensuring that building envelopes are
appropriate within the surrounding area
that they do not dominate the surrounding landscape where
possible and that they are sensitive to nearby existing
homes.
An example of that is many cities
are stepping back their top floors
when they are close to shorter residential buildings
like in this example here.
For us that's more important than making sure
we have a certain percentage of glazing
or so many feet of some type of architectural feature.
When we talk about the smaller design aspects
we want buildings that look good and hold up over time
but our standards need to be realistic about cost.
If design requirements push project costs to high housing
does not get built and that does not help anyone.
We want to require articulation and facade variation
without dictating every inch of every cornice or glazing area.
We want to focus on the elements that matter
and how a building looks and feels
from the street or other common areas.
Another focus of ours is community feedback.
At our public outreach meeting residents
shared priorities that are shaping our approach.
We heard that we should build communities not just
housing gamma people want neighborhoods with shared spaces
not just rows of buildings.
We heard design should encourage interaction between neighbors.
We also heard we should allow creative freedom for architects
standards should set a floor not a ceiling prescriptive rules
that force every project to look the same going
against good design.
We are writing clear minimums while leaving room
for architects to bring creative high quality solutions.
In Oakley as far as I remember we
have had a philosophy of not focusing on the most
difficult parts of a project.
We want to dive head first into that work
so the most fleshed out parts of this project
are these nitty gritty standards for how
the architectural details should be designed
and how the site should be designed.
We've attached two draft chapters
for you attached to the staff report.
Attachment one covers multifamily and mixed
use residential standards including site design street
connectivity pedestrian pathways vehicle access parking lot
screening utilities and service areas and primary entry design.
Attachment two covers single family residential standards
including building form and massing facade projections
second floor setbacks story separation facade materials
and covered porch design.
Another aspect we need to talk about
is when we get really technical.
Each day Oakley's planning team is
working to make construction and land use more
accessible for residents.
We usually roll our eyes when we see folks in our profession
make things overly complicated.
We are asking for your support and patience
on some aspects of this project that we feel
need to get into the weeds.
For example urban planning has started
using the term which is just a large walkway for residents
that connects folks to areas of a housing complex.
We saw that used in the library project
today which was a good win that was mentioned in the first item.
During the years of living in Oakley and going to school here
we never use this term but as a planner in 2026
I am finding it a good way to communicate
what we need in a project.
Additionally there's a state law that
only allows us to use pre 2018 subjective standards to review
some projects.
So you will likely see us carry over those standards
and that can be confusing.
We will make sure to explain that.
We hate to have to get technical in that way.
We just want it clear and simple in order
to get us the projects we want we will likely implement that.
Those are our areas of focus.
Let's go over the next steps.
Tonight we are seeking your feedback on our overall focus
and direction.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.
We will then do the same with the City Council in July.
We will complete a draft of the regulations
and provide those to you later this year
for review and potential recommendation to the City
Council.
We will then seek City Council approval.
While we do want to strengthen our guidelines quickly and get
quality regulations on the books we are not great artists
and will likely seek a consultant
to develop an illustrated manual after we get it approved.
Thanks for your time commissioners.
We welcome your questions and feedback.
Vice Chair Harvey: Thank you for the report
that was very informative.
Commissioner Oliveros: The architect part
where you mentioned giving architects
free autonomy to design I thought that was amazing.
So does this mean that is it the architects
that the city works with or the architects
that the builders work with?
>> That's a great question.
It's the architects that the builders work with and just
to give you some details on that we only had a few folks come
to our outreach meeting.
One of them was an architect who happens to live in town
and people are making the case that we always
require multiple materials on the front facade
and what if you did a farmhouse on a large portion of it.
That should be sufficient and it was a good argument
so we are thinking on that.
Commissioner Oliveros: That's great.
It's an attraction for bringing new families
and I love that term so thank you for that.
Commissioner Ireland: I do want to emphasize
that leaving some creative freedom is a good thing
and we need to balance that with our need
to create a robust set of design standards
and just as a general comment I fully
support getting as technical as you need
to to have specific criteria identified so there is no wiggle
room and language especially if language among design
is evolving.
New word for me tonight.
So I'm not sure if you're looking for a feedback
but there were a few things I had questions on that
if it's not going to cause too many issues just to consider.
We talked about public safety.
That was one of them but how we can ensure that fire codes are
up to date and also site access specifically things
like access of fire trucks.
We talk a lot about evacuation but just
ensuring we have access for police or regular vehicles.
There's a few other items when I looked
over the preliminary working drafts
and I may have missed it because I
am somewhat new to all of this but things like density
requirements, coverage limits.
One item I did not see in there and I know we are --
light standards for how exterior lighting is done as well as tree
planting ratios so we can make sure we still have a proper
landscaping so the intent of my comments is I don't want
to create an environment where we're not allowing for that
creative freedom we talked about but we do need some kind
of objective design standards especially given how planning is
changing in the state and I want to say thank you for being
proactive and the whole team for addressing this issue.
>> Thank you Commissioner and that's very helpful feedback
because I can either add it to the drafts or if we have it
somewhere else when I bring you the drafts I can tell you where
that is so that's very helpful.
Thank you.