pages: PlanningBoard/2007-04-23.pdf, 9
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PlanningBoard | 2007-04-23 | 9 | Mr. Garrison noted that Safeway would provide the funding, and that the City would likely hire a consultant to perform the monitoring. Ms. Debra Banks noted that she had offered an initiative to have a petition circulated through the St. Francis condominiums regarding the concerns raised during the early April meeting. She expressed concern about the mitigated negative declaration, and whether it was sufficient to cover the environmental concerns of the community. She also expressed concern about the traffic flow, and noted that it was almost impossible to make a left-hand turn from St. Francis. She was also concerned about the environmental integrity, and whether the ground and landfill would support this type of system. She expressed concern about safe waterways and structural integrity, especially with respect to earthquakes. She was also concerned about unmanageable traffic on Otis Drive. Mr. Mark Irons inquired about the mitigated negative declaration. He thought the traffic would flow in two directions, as is typical for gas stations in Alameda. He understood that the higher number of pumps would expedite usage, but was concerned that it would attract even more cars, causing congestion. He understood the urgency, but believed it may be best to wait. He was concerned about the cumulative effects of this project. Ms. Dorothy Reid wished to clarify the start of monitoring period, and would like to see it monitored five years after the shopping center is completely developed through the PDA. She believed it would take five years to build it up and see that effect. She inquired why the applicant wanted the gas station on the site at all. She noted that the original plan was to remove the existing gas station. She questioned whether the center needed a gas station in this spot at all, regardless of the quality of work that the applicant has done. She noted that the center has been without a gas station for three years, and that people have figured out where to go for gas. She noted that people really wanted a service station. Mr. Jon Spangler, 1037 San Antonio, noted that he usually bought his gas at a locally owned full-service Chevron station. He noted that the north side entrance of the gas station off Webster was not supposed to be used, although people did it all the time. He suggested that it be redesigned so that a driver could only enter on one side, and exit through another. Regarding pedestrian safety, he suggested that the exit be on the south side of the gas station into the shopping center, with a raised safe crosswalk barrier to slow traffic. He believed the post-completion monitoring period should be at least 10 years rather than five years because most gas tank failures and toxic waste problems occur long after five years. He emphasized that monitoring and mitigation was a cost of doing business. Mr. Randy Kyte noted that they had been working with Safeway gas for two years, and added that Safeway has been on the Island since 1958. He noted that they also had concerns about their earlier concerns, and believed they had done a very good job in revising the plan in conjunction with staff. He believed that the circulation from the shopping center to Otis made good sense, and added that they would work on their own mitigation plan to ensure there would be no queuing problems in the east-west drive aisle, Planning Board Minutes Page 9 April 23, 2007 | PlanningBoard/2007-04-23.pdf |