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Record of Proceedings

Walnut Creek Planning Commission Meeting – May 8, 2025 (Cancelled per Agenda, Transcript from April 24)

City Council — Thursday, May 8, 2025
BodyWalnut Creek, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, May 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:00:00

Transcript — Verbatim
5:01

Good evening.

5:02

Welcome to the April 24th meeting of the Planning Commission.

5:09

And we have Will.

5:12

Thank you, Chair.

5:14

Commissioner Strongman?

5:15

Here.

5:15

Commissioner Quok.

5:16

Here.

5:17

Commissioner Klopp.

5:18

Here.

5:18

Vice Chair Knighting?

5:20

Here.

5:20

Chair Anderson.

5:21

Here.

5:22

We have a quorum.

5:23

Thank you.

5:25

And we have we have any items on the consent calendar.

5:29

We have nothing to recommend moving to the consent calendar.

5:33

Okay.

5:34

And I won't explain how it's processed.

5:39

The next item on the agenda is the public communications.

5:43

If there are members of the public here, we have two chances for you to comment at the meeting tonight.

5:49

One is uh during the hearing.

5:50

If you're commenting on the hearing uh topic itself, if you are commenting to anything else uh that is within the jurisdiction of the planning commission, uh this would be the time to do it.

6:01

Uh is anyone here should make a public comment.

6:06

Seeing none.

6:08

Um we can move on to disclosure of ex parte communications.

6:12

Anybody have any export head communications to disclose?

6:18

Okay.

6:20

Moving right along, we have a public hearing.

6:23

Uh on the 10-year capital investment program, conformance to the general plan.

6:29

And we have a staff report.

6:32

Thank you.

6:36

What's that?

6:44

Right.

6:44

Good evening, Chair Anderson, Planning Commission, and members of the public.

6:50

My name is Alex Wong.

6:51

I'm the senior civil engineer with the Capital Improvement Program.

6:55

Thank you for the opportunity to present the draft 26 to 25 capital improvement plan.

7:01

Um, just as a housekeeping item, uh, there is an amendment to the um staff report in the sequel section.

7:08

There's an adjustment to it.

7:13

So tonight.

7:18

So tonight I will go over the 10-year CIP and capital budget development process before we dive into each of the two-year cycles.

7:28

As we progress through the presentation, I will highlight a couple of projects in each of the cycles.

7:34

The goal here tonight is to receive your concurrence that the CIP conforms to and supports the current general plan.

7:42

Many of the projects may conform to the general plan in more than one way, but we've selected what we think is the most relevant.

7:53

So some background.

8:04

In addition, it posed projects from adopted plans, including the asset management plan, transportation improvement program, and parks plans.

8:14

We're updating the CIP in conjunction with the development of the capital budget.

8:20

The 10-year CIP informs the capital budget.

8:24

The first cycle of the CIP is the proposed capital budget.

8:28

The CIP is a long-term 10-year planning tool, prioritizing programs and projects over five two-year cycles.

8:36

It provides direction for future projects and creates a plan for our outside partners, such as MTC, CCTA, CalTrans, and the County with grant opportunities and alignment with regional projects.

9:34

Next, we will go to the city council for approval and adoption of the first cycle, first CIP cycle is the capital budget and the 10-year CIP.

9:48

So here we're showing the demand for funding by cycle and category, project category.

10:00

So you can see on the right side there, there's a project categories of asset management, downtown, transportation, parks and open space, climate resiliency, and facility projects.

10:09

So you can see that we're consistent with asset management with the blue bars, and that the other category demands varies when specific projects are forecasted.

10:20

For example, in 206-27, we have programmed a large investment in parks projects.

10:25

So this is the aquatic center project at Heather Farm.

10:29

And then 3031 and 3233, there's a demand for transportation projects.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural██████████████████18%
General Plan Update█████████████████17%
Traffic Management█████████9%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Historic Preservation███████7%
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure█████5%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Walnut Creek Planning Commission Meeting – May 8, 2025 (Cancelled per Agenda, Transcript from April 24)

Note: This summary is based on the provided transcript, which begins with "Good evening. Welcome to the April 24th meeting..." The official agenda for May 8, 2025 states the meeting was cancelled. No minutes were available. The following summarizes the proceedings as recorded in the transcript.

Consent Calendar

  • No items were moved to the consent calendar.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public offered comments during the public communications period or during the hearing.

Discussion Items

  • 10-Year Capital Investment Program (CIP) 2026-2035 General Plan Conformance Senior Civil Engineer Alex Wong presented the draft 10-year CIP and capital budget, covering five two-year cycles. The CIP includes projects in categories: asset management, downtown, transportation, parks and open space, climate resiliency, and facility projects. Key projects highlighted:
    • 2026-27: Heather Farm Aquatic and Community Center (replacing Clark Swim Center and community center); Affordable Housing and Sustainable Community (AHSC) grant projects including a road diet on Broadway for pedestrian/bicycle safety.
    • 2028-29: Park clock pool and pool house repurposing design/construction; Leisure Center upgrades; Civic Park Community Center lounge and office upgrades; City Hall restroom renovations.
    • 2030-31: EV charging infrastructure (climate resiliency category); Ignatio Valley Road pedestrian and bike facilities.
    • 2032-33: Replacement of parking management system; Main Street intersection redesign (Main/Cypress and Main/Bonanza).
    • 2034-35: Creek and wetland restoration project; Olympic Corridor trail connection from Iron Horse Trail to Olympic Boulevard. Commissioners asked clarifying questions: Commissioner Strongman noted the Olympic Corridor design route not yet finalized; inquired about south Main bridge replacement (scheduled for 2026-27) and synthetic turf field replacement (10-year lifecycle from current installation). Commissioner Kwok asked about the AHSC grant description. Vice Chair Nieting discussed TDM (transportation demand management) and EV readiness, noting the need for forward planning; also expressed concern about potential regulatory triggers (CDFW Section 1602) for the creek restoration project. Staff noted ample time for permitting.

Key Outcomes

  • The commission adopted Resolution of Conformance, approving that the 10-year Capital Investment Program (2026-2035) conforms to the General Plan. The motion was made and seconded, and passed unanimously (5-0: Commissioners Quok, Strongman, Klopp, Vice Chair Nieting, Chair Anderson all voting yes).

Commissioner Reports and Announcements

  • Vice Chair Nieting reported on a quarterly breakfast with City Council, where she raised the issue of the revised design review process. She noted that when projects come to the Planning Commission after a single design review meeting, the commission lacks feedback from design review on whether their suggestions were addressed. The design review chair and co-chair agreed with the need for improved communication. This issue is being discussed further.
  • A report (likely from a commissioner or staff) highlighted Earth Day celebrations: downtown cleanup gathered 40 bags of litter; sustainability fair at Civic Park. Also noted groundbreaking for Measure O funded turf fields at Heather Farm and new field lights at Tice.
  • A detailed historical narrative was presented about the "Hand of Peace" sculpture by Italian-American sculptor Bufano. The 32-foot-tall copper hand was commissioned by San Francisco in 1962 but rejected; later purchased for $50,000 and placed in an office park in Walnut Creek, where it remained obscure for decades before being restored and relocated. The narrative included anecdotes about the sculptor and the sculpture's journey.

Next Meeting

  • The next regular Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the April 24th meeting of the Planning Commission. And we have Will. Thank you, Chair. Commissioner Strongman? Here. Commissioner Quok. Here. Commissioner Klopp. Here. Vice Chair Knighting? Here. Chair Anderson. Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. And we have we have any items on the consent calendar. We have nothing to recommend moving to the consent calendar. Okay. And I won't explain how it's processed. The next item on the agenda is the public communications. If there are members of the public here, we have two chances for you to comment at the meeting tonight. One is uh during the hearing. If you're commenting on the hearing uh topic itself, if you are commenting to anything else uh that is within the jurisdiction of the planning commission, uh this would be the time to do it. Uh is anyone here should make a public comment. Seeing none. Um we can move on to disclosure of ex parte communications. Anybody have any export head communications to disclose? Okay. Moving right along, we have a public hearing. Uh on the 10-year capital investment program, conformance to the general plan. And we have a staff report. Thank you. What's that? Right. Good evening, Chair Anderson, Planning Commission, and members of the public. My name is Alex Wong. I'm the senior civil engineer with the Capital Improvement Program. Thank you for the opportunity to present the draft 26 to 25 capital improvement plan. Um, just as a housekeeping item, uh, there is an amendment to the um staff report in the sequel section. There's an adjustment to it. So tonight. So tonight I will go over the 10-year CIP and capital budget development process before we dive into each of the two-year cycles. As we progress through the presentation, I will highlight a couple of projects in each of the cycles. The goal here tonight is to receive your concurrence that the CIP conforms to and supports the current general plan. Many of the projects may conform to the general plan in more than one way, but we've selected what we think is the most relevant. So some background. In addition, it posed projects from adopted plans, including the asset management plan, transportation improvement program, and parks plans. We're updating the CIP in conjunction with the development of the capital budget. The 10-year CIP informs the capital budget.

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