Remarks by Robert Dickson
67 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
- Play at 2:38:38
“Right. But there was a tremendous amount of effort that went into how they looked. And I watched every single one of those meetings. I specifically remember at that point, I think it was, I don't remember if she was a planning commissioner or a council member, Foley holding up the thing and saying, is it going to look like this? And assured that it would. So these things are important. We just completely revamped a lot of these standards. Three days to review them. And now we're going to be applying those to urban plans area as well. So I just want to make sure that we're, you know, that was…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:24:08
“Just a quick follow up to that. one of the things we've always had is the flexibility with variances and other things like that for these unique situations, because we've always seemed to have a really unique situation. So we're not losing that flexibility, right?”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 3:24:56
“WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET ONE SIZE FITS ALL. I'M CONCERNED WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT. I KNOW WE NEED OBJECTIVE DESIGN STANDARDS BUT ONE SIDE NEVER FITS ALL. WE'VE GOT A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT. THANK YOU.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:02:22
“AND THE OBLIGATORY SUBSTITUTE MOTION THAT WE CONTINUE THIS TO THE NEXT MEETING SO WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT COMMISSIONER MARTINEZ SAID IN FULL AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AS A COMMISSION TO ACTUALLY REVIEW THESE DOCUMENTS AND GO THROUGH THEM. I GOT THIS THURSDAY AND I DO THIS FOR A LIVING AND I'VE BEEN READING IT FURIOUSLY. I don't know where the P is. This cake is not baked and it's clear from the motion that was made and the second and the discussion that we are not ready to recommend anything. I know we probably will. I hope I get a second, but my motion is to continue this…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:16:17
“Do you want to speak to the substitute or wait until that vote happens?”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:16:24
“I did really quickly, but I just wanted to reiterate, and I'm not trying to just throw a wrench in the works because everybody knows there's some things I'm not happy about in this, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. But we get an extraordinarily detailed letter from one of the largest parcels in the subject area yesterday. And, you know, I really strongly think that I understand the pressures staff has been under. I understand the pressures we are under as far as timing goes. But that is, I hate to keep saying this because it sounds so trite, but the whole reason we're here is the…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:28:06
“Should we ask the other commissioners to submit any questions or comments they have directly to Director Tire or to the entire commission beforehand just so we can kind WHATEVER IS NOT VIOLATING THE BROWN ACT.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:28:23
“IF ANYBODY WANTS TO PROVIDE MORE COMMENTS IN THE FRONT END SO WE CAN.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 4:28:34
“ABSOLUTELY. I JUST MEANT AS FAR AS IF WE HAD QUESTIONS THAT WE GIVE STAFF TIME TO PREPARE. SUBMIT THOSE PRIOR TO THE MEETING. OR AT THE MEETING. Economize.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 0:27
“THANK YOU. ADDRESS THE FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 1:04:36
“JUST A QUICK, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS STILL OPEN FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND STILL DRAFT. It would be extraordinarily helpful if in the staff report we had summary tables for all of this stuff. Like, I was a little surprised that the table of the sites didn't have the number of associated units, right, or the APNs or things like that. So just, that would be tremendously helpful so we wouldn't have to page through this thing furiously and with a bunch of post-it notes to get to the information that's really relevant. to what we're actually talking about so I think it's really important to show in…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 1:09:45
“All right, thank you, I appreciate that.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 1:37:59
“Thank you. And I'm not going to do a substitute motion tonight because I think we have a good motion and a second along with some commentary. I'm not going to be supporting this as well. And not because I'm just against what's, we need to certify our housing element. But I think we have to be realistic with how we got here. And To the credit of the staff sitting in front of me, you inherited this problem. And I get it. And Director Tai, this has been going on for years before this team was assembled and before this process started. But we've blown either intentionally or by unintentional or…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 2:13:05
“IS THERE A BREAKDOWN OF THE COMMENTS RECEIVED? ARE THEY IN THE APPENDIX SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHO COMMENTED ABOUT WHAT AND WHAT THEY SAID?”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 2:13:44
“Okay, that's my question for right now. One more thing on the publicly accessible open space. So I can see that like for instance, let's just say over by anywhere where there's a place where people gather at lunch or whatever, if it's a private development that has picnic tables or some other area, it could be a shopping center, like it could be Metro Point, it could be something like that. If there's not a public recorded easement of some sort, will the property owner be able to dictate or determine what happens in that open space? So if I wanted to go set up a pickup soccer game in the…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 2:15:21
“What I'm trying to get at is that, and it could be soccer, it could be badminton, it could be model rocketry, who knows, but it's... It's a privately controlled public space that has significant liability and security and other implications for the private property owner. And so I'm just trying to understand if we're giving, if we're, for instance, one of the things that was talked about in the presentation was that we could give up all of the private open space if the developer discerned that they wanted to convert all the private open space to publicly accessible open space. So the nature…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 2:17:32
“Thank you. And then the other question I had was regarding oh Gosh now I lost it As far as the town center application of the mood to the town center general plan or zoning current zoning district That is a very tightly controlled specific plan sub area and it's been it's been that way for quite some time and so that seems like a Was that covered was that has that been thoroughly discussed with all of the stakeholders and property owners and everybody over there and”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 2:18:40
“All right, thank you. All right. Any more questions?”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 2:52:09
“Thank you. So just a few overarching comments. I really appreciate the public comments because it underscores, you know, just a super brief aside. When I was originally appointed to the Planning Commission, I think in 2011, one of the first things we did was hold a study session because the Westside Urban Plans had been sitting on the shelf. I know I told some of you this before. And what we heard was from a huge crowd of folks who actually build things that there was – they loved the – the idea behind them, but there were specifics in there that were a problem. And so what Claire Flynn, who…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 41:05
“WE HAVE A LETTER FROM SAFER, SUPPORTERS ALLIANCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. HAS STAFF HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THAT LETTER AND ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED REGARDING THE inadequacy of the responses and comments?”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 43:49
“Okay. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION. I'M GOING TO WITHHOLD ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS UNTIL AFTERWARDS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT OUT RIGHT OFF THE BAT BECAUSE THAT WAS PRETTY SPECIFIC AND THERE ARE OTHER COMMENTS AS WELL IN HERE, BUT THAT WAS ONE I WANTED TO GET RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE. THANK YOU.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:08:37
“So for the the conceptual site plan, in a specific plan, if you could just for the public's understanding, explain conceptual site plan is PERSPECTIVE IT'S NOT SET IN STONE THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A BASEBALL DIAMOND THERE THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE THESE SPECIFIC BUILDINGS NECESSARILY IN THAT SPECIFIC LOCATION ET CETERA RIGHT BECAUSE I KNOW I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT SPORTS FIELDS BEFORE AND THAT WAS KIND OF SHOT DOWN BY THE STATE SAYING WE COULDN'T REALLY HAVE A SPORTS COMPLEX BUT I JUST I JUST WANT FOLKS BEFORE THE COMMENTS BEFORE THEY COMMENT TO UNDERSTAND A WHAT THE CONCEPTUAL SITE PLAN IS FOR…”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:09:41
“Thank you, and then the I THINK THAT'S GOOD FOR RIGHT NOW. I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT. AND THEN THAT'S GOOD FOR RIGHT NOW. I'LL GET MORE COMMENTS LATER. THANKS.”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:13:22
“okay on the parks i'm sorry i forgot to ask this on the last one all right commissioner when we were talking about in lieu fees and park dedications and land purchases and things like that just that's not within the specific plan area right is that citywide or is that within the specific plan area so the specific plan has a short-term implementation action for the city to”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:14:11
“Because we're talking about open space within the specific plan area, but the compensation for that could be open space in some other location in the city. Is”
PLANNING COMMISSION · Aug 10, 2026