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BUSINESS CALENDAR B. COMMISSIONER COMMUNICATION DISCLOSURE (REGARDING AGENDIZED None ' WORK STUDY SESSION C. PREVIEW OF THE PROJECT LOCATED AT 1901 EAST FIRST STREET Principal Planner Vince Fregoso provided the history of the site which had been previously entitled for two 23-story residential towers with over 350 units. Mr. Fregoso introduced Peter Zak, Senior Vice President with Lyon Communities. Mr. Zak indicated that the property had been acquired by Lyon at the end of September 2012, and that they have submitted a preliminary site plan review package for the project with the Planning staff. He stated that the proposal before the Commission is a residential building adjacent to an existing 3-story parking structure. Mr. Zak indicated that there is ample parking for the proposed project within the parking structure and would like the Commission's input on a phased project with a future high rise product or a single phased project with all mid-rise housing. He stated the high rise building was not feasible at this time. Christopher Coe, with Coe Architects, provided an overview of the project site, which proposes 196 units to be served by the existing parking garage structure. The project would wrap the structure with units. Mr. Coe discussed the difficulty of providing commercial uses at the ground level along 15t Street as required by the ' Metro East Mixed Use Overlay Zone. He also discussed the difficulty of designing units attached to the parking structure along 15S Street due to the shallow setback. In response to Commissioner Alderete, Mr. Coe compared the walking distance from the garage to the units to the walking distance from the recently approved The Marke project. Commissioner Acosta voiced support for hiding the parking structure with units, but had concerns with the three units facing 15S Street stating that they were too shallow and close to the street and that he would prefer it to remain as open space. He also stated that the decision to phase the project is best decided by the applicant. Commissioner Yrarrazaval also was supportive of wrapping the structure with units, but also had concerns about the units along the garage facing 1gt Street. He liked the design of the open space along Cabrillo Park Drive. He had questions about the ability to relocate the pool to the top of the parking structure were the second phase to be built, as well as the ability to add another elevator to the parking structure. He questioned the efficiency of having to build the pool twice. Mr. Coe answered that the elevator cores were placed in the most efficient locations and that adding another elevator would be cost prohibitive. Mr. Zak responded that the infrastructure improvements needed to relocate the amenities to the garage deck would be installed now. ' Commissioner Nalle clarified that finding a lender to finance the project with ahigh- rise component was not feasible at this time. Mr. Zak confirmed that that was the case. Chairman Alderete stated that he would prefer to see the site planned for the mid- rise and future high-rise, rather than being built out as one phase with all mid-rise development. He commented the need to ensure excellent design for the interior courtyards. He also stated the elevation articulation with 3-story and 5-story interaction was appreciated. Planning Commission Minutes 2 February 25, 2013