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Record of Proceedings

Design Review Commission Meeting - May 21, 2025 (Agenda Indicates Cancellation; Transcript Reflects May 7, 2025)

City Council — Wednesday, May 21, 2025
BodyWalnut Creek, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, May 21, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:23

Welcome to the uh May 7th design review commission meeting.

0:28

Um we have a roll call, please.

0:32

Uh thank you, Chair.

0:33

Uh Commissioner Case.

0:35

Here.

0:35

Commissioner Riley.

0:36

Here.

0:37

Vice Chair Besting.

0:38

Here.

0:39

Chair Newsom.

0:40

Here.

0:41

We have a quorum.

0:43

Great.

0:44

So item number two in the agenda is the consent calendar.

0:48

Are there any items on the consent calendar?

0:50

Staff would recommend moving no items to consent.

0:55

Then I think we should move on.

1:00

Public communications.

1:01

This portion of meeting is reserved for comments.

1:04

Items not on the agenda under the Brown Act.

1:07

The commission cannot act on items raised during public communications but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed.

1:14

Request clarification.

1:16

Refer item to the staff.

1:19

Do we have any public communications?

1:24

Any cards turned in?

1:27

No.

1:28

Okay.

1:29

None.

1:30

Moving right along.

1:32

Okay, so now before we get into the public hearing.

1:37

We need to have a disclosure of XPR2 communications.

1:40

This portion of the meeting is reserved for the planning commissioners, not the planning commissioners, the design review commissioners to disclose any communications, including site visits that they have on current agenda items or conflict of interest regarding current agenda agenda items.

1:57

Anybody have any conflict of has anybody had communications or any conflicts?

2:02

No.

2:03

No.

2:04

Very good.

2:05

Nor do I.

2:05

So let's move on.

2:11

Okay, so we're gonna move on to the public hearing.

2:14

Looks like we have one item on the public hearing, which is the Taiwanese community center and after school program.

2:21

Does staff have a presentation?

2:24

Looks like you did.

2:26

Yeah.

2:28

Good evening, commissioners.

2:30

Uh my name is Simmer Gill, senior planner with the city.

2:33

We are here tonight to consider the design review for the Taiwanese Cultural Center.

2:38

Uh that will be located at 1755 Sunnyvale Avenue.

2:43

The uh applicant and architect along with his team are here.

2:48

Uh Cyril Chong, and I apologize, I don't know everybody else's names, but Cyril Chong is the applicant and architect, and um he is here tonight, as am I to answer any questions that you may have after this presentation.

3:02

And just to quickly orient you with the site, uh it is zoned R8, single family residential.

3:08

Uh the surrounding area does consist primarily of single-family homes.

3:12

However, there is an existing church on this one parcel.

3:16

Uh there are three parcels that are being merged.

3:20

Um, and there's 50 parking stalls on site.

3:23

After the merger, um, all of the the existing use, which is the church, as well as the proposed uses, uh, will um use the same parking under a shared parking agreement.

3:36

And um moving on, um, this is uh a photo of the existing buildings on site.

3:43

Um, as I mentioned earlier, there's the East Bay uh United Methodist Church that does operate at this site on Sundays, and there is an existing building right adjacent to it, which will be demolished for proposed construction of the new commun Taiwanese community center that will be located in that exact uh location um fronting Sunnyville, and right behind it you see the existing social hall, which will remain and all the way to the back is the pastors home.

4:12

This is an old aerial image, so currently on site.

4:17

Um this was demolished as the home is being rebuilt under new construction, however, in the same location.

4:23

And then to the far left is just a uh grassy open space area.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning and Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████65%
Architectural Design Review███████10%
Arts And Culture████6%
Procedural███5%
Parks and Recreation██3%
Community Engagement██3%
Community Development Block Grant█2%
Parking Management█2%
Engineering And Infrastructure█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Design Review Commission Meeting - May 21, 2025 (Agenda Indicates Cancellation; Transcript Reflects May 7, 2025)

Note: The official agenda for May 21, 2025 states the meeting was cancelled due to no business to conduct. However, a transcript from a Design Review Commission meeting dated May 7, 2025 was provided. This summary is based on that transcript, which covers a regular meeting that took place on May 7, 2025. The discrepancy is noted per accuracy guidelines.

Discussion Items

Taiwanese Community Center and After School Program (1755 Sunnyvale Avenue)

  • Purpose and Background: The project proposes a 4,500-square-foot, one-story community center to serve Taiwanese cultural classes for adults and an after-school program for kindergarten through 8th grade students. The site, zoned R-8 single-family residential, currently houses the East Bay United Methodist Church (built 1938) and other structures. Three parcels are being merged. The project includes demolition of an existing building, construction of a new community center, widening of the existing driveway, relocation of ADA parking, new walkways, landscaping, and a shared parking agreement with the existing church (50 total parking stalls).
  • Operations: The cultural center will operate 9 a.m. to noon, Monday–Friday (adult/senior classes). The after-school program will operate Monday–Friday, with a maximum capacity of 33 students (anticipated 20 students and 40 teachers daily, split between two classrooms). The church operates only on Sundays, so no parking overlap is expected. The city's traffic administrator confirmed parking is sufficient.
  • Design and Architecture: The building has a modern design with three masses: a white stucco wall (45 feet long facing Sunnyvale Avenue), a gray mass, and a triangular auditorium mass. The main entrance faces south (interior of site) to maintain a low profile from neighbors. Materials include gray and white stucco, standing seam metal and PVC roof, and yellow cedar glue-lam columns at the entrance. The north elevation has a long blank wall (45 feet) that does not meet the city's design standard (max 30 feet of blank wall along sidewalks). Staff recommend breaking up this wall with additional design elements and larger trees (currently 15-gallon trees; 24-inch box size recommended). Other design standards not yet met: pedestrian-scale lighting along walkways, downward-directed shielded lighting, and a material change for the pedestrian crossing at the driveway.
  • Landscape: Preliminary plan includes four new 15-gallon trees (redbud, strawberry, guava) and shrubs/grasses. Existing trees (cedar, mulberry, evergreen pear) are to be preserved or removed per arborist report. Commissioners noted the need for a more refined landscape plan with appropriate species (e.g., dogwood and maple may not tolerate Walnut Creek heat) and larger tree sizes for screening.
  • Mechanical and Noise Mitigation: The HVAC unit (heat pump, about 6-7 feet tall) will be located in a fenced area on the east side, adjacent to a residential neighbor. A 6-foot fence is proposed, but the neighbor's existing hedge is 9-10 feet tall; commissioner suggested a taller CMU wall to screen the unit and mitigate noise. A noise study is underway.
  • Cultural Identity: Commissioners encouraged the applicant to incorporate elements that celebrate Taiwanese culture more explicitly, such as art, patterns, or signage, so the building does not disappear among the residential context.
  • Drop-off/Pickup: The after-school program drop-off area is planned near the EV parking spaces. Commissioners noted the operational plan should address how 30+ students will be safely dropped off and picked up.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal vote or decision; the Design Review Commission provided feedback and direction for the applicant to refine the design before going to the Planning Commission for approval of the Conditional Use Permits (cultural institution, after-school program, legalization of existing church use) and design review.
  • Commissioners' recommendations included:
    • Break up the 45-foot blank wall on the north elevation (e.g., with windows, obscure glass, vertical elements, control joints, or additional landscaping at the required 24-inch box size).
    • Improve pedestrian crossing material differentiation and add pedestrian-scale lighting.
    • Provide a more detailed landscape plan with appropriate species and larger tree sizes.
    • Conduct a noise study for the HVAC unit and consider a taller masonry wall (e.g., CMU) on the east property line.
    • Add solar panels on flat roof areas (future installation, per code requirements).
    • Consider unified campus design connecting the new building with the existing church and social hall.
    • Incorporate cultural identity elements to celebrate Taiwanese heritage.
  • Applicant accepted the feedback and will refine plans for the Planning Commission hearing.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the uh May 7th design review commission meeting. Um we have a roll call, please. Uh thank you, Chair. Uh Commissioner Case. Here. Commissioner Riley. Here. Vice Chair Besting. Here. Chair Newsom. Here. We have a quorum. Great. So item number two in the agenda is the consent calendar. Are there any items on the consent calendar? Staff would recommend moving no items to consent. Then I think we should move on. Public communications. This portion of meeting is reserved for comments. 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. Refer item to the staff. Do we have any public communications? Any cards turned in? No. Okay. None. Moving right along. Okay, so now before we get into the public hearing. We need to have a disclosure of XPR2 communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for the planning commissioners, not the planning commissioners, the design review commissioners to disclose any communications, including site visits that they have on current agenda items or conflict of interest regarding current agenda agenda items. Anybody have any conflict of has anybody had communications or any conflicts? No. No. Very good. Nor do I. So let's move on. Okay, so we're gonna move on to the public hearing. Looks like we have one item on the public hearing, which is the Taiwanese community center and after school program. Does staff have a presentation? Looks like you did. Yeah. Good evening, commissioners. Uh my name is Simmer Gill, senior planner with the city. We are here tonight to consider the design review for the Taiwanese Cultural Center. Uh that will be located at 1755 Sunnyvale Avenue. The uh applicant and architect along with his team are here. Uh Cyril Chong, and I apologize, I don't know everybody else's names, but Cyril Chong is the applicant and architect, and um he is here tonight, as am I to answer any questions that you may have after this presentation. And just to quickly orient you with the site, uh it is zoned R8, single family residential.

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