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Uploaded: Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 3:10 PM                                             

Meeting on Home Depot is Wednesday
Community invited to attend, ask any questions they may have

by Janet Pelletier
Pleasanton Weekly Staff

Posted by Bob Hucker, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 16, 2007 at 3:12 pm

I read in the Weekly that the city is having another meeting this week to share information about the proposed Home Depot shopping center at Valley Avenue and Stanley Boulevard. That may be well-intentioned, but let's get real. It's obviously a bad location, and scientific-sounding studies aren't going to move that site any closer to I-580 or eliminate the truck traffic. The City Council ought to just admit that, if the site is approved, the city is doing it to get money regardless of residents' concerns.

Two claims stand out: Proponents say that trucks will go out of their way to reach the store from Livermore, and that the existing Pleasanton store will remain open. Both are beyond belief. If Home Depot is so confident about the truck route, it should promise a $100 gift card forever to every Pleasanton resident who sees a truck from the store traveling over Valley, Santa Rita or Bernal to reach I-580 or I-680. As for the existing store, one needs to look no farther than Fremont and Milpitas, where Home Depot stores closed in recent years when new ones were built. The Fremont store turned into a marginal furniture store in an area full of other furniture stores. The Milpitas store turned into a Home Depot Supply--a branch of the company that has fallen out of favor. The existing Pleasanton store probably would turn into some marginal business, and its center would go into decline. The Vintage Hills center in Pleasanton and the site of the old Albertson's in downtown Livermore come to mind.

I shop at Home Depot regularly. In fact, it's my favorite place to

shop. But the only significant difference between the Pleasanton store and newer, larger stores such as the one in Livermore is that you can’t rent tools in Pleasanton. Home Depot doesn’t need to impose a lot of truck traffic on an area miles from the freeways. The City Council should just apply some common sense and listen to residents.

Posted by Rob, a member of the Walnut Grove Elementary School community, on Oct 17, 2007 at 7:44 pm

I agree!!! If Home Depotis built, it's going to turn into a Rose Pavillon, where businesses come and go. It kind of already is. The computer store across the street already went out of business, what's next? Don't put another Home Depot in!!! We don't need it.

Posted by Patricia, a member of the Vintage Hills Elementary School community, on Oct 18, 2007 at 10:50 am

Even if the trucks are instructed to go Isabel to Stanley, the minute that the expanded waterpark is up and running, that route too would become so conjested that no one could go anywhere. And no one seems to be addressing the fact that the BMX park is right next door, meaning kids on their bikes will be dodging cars pulling in and out of three or four different entrances or threading their way through a parking lot full of loaded pick-up trucks. AND, while the city continues to add businesses to the corner of Stanley and Bernal, just two blocks away the Vintage Hills shopping center sits empty and deteriorating.

Posted by Rob, a member of the Walnut Grove Elementary School community, on Oct 18, 2007 at 5:22 pm

As for the waterpark, I think they should put it in. The waterslides aren't open year round and it would be nice to see them updated. I grew up going to those and they have looked the same for the past 20 years. I don't think an updated waterpark would bring as much traffic as a new home depot. (When I say updated waterpark, I don't mean something Raging Waters. Up near Clearlake they have a really nice waterpark that was 3/4 slides and a lazy river. It's small, comfortable, and looks like it suits small towns.). No home depot though!

Posted by Bring on the Home Depot, a resident of the Kottinger Ranch neighborhood, on Oct 20, 2007 at 8:39 am

You all need to get a life and let the Home Depot come to town. We need it; it's a good location for shoppers and thoae trucks aren't going to bother anybody but a bunch of old biddies and yentas who have nothing beter to do then to complain. Go to Home Depot, buy a paint brush and get to work and you won't have time to count trucks. Geeeeeezzz.

Posted by Stacey, a resident of the Amberwood/Wood Meadows neighborhood, on Oct 20, 2007 at 2:43 pm

I agree. It is a good location for shopping, but I disagree that it is a good location for a Home Depot. Big stores like that need to be located near freeways, like along the Bernal property or Staples Ranch. Keep the corner of Valley/Bernal and Stanley for smaller scale shopping. It is called "Planned Progress".

Posted by Rob, a member of the Walnut Grove Elementary School community, on Oct 20, 2007 at 11:30 pm

Are you guys serious? Why on earth would a small town like Pleasanton need two Home Depots? This isn't a large, spread out town like Santa Rosa or San Jose with different districts; where it takes nearly 30 mins to get from one end to the other. We already have a Home Depot and it's in a decent location. Plus we have True Value off Santa Rita, an Orchard Supply in Dublin, and I think another Home Depot in Livermore and the other store (I can't think of the name). If we put in another Home Depot, then lets put in three more McDonalds in town, or 4 more Starbucks. Hmm how about another Stoneridge Mall for the folks on that side of town. This town needs to not put in another stupid chain store and should instead turn it into a park or some community thing that all can benefit from. The thing that gets me the most, is that all these new shopping centers that pop up look exactly like so cal's. You go from one corner to the next, every building is painted similar, large bright signs, and lots of concrete- everything just bleeds into each other. And if someone really complains that it's to far to drive from Vintage Hills area to Home Depot by 580, then maybe you should move to a town that is even smaller than this one.

Posted by Cass, a resident of another community, on Oct 25, 2007 at 5:36 pm

I think the proposal for the new Home Depot is ridiculous.There are more than enough hardware stores around Pleasanton. Just in Dublin and Pleasanton their is another Home Depot, a True Value, an Ace Hardware store, Orchard Supply in Dublin and a new Lowe's opening soon off of I-580.

Posted by Who do you think you are? Hard ware Police? Big Brother of Remodeling?, a resident of the Kottinger Ranch neighborhood, on Oct 27, 2007 at 11:10 am

Hey Rob & Cass -

How do you justify being so arrogant as to tell the rest of us what we need or don't need?

If we don't want it, they won't build it. Because they won't make any money if we don't go. That's the capitalist way. Do you dislike capitalism and prefer more a society where someone, say you, decides what we need and that's that?

Look outside your box. City lines look good on a map, but markets overlap city lines. There are plenty of people to patronize the existing Home Depot on the far west; the new one in the middle and the Livermore one on the far east, with each drawing people for a circle of geography around the respective stores.

Now go do soemthing productive.

Posted by Concerned about Public Safety!, a member of the Vintage Hills Elementary School community, on Oct 28, 2007 at 4:51 pm

Traffic, traffic, traffic! Our public officials don't seem to understand service level "F" and the relation to the number of lives lost on public roads in the past year.We need a competent traffic consultant to advise if a BMX Park, Water Slide-(Kids) and Home Depot at an intersection already at service level "F" helps the cities biggest problem.