2006-06-02 THirayama - Laserfiche WebLink

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building or a residential building. Gas stations, actually gas stations are not allowed in the RCX but convenience stores are allowed in the RCX. But then there’s a big difference between the classic neighborhood, you know, little neighborhood store where you go in and there’s the ice cream machine and the person standing behind the counter, but it can be anything up to 7-Eleven that stays open till midnight or whatever. This is something we do need to work on; and the idea would be to have a zoning district that is much more limited. It’s peculiar actually, unfortunately the RCX does not, it permits medical offices but it does not permit offices generally; and I don’t understand that because I think that most office uses are more compatible with a neighborhood than many of the uses that are listed in RCX. ALAMEDA:Can I ask our applicants to sit down if there’s no further questions for them? You may be seated. Thank you. I don’t see any testimony. And, you know, this is Round 2 so I hope that we’ll not rehash the same old song, Commissioner Iwashita. So why don’t we -. Go ahead, Commissioner Watanabe. WATANABE:In keeping with Mr. Iwashita’s comments about the design element, I think within the existing guidelines that we have, you know, short of changing the definition of what is allowable in a particular zone, adding the height limitation which would then restrict it to the existing zoning limit, residential which implies 35 feet maximum, I think that kind of addresses the issue as much as we can. And I would suggest that we add a condition stating that the height limitation would be residential, height limit of 35 feet. And maybe that would make this rezoning issue a little more palliative to the Commissioners. ALAMEDA:Does it make it more palliative to the Commissioners? And if there’s no objections to that -. Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:You know, I’m not necessarily really concerned about height as I am -. I would rather have a condition that no parking be visible from the street, you know, something like that where -. You know, because to me those are really my concerns, is that the way all of our laws are written basically we require these big parking lots, well, maybe not big in this sense, but there are always parking lots, and they always put them on the street side. And they always, that’s the first thing you see; and that’s how you get a strip mall, you know; and that’s how it’s done. And aesthetically that, you know, -. I mean, that’s why I made my parking lot, I had to do it, that’s how you had to do it, you know. So to me that’s really more my concern. ALAMEDA:And, Fellow Commissioners, I think rather than perhaps putting on the table an amendment to the condition, I would suggest just make a motion with the amendment in it, then we can vote on that. And if we don’t like it, then we can revisit it. Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:Well, I have a feeling that Commissioner Watanabe is ready to make a motion and I was just wondering if he would consider the part about the landscaping, the condition about the landscaping, that he would add that the landscaping be designed not only, you know, 17, but also to make sure that the parking is obscured from the street. ALAMEDA:Discussion? Commissioner Watanabe? 11EXHIBIT A