you you you you you you you I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to welcome everybody to the March 10th, 2025 East Palato Planning regular session. At this time, I'd like to see if we can get roll call. Commissioner Allen Fisk. I'm here. I'm here, good evening. Chair May Shack. President. Commissioner Brahlaston. President. Commissioner Manette. President. Commissioner Braveston. President. Commissioner Manette. President. Commissioner Hernandez. President. Commissioner Mendes is absent. Commissioner Smith. President. I'm sorry. I said. I want to move on to the agenda. If I may, sorry. So before you approve the agenda. There was a we wanted to add an item onto the agenda for informational report week. Thank you. And so I guess with the approval of the agenda, just to add that as a item. We have just a moment to point of order. We've got someone that has a mic on. Can we please turn the microphone off? Is it on a laptop? We've got feedback. Hello, that's better. No, with shorts like there. Okay. Well, let's move on. Sorry about that, Elena. Thank you. So I guess the next step would be for you for the commission to approve the agenda with that one addition to the agenda. Thank you. At this time, we'd like to add an item to the agenda. The planning commission. Some of us anyway, I've had an opportunity to attend the. Any commission, Academy and Santa Rosa and we'd like to add to the agenda a brief comment by one of our commissioners as to the his experience at that at that academy What that said can I get an approval to the agenda? Move with the addition. Yeah, we got a proper move and second chair. Yes. I'm sorry, just to also maybe officially identifying the record that Commissioner Smith is a voting member since Commissioner Mendes is having used absence. I think we did recognize that Commissioner Mendes was excused and Commissioner Smith will be a voting member of the Commission for tonight. Thank you. I'm at this time. We've got a proper move and second. All in favor? Hi. No polls. Approval of the agenda is carried. Next item on the agenda is the public comment. Thank you. Thank you chair. I just have two brief announcements. One is that on Saturday the city health community workshop and a city council goal setting study session. The public and the council discuss priorities and concerns and offered ideas for the city's future. The session was facilitated by Matt Rainy, a Rainmean Associate, the city's consultant. The next step will be a follow-up to the city session on April 22nd where staff will incorporate what was heard from the session as well as other pop-ups from both the council and the public. They will refine the vision and strategic priorities and develop a work plan for the first two years of the four-year plan. The packet and the meeting can be viewed on the city's website for under meetings. And then so that's the first item. The second item is that the development code update will be going to the city council for second reading on March 18th. The packet has been posted and is available for review. So once the, if the item is approved on March 18th, the development code update will be effective 30 days afterwards. And that concludes step support. Thank you, Elena. I'd like to back up and get approval of the consent calendar. I stepped on my own feet this evening. I'd like to receive a motion to approve the consent calendar. I'm on the approve. Thank you. Welcome back in. Thank you. We've got a proper move and second, all in favor of approving the consent calendar. All right. Hi. App staying so was in there. Thank you and I believe there's was two abstains. To the chair. Yes. It's quite annoying with the echo that we got going on in here. And I'm wondering, I know the commission has probably got all their phones turned it. I think we have a thank you Curtis. Commissioner Monette. Again, approval of consent calendar. We had two abstinence. I don't know if you can second. Motion to approve. Thank you. Second. Properly moved the second. All in favor. Aye. Motion carried next item on the agenda is the addition to the agenda that I at request a commission one that would you give us a quick brief of the meeting. Yes, for myself and several other members of the planning commission we're able to attend the CalCities Planning Commission's Academy. There it is. for 2045 and it was a good experience at least coming from a new member. I was able to understand a little more of the new regulations that are coming down from the state. So there was a brief overview on a lot of those new newer regulations and further explanation of the current ones. just good experience overall to see how to interact, how other cities also interact between city councils and planning commissions and also the public and even developers. So it's just a good overview. I think it was very beneficial. Thank you for that. Again, I think knowledge is power and it was an excellent excellent opportunity for us to as you said network to understand how other cities work and so thank you for bringing that to the city. Next item on the agenda is public comment. Are there any comment or public strips? I don't have any hands and I don't have any slips. Thank you. We'll move forward to the next item. Special presentations staff. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. So this item basically consists of two items. The first is the Housing Element Annual Precious Report, which is report back with a very detailed report and implementation of the newly adopted housing element. And that's submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development. The second item is a General Plan Annual Progress Report, which reports back on the implementation of the General Plan minus the housing element. And that will be submitted to the OPR. And they actually have a new name, which Michelle will describe. I think we'll turn it over to your hire a Morales for the housing element and then Michelle will present on the general plan APR. Hi, good evening Chair and the members of the Applying Commission. My name is Michelle and tonight I'll be presenting the 2024 Annual Progress Report with your Hyramuralist, the housing project manager, and we'll be sharing the 2024 progress on the housing element and the general plan. And I'll pass it to your Hyram to start the housing element progress summary. Thank you, Michelle. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for having us today. Like we mentioned, we will be presenting the annual Housing Element and the General Progress Report. What is the Housing Element? The Housing Element pretty much is a critical part of our local government general plan that outlines how our city will meet the housing needs of its community. It is required by state law and must be updated periodically to ensure that the housing policies align with a population growth, affordability, and sustainability goals. So I know that I put a couple of bullet points, but I just wanted to summarize pretty much what the housing element is. Next slide, Michelle. So, this year we are reporting on our RENA6, which is 2023 to 2031. Last year's APR covered 2014 to 2023. that was Rina 5. For the ISPALAL2 housing, Rina 5, the one that we will be, Rina 6, sorry, the one that we'll be reporting on, the number of units doesn't change, right? And so we need to submit our annual progress report by April 1st. That happens every year. It tracks the number of units in development for which building for men was issued in the previous year. It tracks in its county, it tracks what numbers goes to Rina. It tracks our housing element, work plan items, and it tracks project like SB 35, density bonus, et cetera. Next slide. So, the San Mateo, this is the 2024 San Mateo County income limits that was released last year and it runs all the way until this year I think will be updated by July I believe I'm not 100% sure but I can get back to you on that one. So the RIN-5, the RIN-5 is divided into four income categories that encompass all levels of housing needs. The HCD publishes the income data for all the counties each year. So please note that the RIN-5 does not include extremely low income as a separate category. Income levels up to 50% of the area of the area median income are included in the very low income category. So for example, the median income is 103,238 a year in this poll also compared to 151,485 countywide. And then next line mission. And then 2024, Rina progress. This is what we have so far. 2023, we had a total of 14. And then in 2024, it went up to 49. And in the next slide, this is how it will appear when we submit in April or before April. This is how the tables look like. So right now we are in Reno6, so we are counting 2023, 2024, and the next year we will be doing 2025. And then I will pass that on to you, Michelle, for the entitlements. Thank you, Hyrule. So the city received and also completed three SB9 projects in the year of 2024, one SB 35 project extension. And we have issued 2880 building permits in the year of 2024. So there are three pipeline projects listed in 2023. That was that were presented last year in this chart. Those three were approved in 2024 as shown on their chart. So 172 on a whole 1201 running meet and 739 Shembre and 75 Shembury. Those three projects were approved, and currently we have eight residential projects under review and estimating about 1,183 units in the pipeline. Pass it on to your hire. So, In 2023, 2580 use received build impermanence. Now in 2024, 2880 use received build impermanence. As I mentioned, the changes in state law and city initiatives on ADUs have led to an increase in applications received, so we are seeing an increase each year in terms of how many ADUs are receiving their building permit or adjusting the existence ADUs and making sure that they are up to code. Next slide. So this is a little bit more about the housing element and the rena. The housing element and the rena are closely linked because the housing element must demonstrate how our local government plans to meet its rena housing goals. So what is it in tail? It creates more housing that is affordable, it creates home ownership opportunities, it creates more housing opportunities for special needs households including large households, people at risk or experiencing homelessness or individuals with disability. It improves transparency and communication between the city and public housing issues. And one of the biggest things is that it tries to prevent displacement on residents. So I think only that's one of the biggest thing it's it prevents displacement. It preserves existing affordable and rent stabilized housing. And then back to you, Michelle, I think for the general plan snapshot. Thanks, Johira. So in addition to the housing element, the general plan includes a high level policies to direct decision making, as well as a list of implementation programs to the city that carries out the accomplished policy and regulatory goals. Currently there are a total of 101 programs identified on the implementation program tracker. 19% of the programs are completed and 54% of the programs are currently in progress and 27 of the programs are currently in the pipeline. And the city may significant progress on many projects in 2024, which I'll provide a short summary in the next slides. Some of the major highlights for the planning divisions in 2024 included the city and environmental justice element updates that begin in the summer of 2023 as part of the general plan update. Throughout 2024, the planning division and collaboration with placework and climate-resilling communities conduct the extensive community outreach. Staff participated in two community meetings or community events in April and May 2024, featuring interactive mapping, exercise to identify safety and environmental justice concerns or issues in the community. And multi-language, multi-langual workshops were also held and surveys collected of 266 responses from September 2024 to mid-January 2025 to gather the input on to gather community input on the safety and environmental justice issues or concerns. So another key highlight would be the Ravenswood four-corner transit oriented development specific planned. The city updated the specific plan to guide future growth with a focus of transportation infrastructure, urban design, affordable housing and community benefits. The goal is to create a walkable downtown generating jobs, parks, trail, housing, and municipal revenues and community benefits. The goal is to create a walkable downtown, generating jobs, parks, trail, housing, and municipal revenues and committee benefits. On December 17, 2024, City Council formally adopted the plan along with the updates to the East Polo Alto Development Code to ensure consistency. And in 2024 and 2025, city amended its accessory dwelling unit regulations to become forum with state laws government code 65852.2 and 65852.22. And also refine the development code. These amendments address the ADU day care uses fence and hedge height and process clarification within the development code. The Planning Commission reviewed the update in November 2024 and the city council approved the first reading in February 2025 with the second reading schedule for March 18th, 2025. Here are some of the key highlights from the Public Work Transportation Infrastructure Programs and Projects, which one consists of the Parking Permit Pilot Program. The 2020 Mobility Study recommended a permit parking program to help allocate on-street parking among residents and encourage the use of off-street parking. The study found that most of the East Pawel Alto neighborhoods experienced some levels of parking challenges, and a permit program was identified as a potential solution. The proposed residential permit parking program outlines the procedure for designing and establishing permit parking areas, issuing residents and guests permits, enforcing parking regulations, and removing permit parking areas when necessary. Public work to work with hexagon transportation consultants to draft the ordinance. And it was presented to the Public Work and Transportation Commission on December 2023. And then following by that, the Public Work and Transportation Commission recommended the ordinance for the City Council adoption. The ordinance was introduced to City Council on June 18th, 2024, with a study session held on November 12, 2024. And Public Work anticipates to have the first reading of the ordinance in mid-March of 2025. And another key highlight for public works would be the water system master plan that prioritized the University Avenue and Week Street Water Main project with a notice to proceed issued on April 29th, 2024. The projects include installing 13 new fire hydrants, 163 new service connectors, and upgraded water mains along University Avenue, Weeks, and Coulee Avenue. These improvements will further enhance fire flow capacity to meet Melopark Fire Department standards for commercial areas along University Avenue and East Bayshore Road while also replacing aging infrastructures. The completion is expected by May 19th, 2025. One of the projects that we also would like to highlight is the water and main replacement project that started in 2020 to replace aging meters and upgrade residential meter sizes. The new meters uses radio frequency technology for remote reading, which improves efficiency in billing, consumption tracking and leak detection. and to currently there are 2500 60 meters that have been installed and replaced and currently remaining with 1300 16 for the 2025 installation. Finally, staff recommends the commission to adopt a resolution recommending that the City Council to review and accept the 2024 Housing Element annual progress report and 2024 General Plan annual progress and direct staff to submit the 2024 Housing Element annual progress report and the General Plan progress report to the appropriate state authorities and find that the project is exempt from SIKOA Section 15061 B3 and 15306. Staff concludes the presentation and is available for questions. Thank you. Thank you very much for that presentation. Good job. Commission. I've kind of clues to presentation and is available for questions. Thank you. Thank you very much for that presentation. Good job. Commission, are there any questions with regard to the information we've received from staff on both the housing element APR and the issues in the general plan APR? Yes, commissioners, man. I have a question that I think it's on page four versus what's in the packet, the table and San Mateo County 2024 San Mateo County income limits differ. And our packet says 41, 150 versus 39, 150 just for an example. I was just one of which is more accurate, which is the correct one. To the chair, it would be, I believe it would be the one on the packet. Right. It's one to make sure. Thank you for pointing that out. And I'll try to get some other questions. That was the fastest one. Thank you. Why are you trying to get to your others? Are there any other questions from the commission? A couple of minutes. Commissioner Smith. Are you good? Are you good? Through the chair, quick question in terms of the the ADU units. Do we have the ability at all to track at the end of the day what's happening with those units and where I'm coming from is are they actually adding to existing housing stock and And, or are they just being used by existing homeowners to sort of expand their household space, if you will? Because I guess we can sort of go two directions, right? Somebody could rent one out if they wanted or occupy it. As I said, as it, like an extension of the existing household, so is there a net? And And the number that potentially could be tracked that we'd have an idea as to how effective the ADU program is in that regard. Thank you for that question. That was certainly something staff has discussed, especially with the county. This is an issue for pretty much all cities, but specifically our county as well. So that's something that we're working on with the AD working group. And then the city also has a rent registry that we're working on right now. So hopefully some are between all those two actions we'll be able to find that answer to that question. Okay, thank you. Commissioner Smith. In regards regards to ADU also has there been a push to get additional funds per grant received from HCT or anywhere because I know $2 million is supposedly a lot of money but it's only for ADUs. I think. Currently I don't believe there are any actually there I think you hire might be able to speak to this but there was that one program that the city was working on that that did provide some funding for for some homeowners but other than that you know we're still I think we're oh go ahead you hire ahead, you're sorry. Yeah, you're on the right track. We actually had our call home loan program. And that is coming to an end this summer. However, we are lying for the supernova actually this week. And to exit the, the amount that was requested initially. So previously the CAD was for 100,000 per applicant that they can have to, I mean, sorry, to build their ADUs, but now it will be up to 250 per applicant so that they can continue to be with their ADU. In the call home loan program that we currently have and it's still active, there were two residents that benefit from that program and they were able to build their ADU through that program. So yeah, in essence we are applying and making sure that we continue to seek supernovas and grants that would allow us to provide more support to the residents and their ADU plans. Do you think this will go past 2025-2026? Well, if we do get granted for a second time, then we will continue to work and ensure that, you know, residents are aware of the program, so that's sensitive if it will pass on to 2020-25. And the next year, because the current one that we have, it's coming to an end this summer. It would be beneficial since the general plan goes to 2035 with everything else is going on. So thank you. Absolutely. Thank you. To the chair. Yes. Uh, yes. So it's a question for staff. Um, Elena, uh, I understand that EPA can do has a contract to keep track of the BMR units. Uh, does that also include the AD units as well? So EPA Candus contract is for deed restricted housing units so they help manage those units for the city. If an ADU was a deed restricted unit then that would fall under that but then the city does have the city and the county is working with an ADU working group and EPA Candus participates on this program. So we're continuing working with as many partner agencies as we can to help facilitate construction of ADUs to problem solve and also to look for other funding opportunities. Thank you. Any other questions? Yeah. Or could you put a, did you put up slip in? Would you please? Could you put a speaker's slip in please? We're not. Yes, thank you. I have a question for, for your horror, if I may. I appreciate the information that you've given to this body and the community that's on the call now. But I want to just make sure that the communication to the community is robust, such that those who have been on either on the fence to take advantage of opportunities to increase the housing stock in the city have kind of wavered because of the cost and the commissioner said the limited amount of grant money to build it, it would be great if we made sure that that number, that the process is community. I know you guys have done a really good job of it, but it's want to make sure that we continue to do the same, you know, kick the same effort out and maybe even become even more robust because with that size of grant, I'm sure that we can take advantage and increase what we're looking to do, or what other members of the community want to do with respect to ADUs. Thank you for the positive observation. I do also believe that we've been doing a great job by making sure that the residents are aware of the opportunities that we continue to push through, that we continue to push through our communication, what page, newsletters. But I also want to recognize that EPA can do is the one that administer our program and they have done also an amazing job in sending out males, making sure that they also provide webinars to the members of the building division that they are that they present a cohesive amount of information that will make sure that the residents feel encouraged to apply and benefit from the programs that we have. So yes, we will continue to do that. And hopefully we continue to see our numbers increased. But you know, like anything in life, everything is, you know, tentative and we can only do our best and to try to pursue what's out there for the city. So thank you. Thank you, thank you for the work. And again, I recognize the output to the community for opportunities like this. The city's done a really good job. And so again, I think I just wanted to stress how important it is to make sure that all members of the community have that information. I understand so that you want to speak. You missed the opportunity to speak about anything that's not on the agenda. I apologize. Where you wanted to speak would be called public comment. And again, that would be the opportunity, the community to speak on anything that's not already agendas. We've already moved past that point, and so we're going through the agenda now. I think if you could come back or come tomorrow to the city council and get in early enough so that if you have something that you want to let the city know about that would be the best opportunity. Thank you though. To the chair? Yes. If I may make a suggestion, since we had no public comment, why don't we just move the public comment to follow the special presentation? We've already agreed to follow the agenda as it is. We all voted on it, and it's been a motion that's carried. But thank you for your suggestion. And again, I believe there's no other questions or comments with respect to the APR for both the housing element. About there. I think here's seven more. Four and a half. Iings are going. Holdings. Holdings. I'm going to be playing them. I was in the middle of that you. Always, good and cheap. Try to do my thing. Thank you, sir. Dolly noted. Dolly noted. Sir, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you, brother. Like I said, this isn't the place of the time for that particular comment. But thank you for thank you for your thank you for your voice. Your voice sir your voice means something. Your voice means something. I've given you an opportunity. I've given you a suggestion to actually voice what's inside. No, no, let me finish. Let me finish the voice. What's inside you? You've got you've got a lot to come out. This isn't the right time. I've that you come back tomorrow, the same place. City Council starts at six o'clock. Six o'clock. Be here at six o'clock tomorrow. You'll get an opportunity to say what's inside you. Okay? Thank you, sir. Thank you very, very much. Okay, so moving back to the agenda. I'd like to, you have a comment. I'd like to entertain a motion to accept the staff's recommendations and then have someone read those recommendations out into the record. So moved. Do I have a second? It's been moved in second. All in favor? So would you, since you made the motion, would you read it out, please? Thank you. Yes, I made the motion to adopt the resolution recommending that the City Council review and accept the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report and the 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report and direct staff to submit the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report and the 2024 General plan annual progress report to the appropriate state authorities and find that the acceptance of submittal is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Control Act. Thank you very much, Commissioner. So it's been properly moved and seconded and approved, ready to the record. Next item on the agenda is number six, public hearing? Yes. Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to clarify, I think the council tomorrow, I believe, starts at 630. Thank you. He'll be early. He'll get his chances. He'll be here on time. Thank you. Appreciate that. Staff. Thank you. So the next item is a design review amendment for University Circle. And this is basically modification to that central area and then also facade improvements for the project in Alvin Jen, Associate Planner, we'll provide the presentation. Thank you. Thank you, Elena. Can the commissions in audience see the presentation? Great. Good evening, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the commission. City staff, members of the public. My name is Alvin Jen, tonight I am presenting to you University Circle Cafe Design Review Project DR24-007. This is a presentation for tonight. Background of the project site, the surrounding area, the proposed project, summary and findings, California Environmental Quality Act, or SIKWA, and Staff's recommendation. Background slide is the applicant owner, is LBA Wheelat it's LLC the owner is University Circle LP the addresses of the projects or the project is 1900 1950 2000 University Avenue and the inner circle General Plan designation is office these zoning is commercial office surrounding land uses is US 101 to the north, parks and recreation zone to the south. US 101 off ramp to east commercial neighborhood and high density residential to the west. And the red circle is the general project area on your screen. Existing conditions. The site itself, there's consists of three office buildings, one hotel, one above grade parking garage, one below grade parking garage, and a surface parking area. The inner circle is a landscape recreational area approximately 21,000 square feet of space. Currently, it uses tenant amenity and includes a 4,300 square foot water feature. University Circle Phase 2 was a entitled project. This is a 180,000 square foot six-story office building. There will be be above three level, three level. That's a typo, sorry about that. This will be a three story parking structure along with a 97,000 square foot surface parking lot. And this was approved entitlement through City Council May 2022 along with the certification of the final EIR. The existing and proposed project area and the reason why we're here tonight is under East Palo Alto Municipal Code, 18.86 tables seven dash two, additions new construction or modifications over 1,000 square foot requires a plan commission decision. The proposed project includes enclosing and existing 2285 square foot structure, which you can see in your top the top image. And that's the steel structure. And what the proposed project involves is enclosing a portion of that structure into a 1500 and one square foot cafe. This also involves a 202 square foot expansion to the rear, which is a north area of the existing structure. Target customers is for the current tenants and employees. However, it is open to the public. The intended business model is a grabbing go type of business, not a full kitchen, pre-prepare food, sandwiches and whatnot. And again, open to the public. This is basically showing the proposed floor plan. So in the red area shows bathrooms, kitchen prep area. There's a tenant service counter along with indoor seating. There's going to be 14 seats below and the southwest portion of that site of the red area. There is a underground mechanical and additional storage. And that's roughly around 200 square feet in the blue highlighted area. It's where the waste receptacles will be along with some mechanical areas and in the orange yellow will be a covered outdoor seating area and that's about 20 seats. And then along with the red and orange area, that's basically the existing footprint of that structure that you saw on the previous slide. These are just showing elevations of the proposed sites and showing just how it would look like. The top image is basically showing how you would enter the university circle and that basically it would show transparency through the glass curtain wall. The height itself, it's just a minor increase from 12 feet to 13 feet four inches. Majority of the walls are gonna be glass curtain wall or in stucco. The roof itself is going to be a dark color seam metal. The frame will be repurposed and painted dark to match the proposed roof material. And then underhang will be this claster, acrylic plaster material. And then the elevation on the bottom image actually is showing where you would look between buildings 1900 or 1950 and 2000. This is the existing landscaping. The areas in white is where the proposed work will be done. The areas that you're going to write are just primarily trees. within the circle itself you see the existing structure that's going to be repurposed into the cafe. And this area is approximately 8400 square feet. And the proposed landscape for the circle area will increase to 11,790 square feet. There is some of you may know there's an existing water feature that is located within the circle. This will be this will no longer exist after this if this project were to be approved. That is approximately 40 40 to 100 square feet. There are 47 trees that have been identified and they all are protected as defined under East Palo Alto Municipal Code 18.28.020. And the 28 trees proposed to be removed, 14 are a crate mertle and 14 are European horn bean. This is the proposed landscape plan. So the new project area, as I mentioned, is 11,790 square feet. This will be an increase of 3,300 square feet on new landscaping, providing more permeable areas. There will be 14 replacement trees for a crate myrdal, for our non-fruiting, fruiting olive trees, three live coast oak, and three lace bark elm. And staff wants to note that the three live oak and the three lace bark elm are 60 inches buck trees. So much larger than what their proposal be removed. The rest of the trees that are will be mitigated that they're not replacing is through a fee. And this agreed upon with the city's consultant garbage and that will be $20,000. Sorry, $20,200. Remaining landscaping will be shrubs, plants, grasses. There's also going to provide some additional seating, concrete, concrete brow walls. There's going to be some wood top seat walls, planter walls, and then the wood decking so that you see the oval area right there and towards the northern part of the site plan, that's gonna be all wood decking. So there's gonna provide some cohesiveness between the building facades, which I'm gonna introduce in the later slides. So these are proposed building facade changes. So what you see on the top slide is what's existing right now. Some of the building entryways are somewhat hidden and not as prominent. So what the applicant is proposing is to make some minor facade changes, create, introduce some wood elements along with canopies. So these changes will be done to buildings 1900, 1950, and buildings 2000. And in total, that is a little over 1,000 square feet of facade changes. So some of this proposed materials to soften the look of the building, some cohesiveness between the inner circle and the rest of the buildings. Like I mentioned, a more prominent entryway and the material will tie into what's proposed in the inner circle as well in the landscaping areas. Some of your findings, the CAFE is consistent with this at 2035 general plan, specifically goals W4 and W5 of chapter 11 of the west side area plan. The changes will help promote new retail opportunities, new tenants, retain existing tenants, update the look and feel of the complex. So the proposed cafe is an accessory food use that's incidental to the primary use of the complex, which is office. The proposed cafe landscaping changes and building facade designs are tied together and with complementary materials. And it's not located in the flood zone. So no flood issues. Parking proposed cafe and the outdoor seating requires 19 parking spaces. Currently the total of existing spaces is 1383, 1194 for office and then 189 for hotel. And under East Palo Alto, Minnesota code 18.30.020B, additional parking only applies if the change in use and enlargement or intensification of existing use creates a need for more than 10% of off-street parking spaces. So the cafe use creates a need for approximately 1% need if you take that 19% divide by the existing total available, so that's where the 1% comes in. So therefore no additional parking is required because it doesn't qualify for that. Sequel, California Environmental Quality Act, this staff believes that the project is Category Exempt under Section 15301 Class 1 of the SQL Guidelines. Exempts a continued operation of existing facilities involving negligible use or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination. The proposed cafe use is customarily incidental to the primary use of the complex. Conditions of approval are included to address potential environmental impacts for the project. And staff's recommendation, approved design review application, DR24-07, for the addition of walls to enclose part of an existing structure to build out a proposed 1500 and one square foot cafe, a 202 square foot expansion to the rear of the existing structure. Facade improvements to the existing three buildings, 3300 square feet of landscaped improvements to the inner circle, and the removal of 28 protected trees and replacement of 14 trees in the same general area based on the findings and subject to the conditions of approval proposed by staff as many be subsequently amended by the planning commission and binding that the project is category exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under section 15301 class 1 existing facilities. And that concludes my presentation and I'm here for questions. Thank you very much for your presentation, Alan, really good work there. Commissioners, any questions of staff? I have a question in regards to how and who will select the vendors that will be selling their consumables. Thank you, Commissioner. That's a great question. I believe I will defer to the applicant. If they may, they have a short presentation if you allow. Before we take questions, why don't we ask the applicant to come up? Great. But the presentation, Good evening. Thank you. Good evening commissioners and Alvin thank you and staff for your presentation. My name is Michelle Goudo and I serve as director of operations for LBA's Realities Northern Office Support Folio. As I worked in this community for nearly a decade and my family being from this community, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you tonight about our vision for this project in the future of University Place, formerly known as University Circle. This recent name change reflects our broader commitment to evolving this property into a more dynamic, engaging workplace that aligns with the needs for today's workforce. I do have a few slides, but I don't want to be redundant because Alvin went over a few of them. Can you skip to the third slide? I think the existing conditions. So I know that he did talk about the existing conditions, but I do think it's important for you all to know. And I think most of you probably remember that the current improvements were made in 2017 and at that time they met the needs for the current tenant base that is there. Next slide. The year's as property has been a cornerstone of the local business community consistently maintaining an occupancy level near 100%. However, like many office campus across the country, we've experienced a significant decline in occupancy. University plays is hovering below 20%. Bushcliffe led us to reevaluate how our property can better serve businesses and their employees. After extensive planning, one thing became clear. To remain competitive and attract companies back to university place, we must create an environment that fosters connection, productivity, and community. Next slide. We also found that it was important to renovate the building lobbies. We currently are in the process of renovating the lobby in the 1950 building. That is are building adjacent to the University Avenue. And you see the rendering of that. Additionally, we also have plans to renovate the circle side entryways with the canopies and building signage to improve the visibility of the office entries. Next slide. Our proposed outdoor innovation feature in a small cafe and inviting seating areas will activate the campus by providing tenants with space to meet clients. Collaborate with colleagues and host small events. This investment goes beyond enhancing the tenant experience. It will help revitalize the local economy. A more attractive office environment means higher occupancy, which leads to more businesses investing in the community. Increase foot traffic to nearby restaurants and shops, and ultimately a stronger local economy and business tax base. We believe this project is a crucial step in ensuring that university plays remains a desirable, thriving business hub. We appreciate your consideration and look forward to your support in making this vision a reality. So should you have any questions? I'd like to introduce you to our key members of our team. So for any landscaping related questions, we have Jason Victor with K Victor. For architectural increase, we have Douglas Olson with Gensler. For construction increase, we have John Hartz with level 10. And for any other questions, you can direct them to Mark English. And I believe most of you know Mark, Mark or Eric Brown who's a principal with LBA Realty For myself Thank you for your time and consideration and share I hand the meeting back over to you Thank you, I'm this good. Oh, you should that. Okay. Thank you very much for for the the addendum to Alvin's presentation Any questions of the commission before we pass it to to share to start off. If I'm a I'm unclear you're the current owner. Albie what is it? LBA represents AZ read. Is that the current owner? Yes. Is that the the third owner since 2002? No. So the first owner was Columbia Property Trust and they partnered with Allianz and Allianz, which is AZ-RETE, now has 100% ownership. But they've been a partner in the asset since 2018. But before that, it was owned by... Columbia Property Trust. I believe the original construction was it not, was from East Coast money that took over the development and actually built the university circle. I'm not familiar who the, where the money came from for the development. So Columbia properties is not the current owner. Correct. And so there's been a successor. So at least this is you're the third owner. You're representing the third owner. Correct. And what's the relevance commissioner? I'm just trying to figure out who we're dealing with in terms of the history of the place. Now, I loved your slide presentation, but I thought you should have gone back to the original design to show the beautiful water circular water feature that was designed in the middle of university circle with spouts going all the way around. And then in the redesign that you were talking about, it was like cut in half. And then the next thing that was done is what you presented with the gazebo that's currently in the middle reduction of the water feature further. So I believe my question would be, you're eliminating the water feature entirely. Yes. Okay. And the hours of operation of the restaurant would be... So I don't think that's been identified now. Our hope is that we would have breakfast, lunch, and perhaps early evening services. Okay, so you might be competing with the Quattro at the four seasons restaurant if you have anything hours. No, we will not be competing with the restaurant. We will not have that same price base. So the other thing to give my fellow commissioners who are relatively new to the university circle going back to early 2000s, is that having a retail on the bottom floor was part of the original design and having a restaurant in the bottom floor, I believe it was the soup company. Building, facing University Avenue, that one. And then instead of the restaurant, it was a sandwich job. Correct. And soup, and that wasn't very successful. So my question would be, how successful? the idea of having food who are occupying the building and a place to go for lunch, this comfortable, has already been tried. And so how is this concept different from the original concept? That is a great question. And I would agree with you that the location in the 1950 building, those operators, they were good, but they were not in a place that they were going to thrive. And so we feel that activating it in the circle area where everyone from the three buildings, as well as the hotel guests, could send it to the center. Correct, correct. That makes a little bit more sense. It makes it easier for people from the community to come up over and find it when it was at the 1950 building. The signage was off. The location is bleak. So we are confident that this circle area is going to thrive and be successful. Thank you. I, I, I, I, I lodged you trying to, you have a different use of the space. Um, but my concern is since it's a restaurant and you presented, uh, a feature for the garbage area. Um, and how that would be enclosed in the same area, basically. And I'm concerned about the smells from the garbage area, permeating people's lunch, and anybody walking through the center of the courtyard. So I don't think that would be a problem, but I'm actually going to turn that over to Gensler, I guess, to answer that question, because I'm not clear on closure. Good evening, commissioners. The garbage would be handled on a nightly or daily basis. Sorry, and the, I don't know how much closer I can get. Sorry. The idea is that the garbage is a stage there, so it's just daily use, and it would be moved out to the rest of the university circle trash at the end of the day. Am I correct in this? I think what I heard was it's a grab and go type of thing. It's not any food being prepared on the site. You know, I'm sorry. So I just want to back up to your question really quick. So we have onsite day porter that would service the trash throughout the day. So that would not be an issue. Thank you. Now my question is there's no food being prepared. So I think right now that's what you've presented. And so we will I will say no, no food will be prepared right now. Okay, so the reason I asked that is because of the garbage that I believe Commissioner Alan Fisk was kind of looting to if it's a grab and go then there's not really an issue. Okay. I believe Commissioner Smith had a question. I'm sorry, question. How would the same question, how and who would decide the vendors who would be preparing the consumables or I know you said small kitchen so I figured something would be prepared, but definitely not a full-fledged restaurant. It did say cafe grabbing go so it was just what it was presented. We do plan on one user and we do plan on issuing RFP. It's a cafe grabbing go so it's just what it was presented. We do plan on one user and we do plan on issuing RFP. This is Nick Pickie Quatt. For against there, I see you chose a dark group. Just curious why you chose the dark roof, being that it's in the center with all no shading, really. Just curious. We thought it was very important to try to use an architectural material for the roof. So it's not a membrane roof. It's a standing seam and we wanted to keep it looking elegant and clean.. Thank you. Gonna go down the line. Yeah, yeah. Brown, I wanted to just actually make a comment about a couple of things. You know, for me, anytime university place has come to this dies. I've always had concern about the fortified walls and real accessibility and invitation to the community that it surrounds, right? Whether we were talking about the initial project, or we were talking about the project that's being in that corner in in the parking lot, that we were discussing. So I wanna say this in a way of framing around being here for the journey. I just wanna say, I hope you guys continue to be good neighbors in that way, because in my experience, I have seen that you guys are exactly that. And trust me, I would be the first one, especially those four or five walls to go ahead and try to knock them down like Jericho. And the fact is, is that you guys have been good neighbors. And so when we talk about this new building to continue to keep that in mind. And with that being said, whether you were the first, second, third or fifth owner of this place. And on Mark, you've been a continuum. I know Michelle, you've been a continuum and the narrative and the story moving forward. And with that being said, whether you were the first, second, third, or fifth owner of this place, I know, Mark, you've been a continuum. I know Michelle, you've been a continuum. And the narrative and the story moving forward. And so for that reason, for just those things, which is taking away that flat university circle, to call it university place, names matter, how we call people, what we see people in the spaces that we occupy is important that we're mindful about that because we swallow that and we digest that and we do something with it and so I just wanted to say that if you guys continue to do good and it doesn't surprise me that I have parking issues I've seen parking in place parking never it should have plenty of it anyways I just wanted to say that Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. We really appreciate it. Please. Just a couple of quick thoughts. And I understand what you're trying to do at 20% occupancy, anything to improve the vibrancy of the project. I think it's some activity is can only benefit the project. Having said that, I think I speak for everybody up your time and that is find a way to locate and source an operator that's from East Palo Alto. Find a way that would really I think enhance the community's emberation of the project. It's got to be something out there that would be a good fit. So RFPs aside, if you can find a way, that would be terrific. Yes, well, thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. I'd very good comment. We also have a comment, this end. Yeah, thank you so much for the presentation. I'm curious about the proposed removal of some of the trees on the perimeter, those horned beams. Couldn't quite see what the justification or reasoning was for those removals in the Arborist report. Could you provide some more info? Okay, thank you. I'm going to have Jason come up and speak. Thank you, Chair Vice Chair and the commissioners. One note, Alvin, anytime you need to present one of my projects I'm in because that was a great job. It was really, really well done. Yeah, actually, can you move forward a couple of slides? We have... It's in our deck. Yeah, there's a couple slides in the back that are related to trees. Obviously, as a landscape architect, removing trees is always something that's painful, but in certain circumstances, it's warranted and it's important to weigh in all of the facts of the design parameters we're trying to solve for and do the best we can to meet all those needs. So one of the factors, the couple of things going on, which I think is clear in the discussion, but we have to recognize that this entire program is built on top of a garage. So from a tree perspective, we're dealing with soil volume. So we've done a really good job inside the circle to increase the soil volume for the trees that we're replanting. And all those are kind of, are a one-to-one replacement of the ones that are there. We're putting in some very large box-sized trees for a majority of them because we've created the soil volume for those trees to do very well. The ones that we're describing, the horn beams that are coming out are more for, it's a removal related to a visibility and real estate and leasing context, and the fact that I think when the planting was done, that concept, it oversucceeded in what it was trying to do. The horn beams themselves are trees that are... I wouldn't call them canopy trees where you walk under them and you have a space and a feeling inside. They're more of a screen tree and some of them are planted even six feet apart, which is very close for trees we planted. So that has created a very overgrown condition. And unfortunately, one of the main doorways, the building 19, is completely obscured by that LA that's happening on that side. If we go to, I think it's the last slide with the photograph. Yeah, you can see that front row of trees is the one that we're proposing to remove. And that will open because you can't even see the door and the lobby entrance that we're making some improvements to kind of identify the entrance to building 1900. So in doing that, I think one of the other important pieces, the space that's created in that LA now is a row of benches and a connection from one building to the other. What's doing the job of creating that space is the back row. The sun is moving in the southern part of the sky. That shade is happening from the back row. It's creating that screen. So the feeling of that space and what it's trying to create is still going to be there, but we're going to open up that front road to create the visibility to the doorways. So that was the concept behind what we were trying to do there is bring that space more connected to the center and open up the visibility and doing that. So it's mainly a visibility concern. If any of the tenants brought it up as a safety concern or reason is to maybe they why they don't utilize that space. Any of them brought that up? Yeah, I can't speak to operations. Yeah. No, they have not. Right. Was it we're only 20% right? No, No, I understand. Yeah. Were there any discussions with the with the arborist of potentially instead of removing the entire row, maybe doing selective removals? You mentioned some of the ones that are playing at only six feet away from one another, you know, removing some of those, opening up the space in other ways. Yeah, there. Yeah, unfortunately, it's kind of the, it's the species itself that was selected that's causing some of those problems. And with them being planted so closely together, if you try to remove, you're kind of creating missing teeth in the formation of how those branches have grown together. So the overall health of the trees can be affected by pulling them apart, especially with the root zones that are there. Once you start cutting into those, because the one good thing is it is one continuous piece of soil volume right there. That means the root zone is the entire piece. So trying to chop those out individually would probably cause more harm to the one you're trying to remain than not. So that was a concept that was talked about, but we decided not to do that. Are these on any particular pruning cycle? How regularly are they structurally pruned to correct for some of that upright growth habit? Yeah, it's a good question. I don't know the answer to that. The trees are in structurally in good shape. It's just unfortunately it's the shape of that tree. the branching is inconsistent. Some of them start with their branching here rather than here so you can walk under them and have a visibility sight line under. And it's just the nature of that tree. Unfortunately, it's probably the wrong tree to put in that place in the original. A lot of that could be corrected with a structural pruning. And in the Arboristborist report it does refer to a lot of the structural issues for all of these trees, the ones that are being removed and the ones that are being kept. So when we want to keep trees in an inter-environment like this, obviously we need to prune them so we can all get along together and I would maybe look into a pruning printing cycle for these trees obviously the new trees that are to be proposed or that are to be planted as part of the proposed project will undergo their own sort of printing cycle and treatment so I would you know recommend that all these be taken care of together. Certainly yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the comment. I have Commissioner Smith to give another comment but then we'll open it up for public comment. Thank you for comment. I have Commissioner Smith to be having another comment. And then we'll open it up for public comment. Thank you, Michelle, for the community knowledge. What is our FP? Request for proposal. Any other questions from the commission? Yes, commissionman Ed. There's no worries based off of. For a place for me to stay and do my remote work, but. Looking at this when we're trying to incorporate the public, where with the parking for this? Are we? Are you your intention is for public. Uses to walk in. Or is there like designated parking close wide. We have a whole bunch of parking. I don't know if it's public or if it's reserved for the buildings. Okay. All right there we go. Okay. All public. Yeah. Okay. You have 20 spaces commissioners. Right. He's got to make sure most people come in and see this and use it. You're in position. Okay. Did you get your question answered? It did. Okay. Thanks. On my space on Monday. You have another question. Commissioner Allen Fisk. A follow up on Uriel's question about the horn beams. A precious tree. They're at least what now, since they were originally planted, probably, they were probably 10 years old when they were put in or more, and they're probably 20 years older now. If this project is approved and you move, I would suggest if rather than cut them down that you contact the filoly nature estate, they have horn beams on the estate and they've lost a couple of 100 year old horn beams. We might partner with them on relocating the horn beams. And if that fails, the horn beam is used as the hardwood on piano keys. So if push comes to shove and you actually do cut them down, you might contact a high end lumber yard and they may be able to recirculate the wood. But preferably, you could make a deal with, by loathing, I can give you contact information. I used to be affiliated with them. And you could take it from there. I appreciate that, thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Fisk. Thank you. Sure, Rod. So what I'm about to say is not nearly as out of the box, as I thought it was going to be after Commissioner Fisk gallons of comments. So in any event, this is still somewhat out of the box, but I just want to lob it out there for your consideration and mark up ledger here, taking a co-pious mental notes. And that is I was in New York City last week and I was at a venue and the place had the most bizarre name and I was like what the heck. And there was a plaque there that explained the name of this venue and it kind of brought it all together because otherwise I'd be scratching my head. So my bizarre suggestion is somehow try to incorporate the name whiskey gold into this venue. Here's a chance to do it. It's not going to hurt your business one bit. You put a nice plaque up that explains what was there when it was there these guys know what way better than I do but just a thought because I think you guys could turn it into something creative and something honoring the history of the site. So just a thought. Thank you for that comment commissioner. Did you want to comment or? I just want to close science to that. Because I think, especially when you're an any developer or anybody's digging in our soil, you need to remember the soil that you're digging on. When you're doing like these murals, don't make it into a contest. There is a history that needs to be placed on there that when people come through East Palo Alto, they know they're coming through East Palo Alto and Whiskey Gulch and where that center is at, right? Where that center, where that we're talking about is rich, rich history. And I tell you, on for what it's worth the community. The community that are that feel like the remnants here and I think you all need to do that yeah. Yeah. Name some of the food items after the stores that were part of the yeah. Style Sutter. You guys could have fun with that. Anyway, thank you. Freddie Jack. But I did thank you both for those comments. I did see some people nodding their heads. So it sounds like you might understand where the sentiment is coming from. So if I may just respond quickly. Please do. So I think, I mean, I personally understand that. And I think that that's why we were so intentional on the mural that is on Woodland, those, the pictures on there represent. So we get that and we understand that. And we will talk about it and see what comes up. But we for sure hear you. Thank you. Any other questions before I, because I'm gonna open it up public comment. No questions? Thank you so much. You're quite welcome. Don't go too far. Are there any comments? I have two public comments, one from Larry Moody and one from Chris Cowell. Speaker slips. Mr. Moody. Good evening, sir. Good evening, President Meshach, commissioners. Thank you for your service to the community. I just want that always to be said and stated, right? I certainly understand the commitment you're making sitting there right now. But more importantly, I really appreciate the comments from the commissioners tonight. I think they're very warranted, valid, and it demonstrates that you are doing your due diligence. The one responsibility that you have is to read your agenda packet, right, to work with staff and make sure that you're aware of what the issues are and also to vote, right? And make a recommendation that you can tee up and send up to the City Council for consideration. Columbia Properties, a decade ago, stood before this community and said one of the things that they were going to do differently from any other development that has gone forward in this community is to make it very clear to the community that they wanted to partner. That they're going to make their space available to the East Palo Alto community and they were going to learn as needed what was going to be acceptable for our East Palo Alto community. Now many of you know very clearly and my current list was certainly taking on the tour right and bring you up there but the Columbia properties through Michelle and her leadership have have been a clear partner we've had graduations there we have had festivals there we have had family reunions there we have had gatherings where unlike some other communities when a community of color gathers in a setting like that we're not surrounded by police and law enforcement and individuals who are making our visit uncomfortable. I anticipate that this project is a response to what the market as causing causing office spaces to do. How can we attract new partnerships, new tenants into our complex, right? So we can create a better tax base for the city of Eastphalore Alltow. Now we understand that food is a great lure. Can I get it? I've got 15 seconds. All right. I respect for your position, I appreciate it. So we understand the importance of food as a gathering place. We in East Paul Alto don't have many places where we can gather, have a cup of coffee, have some food, but more importantly have conversations. Where people can come out of their workspace without having to repark and they can just walk into the center of this complex. We have great weather here. It's a great destination point for anyone that wants to grab some quick food and have a conversation. One of the things I wanted us to want to leave you with is that Michelle gets it and she has demonstrated that she's earned the rights to have our support going forward. The project looks amazing and I think is going to be a very acceptable enhancement to the amenities. Not only does that complex offer, but more importantly, the city of Eastphal also offers. Right? Thank you, Mr. Moody. Now, I'm going to have to give the next speaker the same thing a lot of time for equity. Thank you for. Sir, could you come up to speak your name and give us your name and where you're from? Thank you. Yeah, that's going to be a hard one to follow up on. My name is Chris Cal. I'm a resident of East Palo Alto. I'm also the chair of our Public Works and Transportation Commission. Been on, this is my 30 year on that commission. In my opinion, I do strongly support this project. I'll talk about personal reasons why in terms of my own use of the site and also why I think this is good for the community. And I will also outline a big suggestion at the end for a new pedestrian entrance I'd like to see. So I've been to the University Square or University Place site at least 20 times in the last four years. I've gotten there by walking, biking, and by car. Sometimes for our community festivals, sometimes just to meet a city staff member, or a council member at the Four Seasons Cafe. And sometimes just because the trees are really beautiful there. And I have noticed just last week I was sitting out there reading a book actually right where those water fixtures are. When I looked around, I was thinking to myself, hell. I've actually never really seen anyone sitting out there reading a book actually right where those water fixtures are and when I looked around I was thinking to myself how I've actually never really seen anyone sitting out there in the last three years. And I've been there 20 times even when the occupancy was higher. And so I do see a big opportunity to activate the space more not just for the office tenants but also for our own residents. What I did also want to remind the Planning Commission on is the revenue that the project has brought in for our city. The four seasons revenue I met with their finance director brought in $2.2 million in revenue for city in 2024. For city with a $40 million revenue approximately that's about 5%. And that's not accounting for the offices and the measure HH fines and the taxes that those can also bring in. Now in terms of a suggestion, if you could bring up that map photo again, that we have looked at previously. I'm going to start it like you. And so I was actually, so in short, I would like to see another pedestrian entrance into the property as Commissioner Brunn Austin had mentioned, it does feel like a wall. But once you're inside, it actually feels really nice. And one idea I had is that in that photo earlier, it would be nice to see a pedestrian entrance from university directly into the site towards the cafe because currently residents who come from the north side of the 101 have to go all the way down University of Woodland, go along Woodland, and then they can't just go straight into the park because there's actually a sidewalk there. You have to crawl, wait for the crosswalk, cross like, cross to the west, and then take the crosswalk in. And it adds a couple thousand of feet, and I think one of the things that's a game changer now is that we have the new university avenue pedestrian overcrossing. I was actually just there on site last week, getting a tour from one of our engineers. And that sidewalk is going to be wide into 15 feet now instead of like six feet. It's actually moving into the road and the construction workers have actually been using a little path, makeshift path from that university over crossing over to the site. And I had the opportunity to try it and it was really nice. It was really nice to be able to just have a faster way to enter the site. And I think it would be a great opportunity for residents not just on the west side but also on the north side of 101 to be able to have a nicer walk across the pedestrian over crossing and then into the site and its cafe and public areas or yeah those park areas. That's all in there and thank you. Thank you. Thanks for your comment. is Zimba, do you want to? Go ahead, Commissioner Curtis. Moanette. When you go out for the RFP, I would I would suggest and hopefully this can be an option is to not limit the hours. Leave it open for even if they want to extend into the late evening because right now when I come home for example, There's nothing really open for any young professionals, older professionals, when you get off work to actually stay in our city and enjoy cocktail, enjoy a drink and have a meeting after work. Right now I have to go to Palo Alto, we have to go somewhere else. So don't limit the hours to just like right after work hours. If you can leave it open for somebody who is willing to extend those hours into the late evenings just a suggestion. Thank you for your comment. I agree. Thank you for your short. Through the chair I'd like to move that we approve Design Review Application DR24-007 and that we also find the project to be exempt from sequel. Been moved in properly psychomite commission or manette all in favor. Hi. No. Yeah, no. I vote aye. So there's, you know what, do a roll call please. Thank you. Commissioner Allen Fisk. No. Vice Chair Sherard. Aye. Commissioner Brown Austin. Aye. Commissioner Smith. Commissioner Hernandez. No. Commissioner Monette. Aye. Chair May Shock. Aye. Passes. Motion passes. We shall move to the next item on the agenda. That item. I'm going to have to go on. Uh, got it. Let me find the next item. The next item is before you adjourned. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home.th and it starts at 6.30 p.m. I need to go find that guy and thank you for clarifying that and again if they can hear thank you all for your participation and they can't hear me anyway we're gonna do 8.32 we're gonna adjourn the meeting thank you