Staples Ranch eyed for auto mall, senior care complex Staples Ranch eyed for auto mall, senior care complex (October 14, 2005)

Developments wouldn't need Stoneridge extension
by Jeb Bing

The Pleasanton City Council and Planning Commission agreed Tuesday to move forward on plans to allow a major auto mall and senior care complex to be built on Staples Ranch, the 124-acre vacant parcel at the far eastern side of the city that has seen a number of proposals come and go.

In a joint meeting, the council and commissioners told Stuart Cook, who represented the Alameda County Surplus Property Authority that owns and wants to dispose of Staples Ranch, that the combined proposals look favorable on many counts. Neither the auto mall nor the senior care facility would require extending Stoneridge Drive to El Charro at the eastern edge of Staples, nor would the two developments have any street connections that cut-through traffic could sneak through to avoid freeway tie-ups.

Besides the new developments, which would be annexed into Pleasanton along with the rest of Staples Ranch, the county will give 17 acres for development as a public park free of charge to the city.

Cook said the Hendrick Automotive Group wants to move its current dealerships off the 17 acres they occupy along the Santa Rita Road corridor to a new 36-acre site at the northeastern corner of Staples Ranch, near the El Charro Road-I-580 interchange, which will also be widened. The move would include Hendrick's Lexus, Acura, BMW, Mini, Infiniti and Volvo dealerships, which together have 330 employees and generate $335 million a year in taxable revenue.

He said that Hendrick is being pressured by the automobile manufacturers to move to larger facilities no later than 2007, and that the Hendrick group will have to look elsewhere for an expansion site if Pleasanton rejects the county's proposal or moves too slowly in approving it.

As part of the development agreement, Alameda County also submitted a request by Continuing Life Communities (CLC) of Carlsbad, in Southern California, to build a 690-unit residential care facility on a 45-acre parcel on Staples, which would be located next to the Pleasanton city limits and neighborhoods. The 1.4-million-square-foot complex would include multi-story buildings up to four stories, with a common dining facility, a health center with 76 assisted/personal care units and 89 skilled nursing beds. The rest would feature independent living apartments - from single-story "villa" living units near the Pleasanton neighborhoods, to three- and four-story apartment-style structures located farther to the east.

The complex would extend from the current Pleasanton city limits to the edge of the Livermore Airport Protection zone, which was created in the 1990s to prevent residential building under the airport's flight path.

Richard Aschenbrenner of the CLC's executive staff said costs for living in the senior care complex would include an entrance fee ranging from $200,000 to $800,000 with ongoing monthly fees based on the type of living unit and other factors. Those costs were not reported.

With regard to extending Stoneridge Drive, he said the CLC would prefer that the street not be connected to El Charro so that traffic would stay moderate on the existing street as it goes through the Mohr-Martin neighborhood.

"Those in the facility who would drive don't like to drive on busy streets or freeways," he said.

Residents must be at least 62 years old to qualify for a CLC care facility, but generally the ages average between 79 and 86, Aschenbrenner said. Many do not drive or own cars, and CLC provides vans and shuttles to shopping centers and community activities.

"You won't get any appreciable increase in traffic, no school children and very little demand on your community facilities, such as your public library," he said. "What you will get are a lot of older people who will be very eager to volunteer in community services."

The council voted unanimously to authorize the preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city and the Surplus Land Authority, which will outline the development entitlement process.

City Manager Nelson Fialho said the MOU will be considered at a council meeting next month.

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