March 27th 2025 meeting of the Wall Street planning Commission
Will the secretary please call the row
Yes, Commissioner qua here Commissioner Ward here Commissioner clock here
Commissioner Neating here
Vice chair Anderson here and chair strongman. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you
And we'll go on to the consent calendar. I understand we have nothing of the consent calendar
Correct. That's correct. Thank you. Moving on to public communications, this is an
opportunity for the public to make any comments towards this they would like on
any subject, but if you're here to talk about pickleball, this is not your time.
You will have an opportunity when we get to the official hearing. But if you have
any other comments you would like to make to us, please come to the podium and
make them. Seeing nobody rushing to the podium, we will close public
communications and move on to disclosure of Ex parte communications with the
Commission. Hi Commissioner Strongman, I'd like to disclose that I am a Rossmore
resident. I do not live within a thousand feet of this plan development. I have
received multiple communications from via the paper and from neighbors. I've
stayed firmly neutral on the topic so I just want to disclose that thank you
thank you and that we'll work with our tech support okay moving on to public
hearings okay hopefully we are ready to proceed with public hearings and the
project will be the Rossmore Pickleball Courts 4A and we'll start with a staff
presentation.
Can everybody hear me? Okay, I'm gonna speak louder than usual.
So good evening chair planning commissioners. My name is Gerardo
Victoria, assistant planner with the Community Development Department. The
project before you today is the Rossmore Pickleball Courts. Just some site
context. The project is located at $1021 Stanley Dollar Drive. This is Stanley Dollar Drive
right here and this is Rossmoor Parkway. It's a 2.4 acre site. The general plan designation
is single family medium. The zoning is plan development 1483. The permitted uses at the
plan development are residential, clubhouse uses, and open space. The
pickleball facility is an accessory used to the existing clubhouse. This star
right here indicates where the pickleball facility is going to be
located. As you can see, the nearest residential area is a little bit over
300 feet away. The existing site is made up of the Stanley Dollar Clubhouse
located here, and the parking lot, which is adjacent to the event center here, and
the golf course. This is the permitted land use for Rossmore, which was completed
in 1977. As you can see here, the shaded areas are the residential permitted land
uses. The clubhouse areas are noted here with the capital C's. This star indicates
where the pickleball court is going to be located and the open space areas with
the squiggly lines are notated here. So under the plan development 1483, the
clubhouse facilities are permitted. However, open space may be used for
additional clubhouse facilities. As I stated in the previous slide, the
pickleball court is an accessory used to the existing clubhouse facility. The
The project description is a construction of a 12,000 square foot six court pickleball
facility that is adjacent to the existing event center.
So as you can see here, this is the pickleball facility, which is going to be adjacent to
the existing events clubhouse right here.
I will say clubhouse event center back and forth.
I just get them confused, but they're the same thing, just so everybody understands.
The project also includes new landscaping, new lighting, new trees and tree removals.
These levels near the residential properties are within the acceptable limits as defined
by the general plan.
So these are some of the renderings proposed for the Pickleball facility.
This is the front facade that's facing the east.
And this is the side facade facing the golf course.
And this is the west facade that's facing the nearest residential area.
So we are here before you tonight for your consideration for the project on the design
review, the tree removal permits and the tree drip line encroachment permits.
This project did go to the design review commission on December 4th as a study session for their
recommendations and as I stated it's for your consideration tonight.
So the site layout is the existing events clubhouse is located here which is about 20,000
square feet.
The proposed 12,000 pickleball facility is located right here.
This line right here is the 2.4 acre site that's outlined.
There are 144 existing parking stalls.
No new parking stalls are required for the project and the site also has six new bicycle
parking stalls.
So the pickleball court design, I'm just going to go over a couple of major design components
of the project.
The standing seam metal roof and wall is located here on the front facade and here.
This is the rear facade facing west.
So this facade is completely enclosed and it is the nearest to the residential area.
Red Cedar Wood siding is located on the front facade right here at the entry canopy and
also here at the side facades here and here.
Stucco sand finish is located here and also here.
landscaping. There is 5,324 square feet of new landscaping that also includes two new
bioretention areas here and here. There are 14 new trees to be planted, six which are
valley oaks here and this one. Larger shrubs are proposed along the south, west, and north
side of the surrounding facility. So on the site there are 20 existing trees on
the site. Eight are proposed to be removed which are all in red. Two of the
eight are highly protected trees in Walnut Creek which are valley oaks. The
other ones that have the stars are these are coast live oaks they are remaining
on the site and these valley oaks are also remaining. As you can see also on
On the plan set, the tree protection zones are outlined here and over here.
So when this project went to the design review commission, the design review commission made
some recommendations.
The first one was that the two buildings need to speak to each other, not to match, but
consider adding more wood to the front of the pickleball building and the side facing
Stanley Dollar Drive.
So the pitched roof is similar to the existing event center.
The material pallet speaks to the event center, the stucco color and finish and the standing
seam metal roof match the finish of the event center, and the wood that's incorporated on
the front facade also matches the event center.
The second one was to conduct an acoustic report before and after the pickleball courts
are built to validate the use of sound panels and implement any necessary measures.
So an extensive noise study has been conducted.
in the noise study are incorporated in the project design. The Golden Rain Foundation
is confident that noise issues have been addressed in the design and the operations of the building.
The Golden Rain Foundation will also address any future issues with residents if or when
they occur. They also recommended for more trees and shrubs to be woven into the site.
As I stated on the earlier slide, larger screening shrubs are proposed along the west, north,
and south of the pickleball facility, and also reconsider the planting of three red
point maple trees and reevaluate the relocation of the existing valley oak.
So red point maple trees have been replaced with Chinese pistach trees.
The existing valley oak that was proposed to be relocated will now be removed and replaced
with another valley oak.
CEQA, the project anticipates the use of the categorical exemption class 32 as outlined
in the draft resolution.
The project is consistent with the general plan designation and all general plan policies
as well as the zoning designation and the regulations in the zoning code.
The proposed development occurs within city limits on the project site of no more than
five acres.
The project site is 2.4 acres.
The project site has no value as a habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species.
The approval of the project will not result in any significant effects relating to traffic,
noise, air quality, or water quality.
And the site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services.
So staff recommends to adopt draft resolution approving the secret determination, approving
the design review and approving the tree removal and tree drip line encroachment permits.
But before we get to questions or comments, I would like to add a couple of things.
So staff was overwhelmed with the amount of correspondence received.
We received over 100 emails.
Of those over 100 emails, 80% were in support of the project.
We received two petitions.
first one the first petition was in support of this project and that
received over 400 signatures. The second petition was opposed to this project and
that received over 200 signatures. I do want to address the noise in the general
plan. So as you know the general plan designates noise as unwanted sound.
Normally acceptable noise levels in a residential area is 60 decibels. According
to the noise study submitted by the applicant.
The nearest residential area, the NM-5,
is in compliance with the general plan.
You can see here, it's here.
This star is where the Pickleball Court
is gonna be located.
The one area that's exceeding the noise level
is the Stanley Dollar Clubhouse,
which has different standards
because it is not a residential area.
everything else is in compliance as you see here if it's if what's acceptable is 60 decibels everything is below 60 decibels
So with that I am available for questions or any comments. Thank you
I will start with questions from the Commission to our staff person
We'd like to go first
The applicant is also here ready with a presentation
any questions
Okay, I have a couple questions since nobody else wants to do it
I have never done pickleball. I have never actually seen pickleball. My
understanding is that the ball is what as a kid we used to call a foosball
woof-a-ball excuse me, it's memories losing it here. Is that true? Yes it is a
woof-a-ball. Okay. What was there before this location? I will let the applicant
answer that I believe it's just an open area that's next to the golf course and
that is that's all my questions anybody else have questions okay we will now
ask for the open to a public hearing and we'll start out with the applicant
first good evening my name is Jeff Matheson I'm the general manager for
Rossmore Walnut Creek and I'd like to introduce you to Rossmore this is a
community that travels. It's funny, we had a board meeting this morning, I think we
had two people in the audience. So this is good, this is very good. You know
Rossmoor is an active senior adult community. It is built on a foundation of
activity, programs, services, amenities for the residents. Rossmoor has sports
amenities, it has clubhouses, it has arts, it has performing arts, studios. You can
be as busy as you want to be in Rossmore and Molly I'm sure you can attest. So one
of the the key amenities here that we are talking about tonight certainly is
is Pickleball and Pickleball started in Rossmore about 2015. At that time we had
had an old clubhouse gymnasium called Del Valle, and the gym part was empty as we were
thinking about renovation, so we actually taped out, and the lights went out.
We taped out two courts inside the gym and modified it a bit, and pickleball began, and
it grew, and it grew, and it grew.
we definitely realized and the board realized as the club began to grow that
pickleball was going to be part of our future at Rossmore and we needed to
address the situation in courts. The two courts at the fitness center were always
meant to be shared use. We renovated the fitness center and had two courts there
but we needed outdoor courts and we just didn't have that amenity. We had some old
the city of Toronto. We had a
So, we weren't able to do that.
But throughout the process, we have been doing public engagement, and as you can see here
tonight, public engagement is a huge portion of what takes place at Rossmore.
This project is certainly no exception.
As we have looked for a site, we have had numerous town hall events.
We had one just last month, and we had about almost 450, 500 people come to listen to our
presentation on pickleball.
We've done neighborhood meetings for the residents that surround the site to come, and we talked
about the sound study that we did.
We have done presentations and ongoing updates at our planning committee meeting in Ross
Moore, and we use our Ross Moore news to regularly provide updates.
So there has been a lot of public input communication and things in Rossmore do take time because
as you can see there is a lot of interest in what we do and a lot of public outreach.
One of the things that was really important as we did outreach was to talk about site
selection and the board had many factors that they wanted to consider in site selection.
As you know, Rossmore is very built out, if you will.
There is very few places where you can put a new actual physical amenity.
So as we looked for sites, we wanted to think about the impact that Pickleball would have
on existing uses.
So we were looking at our tennis courts and could we do a shared use at the tennis courts.
We wanted to look at the cost for the site improvements.
So if we had open space, what would it cost to bring utilities and other things there?
Things like parking, available adjacent resources, is it located next to a clubhouse where there's
existing restrooms and other things that could be used and shared?
The cost of shade structures and compatibility with neighboring uses.
We definitely wanted to make sure it was a good neighbor.
And next to, we took into consideration the neighbors that surround it.
Some of the locations that we have already investigated includes Buckeye Tennis Courts.
We have a complex with eight courts of tennis.
So we thought about a shared facility there.
We did a sound study there.
We did outreach with Tennis Club there.
It just isn't a compatible use and it was hard to contain the sound there because it's
more in a valley.
We looked at our hillside lawn bowling greens and converting one of those greens into a
complex for pickleball.
Again, adjacent uses just didn't match with pickleball.
We have a couple of parks, one of them dollar park next to the dollar clubhouse and that
facility that park especially with the mature trees it just didn't quite fit
there. We looked at our mutual operations department where our
corporation yard is and it's just not a good compatible use with our corporation
yard and our ability to operate the community from there. We have a property
outside of Rossmoor called we call it the medical center but it's at 1220
Rossmoor Parkway. It is a property that's currently vacant but we're looking to
either repurpose it or sell it and being outside is not a good value, not a good
compatible use, and it's not a permitted use at that location. We even looked at a
joint venture with the city to look at the park, Tice Valley Park, and maybe
doing something there in a joint venture with the city. We looked at renting Tice
valley gym. So we checked the box on every possible location we could and we eventually found this
little niche open space near the event center that bordered the golf club, the golf course,
the 18th fairway, has open space there, has the parking lot, has access to restrooms,
and is far enough away from residents that we could take care of the sound issues and make sure
It was a good, compatible use with the neighborhood.
So now I'm going to introduce our architect, David Massatin.
He is with ELS Architects, and he's
going to go through the project site and design.
Thank you, Jeff.
And thank you to the commission for hearing out this project.
We're very excited about the opportunity here at Rossmore
to build these six enclosed courts, or six covered courts.
I want to introduce you briefly to the site, which
What you see on the screen in the hatched area in the top center is the proposed location
for the pickleball center.
And you can see that it is very closely tucked against the existing parking lot and against
the event center.
The reason we tucked it that way was so that it would have the least possible impact on
the fairway and the golf game, and that still allowed us some room to put some trees in
between that and the golf course so that we could provide more shade, shadow, and preserve
of the overall aesthetic of the golf course.
There was a question earlier
about what does the site look like now?
Well, right now it is essentially a clear grassy site
with the trees that Gerardo mentioned earlier.
It's relatively flat,
but it does slope down towards the fairway.
Here in this image,
you can see the event center to the right
and the parking lot
that we're going to use directly in the foreground.
And then as you move over to the left,
you can see the hole for that particular,
green in the sand trap for that particular fairway with the pickleball site in the foreground
and the event center to the right.
And then here we're standing essentially on the site of where the pickleball facility
will go and you can see an existing bioswale and then Stanley Dollar Drive off in the distance
adjacent to the event center.
And then here is looking down the fairway at the event center and you can see the sand
to the Associated Hole and Stanley Dollar
off in the distance.
So when we took on this project,
it was really important for us
to make the Pickleball facility secondary
to the overall event center,
but we wanted to marry it aesthetically
to the event center so that it was really viewed
as one larger clubhouse facility.
So we used the exact same standing seam roof
with the same color so it will match the event center.
We did give it a pitched roof.
we could not pitch it at the same pitch
as the event center
without being taller than the event center.
And it was important for us that this, again,
be shorter than the event center.
One of the challenges with pickleball
is you need 20 feet clear from the ground
to the underside of the structure for play.
And then here on the south side,
you can see a stucco wall.
That stucco wall has the same color
that matches the event center.
The wood that you saw in the previous one,
this one, the wood is also reminiscent of what's on the event center which has a
lot of wood detailing on the front around the side. We're not using glass,
we're using polycarbonate in case there are some errant slices on the golf course.
And what you can see at the very top there is there is an opening, an opening
that air can pass through. So there have been some questions for how exactly this
particular design was developed. It was developed based upon the diagram that
was provided to us from the sound study.
The sound study indicated that we
needed a wall on the south that was 18 feet tall.
We needed a wall on the west that was fully enclosed.
We needed a roof.
And we needed a wall on the north
that was 30 feet long and 10 feet high.
And so that diagram is what drove the design of this.
We did not enclose it fully so that we can still
have a breeze through there.
So it is still an outdoor court.
But it will reduce the overall sound impacts on the neighbors.
And when you go inside, the Pickleball project
is essentially a very traditional butler frame type
building.
We have plenty of natural light that will be coming in here.
We also have artificial light for times like this year
when it gets dark early.
And we can fit six quartz in total.
And then off to the left, there is a very small seating area,
which is intended for people that are about to play.
And here you can see a section of the facility
with the three courts across,
and you can see the seating area just over to the left.
And you can see the 20 foot high is held at the very sides
and then it slowly slopes up to the top,
and that gives us the appropriate playing height
for the sport.
And here's the layout with the front door
at the very bottom center,
and with the bleachers on both sides
for the seating for the next players that are in,
and then the six courts,
and then there's an egress door up in the corner,
and it's open essentially on two-thirds
of the right side of this,
and the majority of the south side,
and then on the west, or sorry, on the east side,
and then the south side,
it has that little sliver at the top that remains open.
So here you can see,
and this is what this board is showing in front of you,
so it calls out the materials and more specificity
to show that they're designed to match
the existing events center,
and so that it should work harmoniously
as a larger clubhouse facility.
So occasionally, people ask about sound with pickleball,
and we did want to address that.
I think Gerara did a really good job,
but I wanted to touch on just a couple of things.
So a number of sound studies were done.
This was certainly not the first sound study.
This was the one that we did based specifically
on this design.
We had it updated based on the design that you see.
And what you're seeing here, as Gerardo mentioned,
is there is exceedance at the dollar clubhouse.
But notice that exceedance is 49 and 1.5.
So it is actually just above the minimum recommended noise
guideline.
It does not exceed the maximum recommended noise guideline,
which is 58.6.
And so this average is probably around 50 decibels,
if you look at these across all of these sites.
What does that actually mean?
Well, 50 decibels is essentially a quiet office
because sound dissipates over distance
and the design of the building has cut down
the direct angles for the noise to escape
and interfere with people's enjoyment
in the residential units or around the area.
And you can see here at the sound study on the chart
on the left that the projected design
for the pickleball noise level is meets every single one
of those criteria all the way down.
So we feel that we are in full compliance.
With that, I will leave it for questions.
Thank you.
First of all, we have questions from the commissioners.
Commissioner Ward, start out.
I think my question's for the architect.
So you can come up.
I just wondered what you would've had to do
to make the facility completely enclosed.
I know that was suggested by some.
Yeah, no, that's a great question.
So if it's completely enclosed,
that is a full-conditioned building.
So we would enclose the sides.
We would need to provide heating, ventilation,
air conditioning with a lot of air turns
because it is an exercise facility.
And we'd also include restrooms because right now,
in this plan, the restrooms in the event center
are being used.
So this has a significant overall cost impact.
I don't know what that impact is,
but it's not a small thing to convert this
from essentially a covered facility to an indoor facility.
Okay, Commissioner.
Hi, so I'd like to kind of get an idea
of the impact of the noise reading
through the public comments that were submitted
on the agenda.
A lot of the people from that play pickleball at Rossmore
have mentioned that they play at the existing tennis courts.
And so in the presentation tonight,
some of the questions I had were
at the existing tennis courts,
it seems like that wasn't a location that was considered,
but have there been noise complaints
from that location in the past that residents have expressed?
So currently we have three pickleball courts
located along Rossmoor Parkway
that are right across the street from residential.
So they are in much closer proximity than this.
However, they're separated by Rossmoor Parkway.
Since we've had those three courts there,
I've received exactly one complaint in regards
to noise from that.
And we have no sound.
There is obviously the street.
There's some shrubbery, but there's no wall.
There's no padding, nothing to obstruct sound.
We have eight tennis courts.
We call it Buckeye Tennis Court Complex.
And one of the things we were thinking of doing
is converting one of our two of those courts to pickleball.
We actually did a sound study up there.
In order to address the sound, to make it acceptable levels,
it basically would have had to have been an enclosed building.
And then we would have been addressing a lot more issues.
Can I answer your question?
Yes.
I have additional questions.
So that's very helpful as a baseline.
So for these sound studies that were
done at the different locations, were
to the ones that was presented to us tonight for the facility right by the
event center. Yes, what we did we used a company that came out, Acoustics Group,
thank you, they came out, they used a number of sound monitors, we placed those
out, they did readings for over a 24-hour period to get the ambient noise, then we
either had pickleball play, the same volume of play that would take place, as
as if we had all courts in full operation,
four players per plus people around waiting to play,
playing for a period of time to capture that,
to see what the readings would be for comparison.
For the site that we're here tonight talking about,
they simulated that same level of sound with that noise.
Okay, and then my last question is,
after we take action on this resolution before us tonight,
does the community expect to pick a ball
to continue at the other locations, courts or wherever,
or is it primarily gonna be concentrated
at the new facility?
So we don't have plans for repurposing
the existing outdoor courts.
Those were always meant to be temporary,
but they are heavily impacted by the creek right now.
So we have a lot of maintenance issues there.
So I don't anticipate putting any more money into those.
We also have two courts that are shared use
inside the gymnasium and those will remain
as they are today.
Okay, all right, thank you.
That's very helpful.
Other questions?
Bill, the end?
Yeah, commissioner.
I'll hold on for the architect.
As far as the acoustics,
it was surprising to see that the,
make sure I get the directions right,
on the east where the residents are farther away,
that was actually the highest levels
that were reaching the residences.
On the east side.
North side, that's right.
So.
That's the west side?
Let me just get back to this side plan.
So this, so north is to the left.
So east would be facing down.
And then west is to the top.
All right.
In any case, the fully enclosed side
is the one facing across the golf course.
That's correct, yeah.
So I assume that's why that's actually attenuated
considerably whereas going across the other way, less so.
Yes, so the west side has closest proximity to residences.
On the east side, there's the parking lot.
There's the creek.
There's Rossmore Parkway before there's any houses.
The distance is much, much larger
than the distance on the west side.
And what specific acoustic treatments
did you use inside the structure?
So we are planning to do acoustic blankets
inside the structure, but the acoustic study
did not account for those.
So we expect better performance than what the study shows.
Where would those occur?
I can show you on the rendering here.
So the idea is that they're going to occur basically
on all the gray.
All the gray solid walls that you're seeing there
are intended to be acoustic blanket.
OK.
The other question I have regards the design review request
that more wood be used on the façade.
And the response to that was that the wood that's there
matches what's on the clubhouse.
It didn't really address putting more there.
Can you talk about that?
Yeah, I can talk about that.
So one of the things we were trying to achieve
is really to highlight the main entry.
and we wanted to use the wood,
we do need to create or allow for enough air passage
on either side since we are enclosing the west wall
and mostly enclosing the south wall.
So if we don't, if we did more wood,
it would create eddies potentially from wind
going into the structure and swirling around.
And we were trying to prevent that
so we kept it as open as we could.
Thank you.
Any other questions?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
So I had one question related to noise
and I think it is related to the hours of operation.
So what are the hours of operation of this facility?
So in relation to the sound study,
the hours of operation will be till six,
so 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thank you.
Okay, no more, oh, one more question, okay.
Did this noise study, sorry, did this noise study
also include the dampening of the trees and the shrubs?
because that does have an effect on the acoustics.
Yeah, the noise study, the trees on the west side
were added as a planning comment.
So the noise study did not include those.
So we will get better performance with those trees.
The trees that you see on the screen on the east side,
those were anticipated, I believe, for the noise study.
Because typically, trees, anything
that has a bigger vine helps to dampen the noise even more.
And I'm assuming, specifically with the heights
that you were discussing with the retaining wall,
with the acoustical wall, it happens
to be at the same height as those trees at growth.
So it's almost acting like it's the same acoustic type wall.
Another thing that I'm assuming that, typically, when
you do a project like this, an acoustical study, which
is required as part of CEQA, they
would tell you need STC windows, for example.
sound transmission class windows.
So that's a type of mitigation measure.
What I like about here is that you're including
all of those measures as project features
already in the building, and so this analysis
is analyzing it with all those project features
already included in the design.
Notwithstanding the trees that we just discussed
and then the additional acoustic blanket
on the inside of the walls, correct?
Thank you.
Other final questions?
Okay, we are now going to open it up to the rest of you guys.
I have speaker cards and in order to help us get done before midnight, I'm going to
call three people up first to come up to line up and you'll be given two minutes each.
So our first person will be Mary Rose, Mary Ramos, and Danielle Green, if you'll make
your way up.
Good evening.
Thanks for having all of us.
We really appreciate it.
The general plan has not been fully complied with.
have a general plan ordinance that states section 5 protection of Rossmore
open space the open space areas in Rossmore as identified in exhibit a
ordinance number 139 states unless first approved by the majority vote of the
eligible voters of Rossmore and ordinance number 1319 and the
development permit, blah, blah, blah.
So that is part of the general plan
and has not been complied with, nor was it in the staff report.
So I couldn't understand why we weren't offered the vote.
In addition, there is a general plan map
that the city engineer changed unilaterally
without a public hearing, without the Planning Commission
approval, a map that he recorded with the county
changing the boundary lines of the open space.
And I find that really offensive.
Nobody got a chance in the public hearing to talk,
nor did the Planning Commission get to ask questions
or approval.
In addition, there is a law number
that I spoke about earlier.
1483A has required parking calculations.
There's no shared parking agreement.
It is required parking calculations per this law.
And I gave you all a packet with everything.
That law has been totally ignored,
and I'm really sad about that.
Very sad.
So I'm asking you to be our gatekeepers
and respectfully ask you to have the staff
look into why these laws weren't applied,
amend the staff report and come back.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Maybe we get our lights back on.
I think somebody leaned against them again.
Thanks so much.
Hi, I'm Mary Ramis.
If you take a tour of Rossmore, you'll see a well-maintained,
and a lot of, all of our facilities are updated.
The only one that isn't is Pickleball.
So I have the question,
how important is Pickleball to the Rossmore community?
For weeks, I've seen an ad
for Valencia's senior communities in Florida,
attempting to lure Californians.
This ad is run in our area.
The ad mentions their updated clubhouses,
numerous clubs, shows a woman using free weights,
couples dining and socializing,
as you see a panoramic view of their facilities.
Then the ad shows people playing pickleball.
And the commentator states, we have pickleball.
Pickleball is the only sport or club specifically
named in that ad.
Rossmore needs to attract vibrant social people.
And with pickleball growing faster than any other sport,
we need a modern pickleball facility.
Active people will support Walnut Creek's restaurants,
theaters, and shopping.
For me, the benefits of pickleball have changed my life.
Who would have thought that a woman in her 70s
would find a new sport that has enhanced her life
with joy, joy, joy?
I have found a fun-loving group of friends
who share friendly competition, complementing good shots,
empathizing over bad shots, but mostly laughing
and enjoying the camaraderie.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello, I'm Darila Green, and I'm
one of the people who live across
from the proposed facility.
And I would ask you to consider that there
are a lot of discrepancies, unfortunately,
between the enthusiasm of the pickleball players
and what's actually in the written proposal.
And one, I would like to thank you
for asking, what are the hours of use?
Because in the written proposal, it states specifically
that the facility will be open from 8 AM till dusk.
And I would hate to see that approved in writing
when that's not what anybody in Rossmore has been told.
There are other kinds of discrepancies
as well between what's written and what's there.
So my friends who are pickleball players,
when I have them sit out on my patio with me,
I said, would you still be so enthusiastic
if you lived in our beautiful home
and celebrated the natural beauty on our patio?
And they looked down where the building's gonna be built
and they said, no way.
I said, would you still support it being built there?
They went, no, not anymore.
Even though the summary described by the architect
and our representative, our GRF representative,
say that the noise requirements have all been met.
If you read carefully further along
and follow all those decibel reports
and all the different specifics in the proposal,
you'll see that they end up saying
the impulsive character of the noise could remain audible
and may still be a source of annoyance
to sensitive individuals.
Like me, I'm older, I'm sensitive, we all are.
And there was no correction.
It's okay.
Thank you.
And I'll call our next, okay.
We realize that everybody's enthusiastic,
either pro or against.
So please refrain from applauding
or else we'll be here till three o'clock in the morning.
So our next up will be Harold Kirschlin, William Ballen,
and Katie Fox.
My name is Harold Cushions, and my wife and I
have lived in Rossmore for the past 10 years, a community
we call adult Disneyland.
For the past eight years, we've both been playing pickleball.
On an average of four to six days a week,
our body's permitting.
Research about aging is clear.
Regular exercise and social interaction
are the key ingredients to a healthy life
both physically and emotionally.
Pickleball has become for us
and for another 600 plus residents in Rossmore,
one of the primary vehicles
for meeting those physical and social goals.
Obviously, pickleball requires physical activity,
but in a way that allows each individual
to determine the pace and level of activity
according to their own individual need.
While resting between games or waiting to play,
pickleball also provides a great opportunity
for social interaction.
Talking to one another is the norm,
while isolating yourself on your phone is the exception.
In addition, the Pickleball Club has social events
throughout the year, which my wife and I
and many others participate in.
Further, the friendships we've started at the courts
in many cases have been involved in the valuable
social and supportive relationships.
It also should be noted that these new facilities
will directly benefit what will create pickleball players
outside of Rossmore in at least two ways.
First, some Rossmoor players were forced to go to Rudger or Tice Gym to play will be able
to return home, thus reducing the demand at these locations, which I know is an issue
for the City of Walnut Creek.
Second, with more courts at Rossmoor, there will be more time when these courts will be
available to guests of residence, Rossmoor residents, again reducing the demand on outside
facilities.
Thank you for your attention, and I encourage you to approve this quickly as possible since
any delay will only increase the already high costs.
Thank you.
Hi, thanks for hearing us.
My name is William Bailyn.
I live south of the project.
I can tell you that we hear music that is played in the courtyard in the Gateway Center,
which is farther away than this because there's nothing on that valley because it's all golf
course.
When I attend the fitness center, I can tell you that the pickleball sounds come through
the doors and the glass that separate the gym from the rest of the fitness center, even
when people are using machines there.
Two, another problem is parking.
No additional parking spaces are being provided.
This is going to make it more difficult for people with mobility issues to find parking
spaces.
Second of all, when there's an event going on in the event center, the article in the
Ross Moore News said we will manage parking.
What does that mean?
It means that people are going to be trolling for spaces.
There's going to be more traffic.
Second of all, third of all, this brings me to traffic.
When during the day, the only access to the golf course is, and both golf courses, is
Stanley Dollar.
So the only access to the event center and the pickleball court will be through Stanley
Dollar.
You will have more traffic.
My experience watching pickleball players is that most games are played with four people.
You have six courts, 24 people.
You will have people waiting.
That's anywhere from 15 to 25 or more additional vehicles at any time in that area.
Stanley Dollar is a two-lane street.
What is happening?
How is that traffic going to affect the community?
There are no additional restrooms.
And last, no other facilities that are currently
used for pickleball will be available for other uses.
Thank you.
Good evening.
My name is Katie Fox.
As a Rossmoor resident, I'm invested in making sure
that Rossmoor remains a vital and thriving community that
can continue to attract new residents.
I moved to Rossmore from Oakland in January 2024,
primarily because our real estate agent
told us that Rossmore was going to be building
a pickleball facility soon.
I would not have selected Rossmore otherwise.
There's been an increase in the number of age 55
plus senior living communities in California
and in other states, as mentioned earlier.
And most of these communities offer
superior pickleball facilities to what Rossmoor currently offers.
Most prospective buyers these days are pickleball players, and having designated courts is a
selling point.
I personally have given tours of Rossmoor to friends who are searching and researching
out communities, senior communities, and they've all been disappointed by the poor condition
of our current courts.
None of them have been willing to commit to Rossmoor without confirmation that new courts
are actually going to be built.
I even know someone who selected Laguna Woods Village in Southern California instead of
Rossmore precisely because that community already has superior pickleball facilities.
Now, I've heard the complaints that Rossmore, a community of some 10,000 residents, should
not build new courts since only about 650 folks are in the current pickleball club.
I think that's short-sighted.
The courts are not just for current residents, they are for all future residents to enjoy.
If Rossmore wants to be competitive in today's marketplace, they are going to have to build
new pickleball courts now.
Rossmore residents are Walnut Creek taxpayers.
They are consumers at Walnut Creek retail stores, at Walnut Creek restaurants, and other
entertainment locations like the Lesher.
It's in all of our best interests to make Rossmore current and allow it to become competitive
in the current marketplace.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next three will be Lou Lynn De Silva and I'm gonna have to apologize for
probably butchering a name. Kaylina commit U2 and Roy Geng. Good evening
planning commissioners my name is Lou Lynn De Silva and I live at 3150 Rossmore
Parkway number four. Contrary to popular belief as evidenced by the turnout
tonight, Rossmoor residents are awake past 6 p.m. after the early bird special.
I come before you this evening as a pickleball player, a former manager of a
permitting land and environmental planning department at a major Bay Area
Corporation, and also as a former planning commissioner. I'd like to
emphasize four land use and environmental points about GRF's
application. One, the proposed site has been deemed most suitable for a variety
of land use and environmental considerations, such as topography,
parking availability, minimal vegetation impacts, no endangered species, and
appropriate land use and zoning designations. It is also consistent with
recreation policies of the general plan. Two, regarding visual impacts, the city's
PUD designation allows for, quote,
diversification in the relationship
of various buildings, land uses, structures, and open spaces.
The project area houses the historic Stanley Dollar
Clubhouse with an accessory recreation use,
and the Modern Event Center and Modern Event Center.
GRS application demonstrates that efforts
have been made to harmonize the proposed pickleball facility
design elements of the event center for compatibility. Number three GRF has
taken great care in making design accommodations regarding sound. The 2024
sound assessment concluded that quote pickleball noise would not be
considered an impact at residences. Four city staff has recommended a CEQA
categorical exemption class 32. CEQA states that a categorical exemption may
be applied for a proposed project because it is not expected to
significantly impact the environment. This exemption is appropriate for this
project. I'd like to compliment the city staff on their detailed and thorough
staff report. I'd also like to thank you for your public service to this city.
Finally, I urge you to vote yes to approve the resolution as presented by staff.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good evening.
My name is Keilani Kimoto, and I'm a full-time realtor serving the Rossmore community for
many, many years.
In that time, I've helped a lot of buyers to find their perfect home here.
I've also proudly sponsored the Pickleball Parkinson's witnessing firsthand that that
sport brings people together and improves lives.
We all know here that amenities drive home values and buyer interest.
Pickleball is the nation's fastest-growing sport and is a key selling point for active
adult communities like Rossmore.
New well-designed courts will make Rossmore even more attractive to buyers and positively
impact the property values.
But Pickleball is more than just real estate.
It plays a vital role in the senior health, improving balance, heart health, and mobility,
while keeping residents active, socially connected, and independent.
A thriving pickleball community helps new residents integrate, build friendships and
stay engaged.
The benefits go beyond Rossmore as well.
A thriving well-maintained community contributes to higher property values, generating increased
property tax revenues.
Additionally, all the local businesses here will have benefits from the residents and
the visiting players supporting the restaurants, shops and services in Walnut Creek.
A high-quality pickleball facility enhances Rossmore's appeal, keeping it competitive
with other premier active adult communities that are on a rise.
Picklepal isn't just a sport, it's a community builder that enhances quality life, home values
and overall desirable for Rossmoor.
And as I end this I encourage you to support this investment in Rossmoor's future.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You have copies for everyone?
My name is Roy Young, I'm a resident of Rossmoor.
In this meeting, the most impressive thing I have is the plan that Molly made very clear
is there any conflict of interest, and fortunately we never happen in Rosmore.
First of all, Rosmore's pickball player right now is 551, or 5.89 percent of population
residents, and 94.1 are not pickball players.
And because the inference from the pickleball player on the budget, so a budget from 1.8
in 22 increases to 2.8 in 23, then increases to 3.8 in 24, now it's 4 point, it's still
going to growth because of a low estimate.
And the most important to us is our Southwest neighborhood, it's called Morocco.
cargo is too high risk, the Wi-Fi area in California.
The other one is the Pacific Plaza,
already burned in January.
And we have an exit, which was just peak gravel on it.
No auto allowed to drive on.
So all the older people has to walk on.
And that's a very simple, overlooked safety issue.
And then we have two camera.
What you know far was supported by sponsor by PG&E.
But those are the first generation.
Now we have the third generation,
employee and AI and we start like coordination.
We should have replaced those and add one more.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next three will be Julie Foley,
Scott Burrell and Danny Wong.
Could you pull the microphone down so you could...
I've been living in Rossmore for over 29 years.
I'm here to support asking the city to deny building the $4 million plus pickleball structure
in Rossmore.
I support Mr. Yang's alternative use of the funds.
As a retired nurse serving this community for 25 years, I am more concerned about the
safety issues that are being deferred and the fact that the fastest growing group admitted
to emergency departments across the country are senior citizens for pickleball injuries.
The myth is, if you build it, they will come.
Well, if we build it, they will be in the hospital.
The population right now, the mean population is 80 and above and there's 94% of 0.5% or
over 65.
We are a senior population and it's not a safe thing to have it right now.
Besides, the economics don't – there are too many things that we need to get completed
before you consider taking out money for the pickle board, which won't be $4 million,
it will be more.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Hello, commissioners.
My name is Scott Burrell.
I'm a resident of Rossmoor, and I wanted to just take a little bit of your time to talk to you about
why I think the Rossmoor Pickleball Club is so special. And when I was thinking about it,
I was thinking about the friendships that I've been able to make playing pickleball with the
members of the club, the dinners, the game nights. But really, when I thought about what makes
This club's so special to me, so magical to me.
My mind went to the city of Concord, actually.
And a middle school in Concord called El Dorado Middle School.
And the volunteers from Rossmore, who last year,
and we'll be doing it again this year,
went every week, early in the morning,
to El Dorado Middle School.
Teach those kids, some of whom had special needs.
some of whom were deaf, some of whom were a handful,
all of whom were wonderful.
And the volunteers from Rossmoor's Pickleball Club
went in the early morning hours and put up nets
and gave those kids time and attention
and gave them, basically, love.
And they received so much back in return.
And to me, when you think about this,
I think it is important for you to know what this club stands
for, and who the people in this club are,
and what they contribute.
And I think that you will find that this is an amazing group
of people in an amazing club.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good evening, Commissioner.
I'm Danny Wong.
I'm actually a partner with Scott Barrell.
And well, I just want to say that Pickleball saved my life.
It sounds dramatic.
I know that.
But it's not, because I grew up being very active,
playing sports, playing volleyball, very young,
playing tennis, and I got injured.
And after I got injured, I was so depressed,
because I couldn't do anything.
So your active life loss, and you just feel like you're just
being there.
And I know other people like myself, that pickleball,
they told me the same thing, that pickleball
saved their life because they in in Rossmore our community have a lot of
people that been with their spouse for a long long time some 50 years 60 years
they lost their loved one so they feel this void just like I felt a void but
after we found Pickleball it's like what he just said we belong to a community
outreach community where we go out and help foster youth homes to learn
pickleball and we see the joy that we could bring to them to help them and we
go to the disadvantaged school to help those youth so I'm really here to really
urge you and please approve this facility so that pickleball can continue
to save lives like many people as well as the people that we can go out to the
community and reach their lives. Thank you. Our next group will be Frank Reynolds,
Carol Serrani, Nancy Muson, and Dana Ng. My name is Frank Reynolds and I
live in Rossmore for the past 10 years. I am a past president of the club and
and have been a member since we broke away from the Walnut Creek Pickleball Club in 2014.
I'm in here this evening just to give you a short overview on the efforts to find a
permanent home for Pickleball and Rossmore. When the club became residence only, our play
was limited to three indoor courts at the fitness center, which were shared with other
clubs and other training activities.
Around the time the fitness center was renovated, the two tennis courts at the Creekside were
turned into three temporary pickleball courts, the same courts we still play on today.
The club now had three temporary courts at Creekside and two shared courts in the fitness
center since we lost one court in the fitness center during the renovation.
This has started to play at Creekside.
The courts have been closed in 2016, 2017, and 2024 for repair work.
In an effort to find a permanent home, a pickleball facilities committee was formed.
The result was a 40-page document which was presented to the GRF Board, I think in August
of 2020.
And the efforts were to find a permanent home.
The following is a list, kind of an order of locations
that have been looked at over the years.
Creekside courts, Buckeye tennis courts,
lawn mowing courts, looked at briefly,
were working with the city to build courts
outside the gate.
The Dollar Park, the current site,
and there was also several other areas given consideration.
As you can see, this has not been an easy decision
or a snap judgment.
been years of work on the part of staff and the court. Thank you. Darn it. My name
is Carol Cerrone and I am currently the president of the Rossmoor Pickleball
Club. These are my people. This is our community and we're very pleased to come
before you and ask for you to please give us the go-ahead on this. Some of us
are worried we're not going to make it until the new courts come in. So I had this whole
speech, everybody's already covered it. I don't want to bore you. What I do want to
say is that I do receive inquiries very often about when are these facilities going to be
built. People will not come until it is because they have other choices. And this affects
all of us not just Rossmore but Walnut Creek as well. So I'm hoping that they
will move to this retirement community of ours and also enjoy all of the
community service that we actually stand for in our club. We have pickleball for
Parkinson's I'm sure Nancy's going to talk about but also we do, gosh why am I
blanking on this. Food bank, Habitat for Humanity, we teach at junior highs, we
have written grants to give them nets and balls and paddles. We do so much
more than just play pickleball. We do have a great community. There is a lot
here to bring people in, but with this facility this will be a sought-after
destination for retirees because there is so much to offer it is a beautiful
beautiful place. Attracting pickleballers to our community is a plus they are
doers they are givers they will give you anything they can. They are volunteers at
heart and take part in the many community service platforms we provide
as a club. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening my name is Nancy Munson I'm a
resident of Rossmoor. 11 years ago my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's
disease. As his caregiver I had firsthand experience how debilitating this disease
is and how much my husband's quality of life continues to decline. Three years
ago I decided I needed to do more to help those affected with Parkinson's.
Since I love the game of pickleball, I decided to create a pickleball
tournament as a fundraiser for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in their
efforts to find a cure for this devastating disease.
Our first Rossmore pickleball for Parkinson's Tournament was in 2023.
On a hopeful goal of raising 15,000, we raised 56,000.
Last year, we exceeded our goal again and made $82,000.
My vision for this year and the future is to continue to expand such that we become
the most successful and recognized pickleball fundraiser in the state of
California. Unfortunately, as our current courts stand, we are limited to the
number of players that can participate. In order to expand and continue to grow,
we desperately need more courts, where we can invite persons of importance to
observe and play, along with being able to draw more pickleball players from
the Walnut Creek area. This is why the new facility of Rossmore is so important. I ask that you please
help our fundraiser Pickleball for Parkinson's reach this dream, which most importantly will
help those suffering with Parkinson's, but will also bring prominence to Rossmore and Walnut Creek.
Thank you. Hi, my name is Dana Eng and I'm a newcomer to Rossmoor. However, I was a commissioner
for the California State Historical and Recreation Commission. I have to say I understand the need
for quality recreation. I also applaud the exhaustive research that has gone in to consider
all the needs of Rossmore residents,
and I understand their question about noise
and the quality of their lives.
However, I need to shine a light
on what this club is all about
and what the people is all about.
I don't necessarily consider it a club necessarily,
but the actual quality of the people
that actually are involved.
We have dedicated coaches, mentors,
who teach pickleball from all novices
four or five days a week for intermediates,
for advanced players.
It's an amazing amount of volunteerism and spirit
that drives this.
They have fundraisers for Rossmore residents
who have needs, special needs.
They have fundraisers for schools,
for other charitable organizations.
It's not a selfish organization or club.
It's one that gives back as much as they receive,
and they share it with all.
There wouldn't be as many people enjoying it on the courts
if it wasn't for the fact that all these volunteers here
donate their time to get out there at 8 o'clock
in the morning, to do it several times a week, and constant.
It's just an amazing organization.
So I say this is not a selfish ask.
This is fulfilling a need that we have.
three courts and the two shared indoor courts for 600 plus members.
I think there's a need there, and I ask you for your consideration.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I am now out of speaker cards.
Is there somebody else that has not spoken before who would like to come forward and talk?
I'm Joe Hainer, and I live along Tice Creek Drive,
directly southwest of the Withers facility will be built.
You know, we're all seniors who purchased our homes
for the peace and serenity Rossmoor offers,
and excuse my allergies.
Our homes along the golf course are like an amphitheater.
We can hear people's voices when they're in the parking lot
across the golf course from us.
We can hear the existing three pickleball courts
which are almost a half mile away from us.
Everyone is aware of the problem created
by pickleball courts all over the country.
Now is the time during the design phase
to do everything possible to ensure that the pickleball facility is a good neighbor.
The sound study only addressed excessive sound, not the constant, repetitive sound that would
drone on every day for the neighbors making our patios and porches unusable and our property
values decline.
The sound study consultant stated that quiet paddles and quiet foam balls would minimize
sound impacts.
According to the USA Pickleball Association, quiet foam balls can reduce noise by 75%.
The USA PA now has a new category of approved quiet products.
There are several YouTube videos which illustrate the quieter, newer generation of foam ball.
In one video, a gamma librarian ball is shown to have the almost identical weight and bounce
of a plastic pickleball.
The Design Review Commission suggested the use of quiet balls and paddles.
We ask that you incorporate this in your final document.
We ask that you specify foam balls.
That is the only quiet ball on the market.
The Pickleball Club is resistant to the foam ball, but in a short time, they would get
used to it.
It's just the sound that's used to it that they would adjust to.
Thank you for your time.
Hi.
I'm Leslie Winslow.
that 2748 Tice Creek and I am directly across
the 18th hole from this building that they'd be building
and I would be looking directly at and hearing all of it.
So I just asking if, because I wasn't here
when they were designing this,
if they could maybe design an enclosed building
so that it would be quieter instead of a semi-open building
or in the very minimum use the quieter balls.
I don't know because I will hear everything that goes on
because I hear the golf course,
I hear the people in the parking lot, I hear all of it.
So I don't know that it wouldn't be,
it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for me.
Let me put it that way.
And my neighbors because we're all right there
directly across and would look right at it.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anybody else who would like to speak on this topic?
Hi there, my name is Steve Welty.
I'm a member of Rossmore through my mother passing away
over COVID, and we own the property there.
And I've become a recent pickleball player.
I'm a little nervous, excuse me.
I didn't think I was gonna do this.
But you know, in listening to everyone here,
and I really appreciate everyone's opinions,
but the exhaustive nature that this community,
Rossmoor, the Golden Rain Foundation,
I don't know these guys, but they've clearly done
so much work to make sure that they can satisfy
as much of the concerns that everyone has had
in building this.
You know, the one thing that occurred to me
through this whole thing is, you know,
rarely are there benchmarks that come along
where something can really change your life.
And I'm sure all of you know and are old enough
to remember what the phone was like before the iPhone
and before the electric car came about.
And I know it might sound silly,
but pickleball is one of those things
that frankly if you haven't played, you just don't know.
You just have no idea.
If you have played, then you do know.
And rarely does something come along
where all these people that have gotten up here and spoken
and have echoed the social impact,
the camaraderie that gets developed,
the volunteerism, it's insane what these people will do
for nothing, for love, basically, to help others.
When else in life can you, when you're 55 plus,
go find something that you can do
that literally studies have been done
that show that it extends your life.
As much as I appreciate the woman that says,
It may not be safe.
It's safe enough, and I'll take the risk.
So I just want you to consider that seriously, how often does
something come along where it can be so impactful for so many
people who could really choose to do.
Thank you.
Thank you.
OK, this is the last call.
One more, OK.
Raj Gidwani is my name.
I live in Ross, more obviously, in case you haven't noticed, I'm Indian.
I came to the U.S. at the right young age of 53, 2003, and came to San Diego then because
the kids were here.
We moved up to the Bay Area, and we were in Dublin, Dublin, California, and looking for
place and then somebody my my son's friends parents live in Rossmore so he
told us about Rossmore so we had a look and he said moving with old people
because I didn't look in the mirror then and we came up we bought the place and
we were a little apprehensive at the times and old people and jokingly when
And my friends asked me, where do you live in an old person's place?
I said, yeah, everybody there is between 60 and dead in Rossmoor.
And me and my wife, literally, we thought we were the youngsters there when we moved
in.
But it started growing on us.
Within a couple of months, we started to like the place.
I used to play a lot of tennis back in India, but I couldn't play anymore.
So I heard about Pickleball and I said, what the hell is that?
And then I found when I tried it that it is probably the easiest racket game that you
can play.
You can literally go with a paddle and start playing on day one.
And that game has given me more pleasure than most other things I've done in my life.
pickleball, ukulele club, line dancing.
Those are the three things that I do.
I'm from India, imagine.
How come it didn't go off?
So, uh, I-
Thank you, thank you.
The applause drunk out-
I'm from India, sorry.
Okay, anyone else?
Last chance.
Okay, I am going to close the public hearing
and bring it back to the Commission for comments
and possibly a motion or two.
Mr. Anderson.
Well, first of all, I just want to say that I've been
to a lot of meetings with, you know, full rooms like this
and it's rare, I don't know if you know how rare
to have, you know, two sides of an issue,
people passionate about it
and to have an actual civil discourse that is civil.
I've also learned some things, which is also nice.
One of the handouts that was given was about demographics at Rossmoor, and I learned that
my life expectancy and my age are the same.
Soaring thoughts.
If I'm going to play any pickleball, I have to start soon.
I did have a couple of questions, though.
First of all, I'd like to ask if staff has any comments on our very first speaker, if
you remember, was talking about an ordinance that she said was not fulfilled or complied
with.
If you have a comment on that.
Yes.
I think she addressed four points.
So I'm not going to go in.
Sorry.
She addressed four points.
I am not going to go in that order, because that was a long time ago.
One second, let me get to it.
The first, or one of the first points she mentioned was the parking.
The zoning in Rossmore doesn't address parking for accessory uses.
It addresses parking for the residential areas and it addresses parking for a public assembly.
So then we have to look at the parking that's in our current parking ordinance.
And the language in our parking ordinance says parking for accessory uses are determined
by the city's transportation administrator.
The city's transportation administrator determined that the site didn't need additional parking
stalls and all they needed was to submit a shared parking agreement which is I think
attachment A of your packet.
The other part she brought up, appendix B in the general plan regarding the voting or
the votes. So it states open space areas should not be used for any purpose other
than those specified in condition 3, which I'll get to in a second, of said
ordinance as enacted in 1977 unless first approved by the majority vote of
the eligible voters of Rossmore. So let's go to section 3 or condition 3.
Condition 3 states all areas designated as open space. Now remember the land use
where this pickleball court is going to be located is on the clubhouse areas not the open space areas
but it goes on to say the open space may also be used for additional clubhouse facilities
necessary appurtenances such as master television antennas and so forth the siding of these
facilities and appurtenances shall be subject to the approval of the planning commission
which is before you tonight. Her other point was the lot line adjustment. That was done.
That is a ministerial permit and actually I had the senior engineer for public works is here.
I'd like to call him up so he can comment on the lot line adjustment. It's right here.
This is the lot line adjustment right here. That was done. The reason it was done is because when
when they first submitted the pickleball facility
was designed across lot lines.
Good evening commissioners, Ryan Cook,
senior engineer with the city.
So very briefly as relates to the lot line adjustment,
the subdivision map act makes it a ministerial process
as it's just moving a lot line between two properties.
So it's not subject to discretionary review.
And since the proposed pickleball court was located
or originally proposed to be located on the property line,
they had to do a lot line adjustment for that.
And so per the city's requirements
and the application process they submitted,
it was reviewed by our surveyor for technical accuracy
and the city engineer issued a certificate of compliance
stating that it was accurate in terms of what they proposed
and so it was therefore recorded.
Thank you.
I think those were all of our comments.
Let me just, while I have you there, you touched on parking.
I assume that the analysis that was done was based on there being sufficient parking for
both uses, the event center and the pickleball facility, that the parking would satisfy the
needs of both.
Yes, yes.
And just an additional slide, so this is the definition of an accessory used in Walnut
Creek, a use that is subordinate and incidental to the main use of the site and which is located
on the same site as the main use.
The event center is a clubhouse use that was built and approved by the design review commission
in 2007 as part of a, I think they called it the Creekside complex project.
It was a clubhouse use.
The actual table tennis building
that was also went to the Design Review Commission in 2011
was an accessory use.
So we are being consistent with the existing zoning
and how we've treated accessory uses
or clubhouse uses at Rossbord.
I had another question for,
actually for the applicant to like to respond.
Some of the correspondents and some of the speakers
So, Commissioner Anderson, sorry, I'd recommend that Chair Stromman reopen the
public hearing because you have a question for the applicant. Okay. Oh, so
we're gonna have to reopen the public hearing for the applicant. Please come
forward and answer the question. Sorry about that. I just, some of the
correspondence in the last few speakers mentioned foam balls and foam paddles.
What is the, what is the, I mean it sounds like a nice solution for the noise issue.
What, why not?
Why not? You don't want to change the nature of a game, of a sport.
It would be like playing golf with a wiffle ball instead of with a golf ball.
You don't want to change what you're doing to accommodate that.
We believe that the solutions that we've come up with fully addressed the sound by adding the wall on the west side on the south side
So that the sport can continue on with the equipment that is supposed to be played with
Thank you. I actually have another question for the applicant
So the design review
Recommendation was that an acoustic study be done before and after
the pickleball courts are built to validate the use of sound panels and implement any necessary measures.
And I didn't see a plan for a follow-up sound study. So what's the thinking on that?
So at this point, we don't have a plan for a follow-up study. We believe that what we have
implemented and part of the design addresses everything in the recommendations of the study.
Should there be complaints afterwards from the neighborhoods? We would want to address those individually with those concerned citizens
Any other questions for the applicant?
Okay, since we are public public hearing has been reopened if you have not spoken before you're welcome to come up and talk now
Seeing none I am going to close the public hearing
And bring it back to the Commission for comments and possibly a motion
Commissioner Ward
I'd like to make a motion to approve design review tree removal and tree drippling encroachment permits application number Y
Commissioner Ward, sorry to interrupt, but we also need to adopt the CEQA
Exemption first. Okay, so if you your motion to adopt the resolution you will achieve that
So your motion should be to adopt the resolution that's in the packet
Does attachment one contain both of those things?
Yeah, it does cover that so all I need to do is make a motion to approve the resolution. Okay. Thank you
All right. So continuing on I
Like to make a motion to approve the resolution that's in attachment one for design review tree removal and tree dripline
encroachment permits application number y 2 3 dash 0 5 3
0 2 1 Stanley dollar Drive the pickleball resolution
That's my motion
as drafted.
Could I ask to amend that small point to clarify
that the closing time is 6 p.m. at the desk?
It's in there.
Okay, sure, I'll.
Go. Go.
Okay, as amended.
I second.
Okay.
Okay, will the Secretary please call the roll?
Yes, Commissioner Kwok.
Yes.
Commissioner Ward.
Yes.
Commissioner Klop. Yes. Commissioner Neeting. Yes. Vice chair Anderson. Yes. And chair
strongman. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Okay, should we take about a five minute break?
Sure. We're going to take a five minute break. So starting now. Okay, we're back on the record
for the Waller Creek Planning Commission and we're going down to commission considerations
with the election of the chair and vice chair. Do we have a nomination for chair?
Commissioner Ward. I'd like to nominate Brant Anderson as chair of the commission.
Second. Will the secretary please call the roll?
Yes, Commissioner Kwok? Yes. Commissioner Ward? Yes. Commissioner Klopp? Yes. Commissioner
Neeting? Yes. Vice Chair Anderson? Sure, yes. And Chair Strongman? Yes. Motion passes, thank you.
Thank you. And we'll move this right on over to...
the next order of business is to elect a vice chair and open to suggestions.
I'd like to nominate Pamela Needing as vice chair, please.
I'll second.
All right, if there's no further discussion, well, nominations. All the roll.
Okay, Commissioner Kwok? Yes.
Commissioner Ward? Yes.
Commissioner Klopp? Yes.
commissioner needy yes uh chair anderson yes and uh commissioner strongman yes thank you uh motion
passes i don't have the agenda up here but i think the next thing is uh thank you commission
yes staff reports of commission reports anything from staff
We don't have any announcements this week.
Thank you.
You're wonderful.
Good night.
Mr. Ward.
I just wanted to thank former Chair Strongman
for his excellent service in the past year,
leading an unruly band.
And I think you did a great job.
And I really appreciate the extra effort
it takes to be chair of the commission.
So thank you very much for your efforts over the past year.
On that score, I'd like to add that I appreciate
your excellent attendance.
Though I had very little training for him to do these.
And I'd like to add, it's been a pleasure serving.
Any other announcements?
If not, I believe the next item is adjournment.
If so, no objection, I'll adjourn.
Thank you.
All right.
Nicely done, everyone.