Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

[Music] Sorry.

Sorry. Weather. Welcome to this September. mber 17th, 2025 design view commission meeting. Um, may we do a roll call, please?

Commissioner Riley here, vice chair Basting here, Chair Nuome here, and chair Commissioner Casease is absent, but we do have a quorum tonight. Excellent. Moving right along. Consent calendar. Do we have any items on the consent calendar or are any proposed? We have none.

Okay. Thanks. Um, third thing is public communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comments or on items not on the agenda. Under the Brown Act, the commission cannot act on items raised during public communications, but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed, request clarification, or refer an item to staff. Do we have any requests for public communications outside of the public hearing? We have none. Okay. So, we're moving on. So, before we go to the public hearing, has anybody had any exparte communications regarding this project?

No. No.

Excellent. So, open the public hearing. And I understand we have one item tonight and it's the Mount Abble mixeduse development. And I understand staff has a presentation. So, go ahead when you're ready. Okay. Good evening, commissioners. Simmer Gil, senior planner with the city. We are here tonight to um receive uh design review commission feedback on the proposed Mount Diablo mixeduse 74 unit residential development that will be located at 2094 Mount Diablo Boulevard. The applicant Ben Johnson along with his team are here tonight uh to answer any questions that you may have after the presentation as am I available for any questions. Just to quickly uh go over the site area. Uh the parcel is zoned mixeduse commercial. It is located within the west downtown specific plan and also identified as um a opportunity housing site in the uh housing element inventory uh table. The site is a little over 24,000 square feet in size and there is an existing uh commercial building on site. The surrounding area consists of a mix of commercial and retail uses. And there are residential uses to the north of the site. Just um if you're looking on this, the brown shaded area is the residential portion. And here are some photographs um and have identified with the star is the existing building that will be demolished for proposed construction. So, moving into the project request, um the existing building will be demolished to construct the sevenstory 74 unit uh

mixeduse development. Uh there is a 3,000q ft groundf flooror commercial space. And uh the project also includes a 861qt daycare center that's located towards the back of the site uh closer to the north end of the site. And uh the project consists of a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Uh sizes range from 591 square feet to approximately 1500 square ft. Uh new ground floor and rooftop uh landscaping is proposed. And we'll go into more detail as we go into the landscape plans. Eight surface parking stalls and 80 um 80 of those stalls are provided in a mechanical parking system. The project is also requesting a drip line encroachment permit as there will be work uh near the drip line of neighboring trees along the uh west property line. So this project is also providing eight very lowincome units as part of the project. Therefore um being processed under the state density bonus law which does allow waiverss and concessions to uh city's development standards in order to develop this project. And um this project is also being reviewed under the housing accountability act also known as SP 330. So tonight uh design review commission um will essentially be providing input their feedback on the site layout, the building design, the landscaping and then provide a recommendation to the planning commission who would be the cons the considering body for the design review of the building. the conditional use permit for the daycare, the tree drip line encroachment permit as well as uh consider the concessions and waiverss that are being utilized under density bonus. Um again as mentioned earlier this pro a project is being processed under housing

accountability act which uh really limits the city's um it this the city's review to really if the project is providing multiple housing units as well as consistent with the city's objective standards as well as the city's design standards. uh the project cannot be denied and the density cannot be lowered unless um the city staff or the commission makes um findings that these uh this project will result in any health or safety impacts. Um and here is some information on the uh density of the project. Uh it is zoned mixeduse commercial has a general plan designation of mixeduse commercial which allows 88 dwelling units per acre resulting in a base density of 49 units. Uh the applicant providing eight very low income units uh then allows them to have a 50% increase in density which results in 25 bonus units uh with a total of 74 units allowed for this project. And the applicant is building 74 unit uh project with se requesting seven waiverss um as well as two concessions. And um I can go into more detail but an explanation of what the differences between a con concession and a waiver if needed at the end of my presentation. And um the first concession that's requested is regarding the building material requirement in the city's objective design standards. that does require at least two materials on any building frontage in addition to the glazing and railings. Um the applicant is requesting the concession to reduce the overall construction costs. Um what's being proposed is a single uh stucco facade uh with different a mix of different color paint colors. And the second concession request is for the frontage improvements along Mount

Diablo Boulevard. The US downtown specific plan does designate the sidewalk width from the property line to the face of the curb as 14 ft. Uh the applicant will be retaining the uh existing frontage conditions um including the 10-ft uh sidewalk and the driveway apron. And this concession will avoid the need to construct any new improvements um as such as the the sidewalk or replacing the sidewalks or a new landscaping or any associated storm water treatment facilities in the frontage. Uh as um the applicant has uh stated that this would result in significant cost savings for their project. So they're leaving the uh existing frontage as is. And here is a list of the density bonus waiverss that are being requested as part of this project. Um, again, I I believe I I've explained this in the staff report, but happy to elaborate if needed um after my presentation on any of if you have questions on any of these um waiver requests. And here is the existing site layout. Um the existing building on site will be demolished. And here is the proposed layout. Uh vehicle access to the site is taken directly from Mount Diablo Boulevard uh through the existing um 20 foot wide drive aisle that extends north into the site and accommodates a two-way circulation. Pedestrian access is provided by accessible pathways along both the Mount Diablo frontage as well as the rear of the building. And uh this does ensure connections to the residential lobby, the commercial space as well as the child care center. Uh the child care center again towards the north end of the site uh does include a separate entrance from the drive aisle and also a secure outdoor playyard for the children uh that is separated from the vehic from vehicle circulation.

And um as we move into the um the the slides, I'll go more into the detail, but at the roof level, residents are provided with a amenity deck. Um and it's accessible by stairs uh that are located at both ends of stairs and elevators that are located at both ends of the uh building. And um again, just another look at the proposed uh project in relation to the surrounding uses. And here is the uh ground floor plan. Um see so this basically just shows a closer look at the surface parking stalls as well as the loading space. And then again here it's just showing the parking and um the trash solid waste the utilities childc care facility all on the ground floor and on right above that will be the residential storage that is required as part of this project. They're providing that on the second level and um here is the street facing elevation. Uh the project's architectural character is contemporary and it does reflect the vision of the west downtown specific plan uh which um envisions a vibrant, walkable and transit oriented development. Uh the building features smooth uh cement uh plaster finish with a mix of colors uh that are identified on this slide as well as uh glass guard rails on the outdoor decks uh black metal louvers and screens and black metal canopies as well as uh exterior outdoor lighting uh like wall sconces or light fixtures building mounted. And here is the uh north elevation uh

that's facing is the back of the site um and facing the residential properties existing residential properties um that are accessed um from Oakland Boulevard. And here is the east elevation that's facing inwards. Again, the same um mix of um like variations in that paint scheme to kind of break up that facade. And here's the west elevation. This is facing the existing gas station to um and u this is the ground floor uh landscaping plan. Uh there's not an it's a very tight site. There's not a lot of space. So, the proposed landscaping is what you see here. uh essentially shrubberies and um some bio retention um plantings. Here is the rooftop uh landscape plan. Uh there is a um there's outdoor there's a roof deck with a seating areas as well as um uh several uh new trees uh landscaping as well as the mechan uh the location for the mechanical equipment is also on the roof. And as part of this project, uh the applicant uh was requesting a total of four Bradford pear trees to be removed. These are circled in green and they're towards the north end of the site. Um the city arborist did administratively approved these um as it didn't warrant uh preservation and uh they were in I think poor affair health. So there was the city arborist could support the removal uh without having the commission to weigh in. And uh the remaining six offsite trees will be preserved and they are identified on this encircled um trees uh tree numbers

145 through 150 uh on the west uh property line. So, uh, this project does need to meet, uh, the city requirements, and it did qualify for a class 32, um, infill squa exemption. Uh, what that essentially means is that, uh, there are it's a less than 5 acre parcel. There's existing utilities on the site. Uh, the project will not result in significant um effects to noise, air quality, or traffic. And there are existing utilities on site. And this project did check off all those boxes in order to qualify for this exemption. And the project um has also been designed to meet the city's objective design standards. Uh the pre-applic SP330 pre-application was submitted prior to adoption of the new design review standards and guidelines which were adopted in 2024. So those do not apply to this project. However, I believe the applicant did design the project to to essentially meet most of the uh standards and the DRSGS as well. And uh this is something I wanted to highlight because um there's been an updated or revised staff report um as it was a oversight on staff's part. This uh project is within a half mile of BART which means that no parking needs to be provided uh for this project. Uh the applicant is voluntarily providing 88 parking stalls. Um of those 88 are um surface stalls. Um again they don't need to provide it. So they are providing as part of the project but it's not a requirement under um city codes. And with that, uh, staff does, um, recommend that the design review commission comment on, uh, the site design, the building plans, the landscape plan, um, and provide a recommendation, uh, to the planning

commission on the design and landscape plan of this project. Um, that is all I have, but I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions? Go ahead. Um, as the roof seems to be the only outdoor space that's accessible and usable for the tenants, what sort of shade will be provided on the roof so that during the summer it can actually be a usable space? Um, I believe there's canopies, there's shade, sorry, shade structures, and I'll let the elaban elaborate when they come up for their presentation, but I believe they do have shade structures as well as canopies. Yeah.

Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. I just wanted to confirm this is an apartment project for rental. Is that correct? It's a Yeah, rental project. Thank you. Has the fire district seen the plans yet? The fire district has reviewed the project and it's uh currently still being worked out, but yes, they have looked at it and before we take this project to the planning commission, we'll make sure we get the approval or the thumbs up from the fire district. Excellent. That's it. Thanks. Thank you. And the applicant also has a presentation. So, so let's go ahead with that. Mhm.

Uh when you come up, please introduce yourself. Make sure you move the microphone down to I'll just say while they're getting ready, if anybody's here with public comment, that's coming up next. So, fill out your comment card uh now. They're in the back of the room. Okay. Is this on? Yes.

There you go. Don't know what the red light means, but okay. Um, my name is Ben Johansson with LCA Architects, uh, representing uh, the owner for the property and, um, the rest of the project team. Uh, quickly to the question regarding uh, shade. Um, there there are um, there is a framed shade structure that would have a shade sale. Um, you know, we may that's currently what we feel like um the building department would approve up there. Um, we may have further try and have further discussions for something a little more structured, but due to the height of the building need to be um, you know, there's building code issues that come into play. Um, we also the all but the studio units have private balconies that would be covered. Um, so there is a little more. It's private outdoor space, but that's included as well. Okay. Um, thank you Samar for um for your presentation. Um, we appreciate the opportunity to uh present this project tonight. Um as as was mentioned, this is 74 units of residential um including eight very low income units um to qualify for density bonus and to um you know as a as a benefit to the city and um also preserving the um the kind of this community commercial nature of the dry cleaner. And then also um it's been a key feature for the for the owner to include the daycare as a as an amenity to the to the tenants um as well. Um move on. So this will be quick. Hopefully it'll

add something to what has already been presented. Um you know we just feel that this this is a good site for this type of project identified as a housing element site. um kind of unique in its placement with access to um Oakland Boulevard and a straight shot up to pedi for pedestrians to BART, easy access onto Highway 24 and uh 680 as well as just walking downtown. Um it's a long deep uh narrow site with developed properties. Um the housing element imagines situations where this site would be combined with neighboring sites. Um the ones there now are they're all developed. They're all are um we we we did we we have had conversations with all the neighbors. Um there wasn't sort of an interest in partnering at this point. There's also a PG and easement that runs up and from north to south along the west side that kind of prevents partnering with the projects uh the parcels to the west. Um we do share a driveway access. Um we we need to keep that open. It will be used by uh for deliveries to the other commercial pieces. Um, we have the cleaners at the front, uh, residential parking in the middle, and then we are also encouraged by staff to include an on-site loading zone and have worked to, um, to accommodate that onsite. Um, particularly as the west downtown specific plan um, kind of imagines eliminating street parking along Mount Diablo, we want to have that option on site moving forward. Uh we also have the goal of providing on-site parking for all the residents. You know, there is the the state law

that would allow for no parking, but we feel like this site in particular with like highway access, there'd be an appeal to um people that would need a car to get to and from work or other places in the area. So we got the ground level, we got the it's mostly has small commercial space, the parking, we do provide bicycle parking as required for one per unit. There's two lobbies kind of front and back um that just give you know the one at the front is more the public entrance. We envisioned the one at the back. More residents might use more to come up and down to their cars. Also can take, you know, oversized trash to the trash room or take their kids to the daycare. up above. We've um we've tried on this long narrow site to position the units in such a way um that we we want to prioritize the views out toward downtown and towards Mount Diablo. Um at least how the city is currently developed, there's going to be some amazing views from these units. Uh we also want to give them each as as many units as we could the private outdoor space. And so within um particularly building code uh requirements for opening separation and stuff, we've worked the the perimeter of the building to allow for that in as many units as we can. And then there's the the roof deck that was talked about before. The um landscape architect is here tonight. If you have more questions about what's provided up there, they're available for questions.

for the elevations. Um, we we did want to, you know, as mentioned, there's a concession to do the one material, but at the same time, we did try and break up the mass with color with the balconies um to to give it a a more refined um articulated appearance um particularly at the front elevation at Mount Diablo. Let's see. Up above at the top level, the the building does step back at the front and back uh north and south elevations. There's a terrace there um for those units. Up at the top, we have large uh glass storefronts at the commercial and residential lobbies for pedestrian traffic. at the ground floor. And then um here's our mechanical parking. If you know through going through this process, I've learned a lot about how these systems work. Um we feel like it's a good solution. We've been told that they anticipate cars being able to be delivered to someone requesting it in less than a minute. Um and we feel like it's a workable solution. Um, so again, the the landscape architect is here if you have questions on that and thank you uh for this opportunity to discuss the project and we look forward to hearing your feedback and if you have any questions, we're here to answer.

Thank you. Thank you. Um, that's it. Huh? So that's it. Any questions? Um I'll just ask a couple here. So the fire lane Yeah. So how much how wide is the fire lane?

The fire lane we have it's let's see I think it meets the 26 ft. So it comes in it kind of we we we we're keeping the existing driveway apron which does come down to about 21 ft for the first at the entry and then as soon as it hits the um where the parking is we allow we have 25 ft to the um so there's a 10-ft easement on either side of the east property We provide so that's 20 feet that we know is going to be there in perpetuity. We provide another five so that there's car backup. We meet the standard. So there's a minimum of 25 provided all the way back and then it actually is functionally more because of how the existing driveway is on the property that is not ours.

How how the truck it's over 150. So how does the truck turn around? So they we've talked to the fire department. They've given a dimension that they're willing to go in and then back out. And that um of 250 ft that the fire marshall has approved. And then we've done we we have an approved alternative methods and materials um application that puts uh stand pipes in the stairs.

Okay. And you're you're over the you need two axises. So I guess the other axis is Mount Aba Boulevard. What do you mean by two? Well, I mean the building is is six stories high. So it needs to we have we have we have a pedestrian path for exiting on the east side of the building and on the west side. Oh, for trucks? For trucks. I mean it's it's right out of the fire code. I mean I mean You you just have to get by the No, no, I know. I mean, this is why we did have the alternative methods and means just

because access is it's fraught on such a long narrow site. Yes. We cannot provide two access points. Okay. And let alone with the separation that's required by the fire code. Yeah. And then are there any storm water features on this building? There is a storm water detention basin in the rear of the site. Um, we have the roof has quite a bit of of planting to limit the pvious. Oh, I mean, you got to meet that. That's all. As long as you have them. I just didn't see it. Yes, it's in the rear of the site.

Okay. All right. Um, that's it. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. So, any more? No more questions, huh?

I'd say with the storm water, it's it's a little challenging because the site kind of slopes from Mount Diablo back toward the creek at the back. So, getting water back towards Mount Diablo wasn't really an option. And I mean that's part of why we didn't why the it would be such a cost to do the frontage improvements is because we would have to put storm water treatment in the frontage improvements and then in order to drain that out we would have to run a line all the way up to the intersection with Oakland. It's it's it's a complicated site for Okay. Thanks.

Thank you. Um, I guess now we're going to open it up for public comments. Are there any public comments? Uh, do you have a do you have a speaker card? No.

Um, come on up. We can fill it out. Right. You come up. Can you hear me? Yeah, you have two minutes. Okay.

Okay. Thank you, council. Okay. I own the building directly across the driveway. It's a small brick building and uh I I just found out about this development. I didn't know about it before I was notified of this meeting. So, I decided to just come to the meeting, look at the drawings um in the presentations and just kind of get a bird's eye view. I haven't had a chance to look at the details yet, but based on what I'm seeing, um it look it does look like uh the development itself um is is a beautiful building. you know, it's just it's very large and with the size of it and the number of people and traffic, there are going to be a lot of challenges u to make it work at at this particular site um in consideration with other properties and and just the all the traffic including foot traffic. So, I want to just raise um some of my concerns. Um the first is I'm going to focus on just my safety concerns. with policing. Um it's it's going to be a long building going all the way to the back of the property. There isn't going to be much visibility unless someone were to look directly um down the driveway or a police car would probably have to drive through and actually view it that way. That would be the best way. that there's going to have to be a lot of lighting and a lot of um surveillance at this site because otherwise it will be very difficult to um to police just the other consideration I had was traffic. Um the driveway itself there are two mutual easements on it and with the increase in traffic there's going to be an awful lot of use of the easement

and I'm a little bit concerned about The is that the end of the two minutes? That's two minutes. Okay. I have I have other concerns that I I I wasn't able to raise, but Go ahead.

Okay. Okay. Okay. So, um I'm cons I'm concerned about the traffic on the easement. Um as far as safety goes for for the pedestrians that then there are a lot of pedestrians um along there. um including myself too. Um and then as far as drainage and surface um surface water, subsurface water um there in the past after uh the first development around the year 2000, we did have an issue with over drainage toward my property and I had to make some improvements in order to accommodate that increase in water. Um, so that said, I would like to um take a closer look at the drainage plan to make sure it accommodates for both surface, subsurface, and and that it drains water toward either a storm drain or a or or the water can make it all the way to the street. I don't want it pooling um on my property and causing flooding or issues such as that. So, I'm a little concerned about sort of the devil being in the detail, so to speak. But that said, um the building itself, the project itself is not something that I am fundamentally against. I just wanted to come here to raise my concerns about it and be sure that um things were done in such a way that joining property owners such as myself uh were were considered accordingly. Thank you. Thank you.

Sure. Any other public comment? Do you have a speaker card? Okay. [Music] I'd like to say that you require no introduction, but I'm afraid you're going to have to do. Yes. I'm just waiting for my two minutes to be put up on the board. [Music]

Oh, they've got me done already. Okay. Charles Krellin, former design review commission, current transportation commissioner. From a location standpoint, I think this is a good location for a highdensity housing project. And I also think it's a pretty welldesigned, nicel looking building given the spot. So, I'm not really opposed to this project. I think it helps us meet our housing goals and it's in the right place. My main concern would be traffic and parking just because I think there's going to be more cars than they're providing for. And I I know with the rules um that they don't have to provide any parking, but and it's nice that they're providing the 84 or 88 spots, but if I was a guessing man, there probably be 120 to 150 cars at this development. So, from the transportation commission side, I worry about the traffic and where those other cars will get parked because there's not a lot of very good parking out there. And then just one question, I'm not familiar with exactly how it's measured between BART or Mass Transit and the location. Is it as the crow flies? Because then it's probably a half a mile. if it's the shortest walking or driving route, it's about 6 miles to the closest corner of the BART station. So, thank you very much. Thank you, Charles. I'll go fill my card out now. Any other public comments? Okay, good. So, now we're going to open it up for commissioner comments.

Do we have any So, I have um a few comments. Before you go to the planning commission, I would suggest that you share your drainage plan with your neighbor so you don't have this same discussion. And um I also am concerned about public safety in the long deadend driveway. So, I I think you should highlight your plans for that, the lighting and andor surveillance or any anything else that would make it more safe for someone like me or any of you to to walk down that driveway at night there. You know, as everyone said, there are pedestrians there. There is access as along um Oakland to BART and to all of those developments back there. So, take that into consideration, please. So, you can highlight that for the planning commission. Um, let's see here. I think that's it.

Okay. Um, I second Commissioner Bass's uh suggestion that the drainage plan gets shared, of course. Um, also I just want to say that I appreciate the addition of the parking spaces and I appreciate the the storage, the residential storage and the daycare center. I think that this is a welldesigned building for the residents and it would be a nice place to live and I think that that's a real asset. So I just wanted to thank you for putting that in.

That's it. You guys are You guys are easy. I'm going to be easy. I I I you know, I'd say I kind of second everything they say. I mean, I' I think there are a few things. I think this is going to be a great project and and I think the density is needed. Um, I think that uh that that sorry um that said from from a health and safety standpoint, I just think it's going to be really important that the fire apparatus be worked out with the fire district and be safe. This building is going to be there a long time. Um, it's a tall building. You need to have the wide. You're required to have the wider access road to have two trucks pass. The apparatus has to be able to turn. And I think you need to look at in the lens of what the fire code says. Making sure the trucks I mean it seems I am very surprised. I do buildings for a living, commercial buildings and such. I mean I've never seen a fire district give up on the 150 without a turnaround. That's that's something that's going to need to be codified. It's if if you're using the adjacent property, it it's you're going to need to have an easement a wider easement in the back than you have probably my mind. Um I think think about you know the the issue of traffic which several people have brought up. It's really important. Uh I go to that hardware store a lot. I tend to church across the street. I know there's children crossing, there's crossing there, there's there's lights, demarcations, everything else. I think it's going to be very important that and I'm not sure that it's there or not, but making sure that um you know there's an

adequate sight triangle for vehicles entering Mount Ever Boulevard to be able to see when they come on and off, see see kids on the streets, see cars. the cars are coming down that street at they're accelerating to the freeway probably going 40 miles an hour or more. So, it's going to be really important that you do that. And uh I mean I think that's it. I mean, you're going to have to do those things anyway to get a building permit. And um I expect there's probably going to be a few changes. Uh but I think in general, I I like the idea of it. I mean, I I don't I think that the waiver requests are kind of odd in my mind. I think that uh I mean, why not introduce another material on on the front? I think it' just make the building better. I don't really think it would cost any more money. Um but I can't nothing. We can't really make you do that. So, that's that's that's about it. So, we're not really going to make a motion here, right? Um maybe you want to just repeat what you heard. So, just to summarize um the concerns, we're really looking at the sharing the drainage plan with the neighbor and to consider the lighting and surveillance for safety for pedestrians and for motorists and also to think about and look at work with the fire fire department uh regarding the fire turnaround, the need for the easements um for the trucks to pass. And then lastly again um to look at the adequate sight triangle for pedestrian crossing at Mount Diablo. Is there anything else?

I think I think I made all the comments. I think I made all the comments. So Okay. So okay, thanks. I think you got it all. Um okay. So that's that's it. That's the end of the public hearing. So we're going to move on to other items. Thank you very much, guys. Um, next up is commission commission considerations. So, um, are there any commission considerations by any of you? No. No. Secretary, there are none. Great. Um, any staff reports? Yes.

Oh, yes. On September 25th, there will be a special joint meeting with the planning commission and DRC. The city attorney's office will be providing a presentation on the SQA primer, which is pretty much the basics of SQUA. Okay. And that's all. I will not be here, so I will watch it on video when I can. Thanks. Okay, that's it. Adjourned. Good job.

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