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The Pleasanton City Council is set Tuesday to discuss a proposal from the Carpenters Training Committee for Northern California to redesign and expand its training facility on Santa Rita Road.
The project, which has evolved among several iterations during the past year, caused a split among city officials, with planning staff opposing the location of the new building on the back part of the property instead of streetside but the Planning Commission unanimously supporting the carpenters’ latest plans as redesigned last month.
“I think it’s excellent. I think your building looks amazingly nice and is a great addition for Pleasanton, so I do appreciate you working and continuing through the process here,” Planning Commissioner Jack Balch told the carpenters during the April 25 meeting. “I do strongly believe this is a compromise.”
City staff, still holding to their disapproval, told the council in a new staff report, “While the proposed building architecture is attractive and appropriate, in staff’s view the site design and building location appear undesirable, inconsistent and incompatible land-use pattern with development in the area, and inconsistent with the General Plan and purposes of the (planned unit development) district.”
The Carpenters Training Committee wants to tear down its existing 68,000-square-foot, single-story training building at 2350 Santa Rita Road and replace it with a two-story, 87,000-square-foot building. It also seeks to relocate the outdoor training and storage yard at the 8.13-acre property near the southern intersection of the Iron Horse Regional Trail and Santa Rita.
The plans, submitted to the city by Mark Taylor on behalf of Carpenters Training Trust Fund, call for placing the new building at the back of the property away from Santa Rita Road, whereas the current training center is toward the front of the property.
Shifting the location of the building was the only way to allow training programs to continue during construction, according to carpenters.
City officials said that while they support the expansion concept and proposed architecture, they find the building location is inconsistent with other office buildings and commercial sites along Santa Rita that have their building right up along Santa Rita frontage.
The commission, however, found no problem with moving the building away from the street with design elements to minimize the visual impacts and inconsistencies with the neighborhood as a result of having the building set-back, including stone “gabion-style” walls, weathered steel screening panels, art piece and landscaping.
Located near the southern intersection of the Iron Horse Regional Trail and Santa Rita, the training facility is surrounded by office buildings, a public storage complex and an assisted living facility and is across the street from apartments and Bicentennial Park.
The council is set to weigh in on the debate during its regular meeting Tuesday, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. inside the council chamber at the Pleasanton Civic Center, 200 Old Bernal Ave.
In other business
* The council will review the city’s draft Trails Master Plan, which focuses on the city’s off-street public trail network.
* Council members will receive an update on the joint Tri-Valley study that is analyzing the technical options for potable reuse water for diversifying the area’s drinking water supply, especially during periods of extreme drought.
* They will also convene as the Board of Directors of the Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts for Oak Tree Farm, Moller Ranch, Laurel Creek Estates and Lemoine Ranch Estates to discuss engineer reports and declare the board’s intent to assess properties to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the districts.
* Among its 15-item consent agenda, the council will consider final adoption of the ordinance to establish the new Johnson Drive Economic Development Zone transportation fee, which will be charged to developers within the JDEDZ off Interstate 680 between Stoneridge Drive and I-580.
The council had to postpone its ordinance consideration May 1 after Councilwoman Kathy Narum was absent from the meeting, leaving the council without a required three-member quorum to vote since Mayor Jerry Thorne and Councilwoman Karla Brown have recused themselves from JDEDZ consideration for currently (Brown) or previously (Thorne) owning Costco stock in a retirement fund.
City Staff needs to back off the opposition to the expansion of the Carpenter’s training facility expansion project. This business already exists on the property that they own and has been a viable entity serving our community for many years. I have personally worked with their staff on projects for the training of engineers and other design professionals in the Bay Area. They simply need more suitable space to conduct their programs.
Making excuses to delay the progress of legitimate development is an underhanded tactic that deters future investment in Pleasanton. It’s a business district! This is a business upgrade! Let it proceed as proposed. So it’s not a Costco, Ikea or highrise housing; get over it!
City Council usually marches in step with Staff, so it’s time to back off the scare tactics and ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES to stay in Pleasanton, not drive them out for lack of staff approval.
I think this is a good business / center to have in Pleasanton. I agree the city should be working towards making this happen with the proper planning / reviews / approvals / etc. as opposed to opposing or inhibiting it.
PUSD has a partnership here for our students. We talk about not all students attending a four year college, and here we already have programs for those in the trades.
The City has been asked to work more closely with the District, as it used to do. This is heading in the opposite direction.
Please do not oppose this proposal.