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The Pleasanton City Council will have until its next regular meeting to vote on the plans to turn the Barone’s Restaurant in downtown into more than a dozen single-family homes, retail buildings and a plaza after a request for the item to be continued.
Councilmember Julie Testa said during the agenda amendments portion of the Dec. 17 meeting that she wanted to continue the item until the next session because “Given the hour, we’re not likely to get to it anyways.”
Testa’s comment references the fact that the regular portion of the meeting started almost three hours behind schedule because it was the same meeting where Mayor Jack Balch, along with new council members Matt Gaidos and Craig Eicher, were all sworn in to office following a recognition ceremony for former mayor Karla Brown and councilmember Valerie Arkin.
Testa also said she wanted to continue the Barone’s redevelopment plan vote because she had “asked staff for some information that wasn’t yet available.”
The next meeting where the council will vote on the project’s environmental review documentation for mixed-use rezoning, development plan and vesting tentative map is set for Jan. 9.
Barone’s Restaurant first shuttered its doors in December 2022 due to various reasons, including struggles following the coronavirus pandemic. It reopened in August 2023 as a pared down concept with appetizers, finger foods, cocktails and entertainment three nights a week, as well as private event rentals, before shutting down for good this past October.
The redevelopment plans for the former restaurant include retaining and expanding the existing two-story, single-family home and demolishing all other structures in order to create a mixed-use development.
The new development across the 2.3-acre project site at 475 and 493 St. John Street would consist of 14 new detached two-and-a-half-story, single-family homes; two single-story retail or commercial buildings with a plaza and a 13-stall parking lot. The two commercial buildings would total approximately 3,125 square feet in area combined and the plaza would be about 1,568 square feet.
“The proposed development is well-designed, would preserve an existing home on-site, provide additional commercial square footage with a public plaza and parking lot and would be compatible with other residential and commercial uses in the Downtown,” according to the Dec. 17 staff report.
But according to a Change.org petition that was created on Oct. 24 — the day after the Planning Commission approved the project — some residents don’t like how the new project will be removing 34 heritage trees from the property. The overall plan consists of removing 39 trees in total out of the 51 that are on the property due to “direct or significant encroachment by the proposed project.”
The petition, which as of Friday has 828 signatures, is asking the city to reconsider the removal of all 34 heritage trees in order to “not only help Pleasanton keep our environment healthier and safer, but continue to be an enjoyable place to live.”
“The native tree species slated for removal include Valley Oak, Coast Live Oak, Walnut, and 12 Coast Redwood trees among others,” according to the petition. “While the developer describes the proposed plan to include ‘lush landscaping’, the reality looks desolate and includes a proposed landscape plan with fencing, empty planter boxes, box-sized trees, shrubs, and ground cover.”
However, the council report does not call them heritage trees specifically — in the report it states that the plan is to remove 34 “heritage-size trees.”
Staff also has noted that “amendments to the Tree Preservation Ordinance are underway, which would classify many of these trees as ‘protected trees’ — however, the term heritage tree is used in this report, since the tree evaluation and arborist report were completed pursuant to the existing ordinance and its definitions.”
Redwood trees are not native to Pleasanton, California. They thrive along the northern California coast, where the climate is cooler and moister. While one can find redwood trees in Pleasanton, they have been planted there rather than growing naturally.