Remarks by Martin Pyne
165 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 7
- Play at 4:48
“Thank you, Chair. I move the consent calendar is submitted.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 17:16
“Thank you, Chair. Thank you, staff, for the presentation. Just one question. This project involves an ADU. Does state ADU law pay any bearing onto this?”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 49:46
“Thank you. This is actually a question to staff that was prompted by something that was mentioned by applicant. Does staff have any idea of just offhand of when the other two-story homes on Bedford were approved? Like was it before or after the current single-family home design guidelines?”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 50:19
“OK. Yeah. I didn't expect you to have that off the top of your head, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. I had some questions about it. how SF6 interacts here, just because there's language in there about transitional massing. And I'm not really sure how there would be transitional massing here, given that it's one story, have homes on both sides rather than one side. But I think that's a matter for later on in this proceeding. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 58:22
“I was watching the clock closely, and I think that appellant was only given three minutes.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 58:30
“So appellant should have two additional minutes if they wish to use it.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:00:26
“Thank you, Chair. Question to staff. Historically, when SF6 has been applied, how has that been interpreted for two-story homes that are adjacent to one-story homes? Because I thought appellant raised Interesting point regarding SF6, but I'm also struggling with how to apply it in this case because it's very much worded as transitional.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:01:46
“Yeah, no, thank you for that. I would actually have a rant about the vagueness of the standards, but I'm... But that's something that we spent a great deal of time addressing in previous hearings. So I am grateful that this is probably one of the last times you will be looking at this document.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:34:59
“Thank you. So this is zoned low-medium residential. Would it even be possible for a residential use of this property to happen without the building being torn down and redeveloped?”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:35:24
“But I would it be possible for any but Would it be possible for the are the like are these sweets even habitable? like would it be possible to even get an occupancy permit for any of these and”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:36:03
“Yeah, I appreciate staff is not willing to, is not going to speculate on this, but it was my instinct when I saw 1942 office building that it was not, it would not be likely that we could say no, it would not be likely that we could reasonably require a residential use in this one suite of buildings. the property, given its likely condition. I do think that's relevant and I do think that's relevant to the finding about achieving the objectives and purposes of the plans because I think you could make the argument that the thing that would most attain the objectives and purposes of the relevant…”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:37:31
“Yeah, that was obviously somewhat of a rhetorical question, but thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 1:52:08
“Thank you. I wanted to go back to the scoping question because of something I noticed in the municipal code that I want clarification on. So 19.98.220 which is the exclusionary zoning provision we've been discussing says And it's the section that says where the determination by the director of community development is made. And at the last sentence of that is, any decision by the director of community development regarding requested determination shall be in writing and shall be final. Now if we go back up to 1998-070A1, we get appeal of director decision to planning commission. Any person…”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 2:52:39
“Thank you, Chair. Thank you to everyone who came out tonight. This was a difficult case to come before us. And in this kind of situation, I just try to focus very closely on what we're being asked to do and what authority do we have to do it, what are the required findings and determinations to be made by the Planning Commission. While I'm sympathetic to appellants' claims of being previously denied in a similarly situated case, the fact of the matter is that is not before the Planning Commission tonight. What's in front of us tonight is the miscellaneous plan permit. by app by the applicant…”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:22:32
“thank you chair thank you staff for the presentation question under section 19.38.095 clauses a and b of the municipal code would it be possible for the planning commission tonight to okay and just for everyone that doesn't have the municipal code memorized uh clause a says that required undergrounding may be accomplished on a time schedule approved by the planning commissioner director of community development Clause B says that as conditions of approval for any use permit or special development permit, Planning Commission or City Council may impose undergrounding requirements other than…”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:24:10
“OKAY. SO I'M NOT, AGAIN, I'M NOT TRYING TO ADD THAT REQUIREMENT BACK. THE REASON I WANT TO WAVE IT UNDER 1938-095 IS THAT I THINK THE ARGUMENT THAT CREATES A PHYSICAL That's a physical issue. I have that code up somewhere. But I think it's a very creative argument, and I think we would, and I would want to, physically precluding, that's the word. I think the argument used is creative, and I would prefer to just not get into it, and I'd strongly prefer to use 19.38.095.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:25:28
“Can we set the time schedule to be one billion years?”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:26:02
“So PG&E is an investor-owned utility, correct? Yes. Would it be possible, theoretically, if somebody was really, really rich to buy PG&E and prioritize their project? I'm not saying likely. I'm saying physically possible.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:26:35
“Respectfully, I believe that not allowing physically to grow to essentially turn into surpluses is in the interest of the commission. And I'm concerned that we are basically reading the word physically out of the government code 65915E1.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:27:09
“I'm just saying I feel there's an avenue to do this under the municipal code. Okay, next question. Given the noted PG&E shortages, is staff planning to come back to Planning Commission and eventually City Council with an ordinance suspending the requirements for undergrounding transformers?”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:27:53
“Is the director of community development planning on taking this scenario into consideration for future application of 1938-095F and G1?”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:28:25
“Because I will say that I do not think it is in the public interest to be, it is not in the public interest to be making or to have municipal code requirements that are infeasible to me. It's not, I, and at the same time, it's not in my view in the public interest to be making I I think it is I think we I think we are I think we are bending over back. I think there are appropriate ways to address this and I feel like we're not using any of them right now, which I have a problem with. So my next question on a completely different, well, it's related but it's not this. Waiver number 12,…”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:30:28
“I look forward to the applicant explaining how that is a material loss, an actual loss of units. But I have a major problem, but The language in the sheet we got, L6, says what I said. It says transformers will be screened using shrub planting. I would like to know why the materials we got were incorrect.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:31:01
“This is the bottom right corner of the page. It would not be in order. This is for staff questions. You can speak to it in your 10 minutes.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026
- Play at 3:31:31
“I'm referring to the submitted plans, sheet L6, the bottom right corner.”
Planning Commission · Aug 31, 2026