OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

August 28, 2025 Planning Commission Meeting: Toyota Dealership Design Review Approval

City Council — Thursday, August 28, 2025
BodyWalnut Creek, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, August 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 53:43
Transcript — Verbatim
0:22

Welcome to the August 28th Planning Commission meeting.

0:28

Would you call the roll?

0:30

Yes.

0:31

Commissioner Moran.

0:33

Here.

0:33

Commissioner Count?

0:35

Here.

0:36

Commissioner Strongman.

0:37

Here.

0:38

Commissioner Quok.

0:39

Here.

0:39

Commissioner Klopp.

0:41

Here.

0:41

Commissioner Vice Chair Needing.

0:44

Here.

0:45

And Chair Anderson.

0:46

Here.

0:47

Okay.

0:49

Summer circumstance we have a full commission tonight.

0:53

Thank you for all for coming.

0:56

I believe we have nothing on the consent calendar.

0:59

Is that correct?

1:00

That's correct, nothing on the consent calendar.

1:03

We'll move on then to public communications.

1:05

Public communications, you got two chances to speak as a member of the public.

1:10

One is at any hearing that we're doing, and one is right now at the public communications.

1:16

This particular time is for things that are not on the agenda.

1:21

So if you're here to speak on something that's on the agenda, Toyota tonight, um, you're welcome to wait until we're there.

1:28

We'll get there soon.

1:30

Um, and if anyone else would like to speak now, they may do so, but I think there is no other member of the public present.

1:39

So we'll move on from that.

1:42

Um, does anyone have any exported communications to disclose?

1:46

I'm shaking hands, all right.

1:52

Once upon a time, way back there was this I did have a discussion with Toyota, but that's a long time ago before they actually produced this um application.

2:01

It was about the entire project.

2:03

Yes.

2:05

Okay.

2:07

I have owned five Toyotas in my time, but I'm only one at the moment.

2:15

All right, and that moves us to the public hearing.

2:19

Uh dealership design review and tree removal permit application.

2:26

And that's the primary items but that's for our staff report, Ms.

2:33

Gill.

2:33

Thank you.

2:40

Good evening, Commissioners.

2:42

I need my glasses.

2:45

Good evening, Commissioners.

2:46

My name is Simmer Gill, senior planner with the city.

2:49

We are here tonight to consider the final design review for the Toyota of Walnut Creek dealership.

2:55

That will be located at 2150 North Broadway and 1275 Pine Street.

3:00

Uh, the applicant uh Steve Stephen Um Stephen Scanlan is here tonight along with his team, as am I to answer any questions that you may have after this presentation.

3:13

And before we get into the uh project, I just wanted to give some crucial background.

3:18

Uh the development of the Toyota um dealership uh was envisioned in 2014 as uh in sorry, May 2024 as part of City Council's uh approval that included uh the creation of a mixed use special district, amendments to the North Downtown Specific Plan and General Plan, as well as uh the development agreement that identified development of this dealership as a critical first step.

3:45

Uh the project also advances uh city council's uh priority of economic development and downtown vitality.

3:53

Uh so this project uh would support growth of the automobile industry.

3:59

And just to uh provide some site context, uh the site, uh the parcel is zoned auto sale service custom manufacturing, which does permit auto sales and service by right.

4:13

Uh the site consists of two parcels that will be merged and it will create a L-shaped configuration as seen on the left image.

4:23

The existing uses on site uh consist of a auto dealer uh detailing shop on Pine Street and uh a vacant structure on the uh North Broadway parcel.

4:34

The surrounding area consists of a mix of retail office and auto sales and service uses, and um this image here also shows where the existing dealership is in uh relation to the proposed uh location for the Toyota dealership.

4:51

And um, this project is uh this site is located within the North Downtown Specific Plan and also located within two overlay districts the Makers Row and the Mixed Use Special District.

4:59

And what you see here outlined the outlined area is the entire North Downtown Specific Plan, all of the parcels that are within that plan.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning and Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Procedural█████████13%
Economic Development████████11%
Engineering And Infrastructure████6%
Environmental Protection████5%
Public Safety██3%
Summary of Proceedings

August 28, 2025 Planning Commission Meeting

The Planning Commission convened on August 28, 2025, primarily to review the final design review, tree removal permit, and sign exception for the Toyota of Walnut Creek dealership. After detailed presentations from city staff and the applicant, along with commissioner questions and discussion, the project was unanimously approved.

Discussion Items

  • Staff Presentation: Senior Planner Simmer Gill presented the project, highlighting its compliance with the North Downtown Specific Plan and overlay districts (Makers Row and Mixed Use Special District). The project involves constructing a two-story dealership with a sales showroom on North Broadway and a service area on Pine Street, including 293 parking stalls and the removal of five palm trees. Staff recommended approval with conditions addressing design enhancements from the Design Review Commission, such as material variations and lighting details.

  • Applicant Presentation: Steven Scanlon, representing Toyota, discussed the project's history since 2018 and its prototype urban dealership design. The team, including civil engineer Christian Bell and architect Elwyn Baltazar, explained operational details: customer flow for sales and service, noise mitigation through enclosed service bays with CMU walls, security features like bollards, and pedestrian safety measures. The applicant emphasized the project's role in economic development and downtown vitality.

  • Commissioner Questions: Commissioners raised concerns about traffic mitigation fees, driveway designs and crosswalk compliance, noise dampening in the service area, signage illumination after hours, pedestrian safety at driveways, and employee numbers (currently 170, expected to increase slightly). Staff and applicants addressed these, confirming compliance with city standards and providing clarifications on operational aspects.

Key Outcomes

  • The Planning Commission adopted a revised resolution determining the project exempt from CEQA under a Class 32 infill exemption.
  • Approved the design review, tree removal permits, and sign exception for the Toyota dealership.
  • Vote: 7-0 in favor (Commissioners Moran, Count, Strongman, Quok, Klopp, Vice Chair Needing, and Chair Anderson).

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the August 28th Planning Commission meeting. Would you call the roll? Yes. Commissioner Moran. Here. Commissioner Count? Here. Commissioner Strongman. Here. Commissioner Quok. Here. Commissioner Klopp. Here. Commissioner Vice Chair Needing. Here. And Chair Anderson. Here. Okay. Summer circumstance we have a full commission tonight. Thank you for all for coming. I believe we have nothing on the consent calendar. Is that correct? That's correct, nothing on the consent calendar. We'll move on then to public communications. Public communications, you got two chances to speak as a member of the public. One is at any hearing that we're doing, and one is right now at the public communications. This particular time is for things that are not on the agenda. So if you're here to speak on something that's on the agenda, Toyota tonight, um, you're welcome to wait until we're there. We'll get there soon. Um, and if anyone else would like to speak now, they may do so, but I think there is no other member of the public present. So we'll move on from that. Um, does anyone have any exported communications to disclose? I'm shaking hands, all right. Once upon a time, way back there was this I did have a discussion with Toyota, but that's a long time ago before they actually produced this um application. It was about the entire project. Yes. Okay. I have owned five Toyotas in my time, but I'm only one at the moment. All right, and that moves us to the public hearing. Uh dealership design review and tree removal permit application. And that's the primary items but that's for our staff report, Ms. Gill. Thank you. Good evening, Commissioners. I need my glasses. Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Simmer Gill, senior planner with the city. We are here tonight to consider the final design review for the Toyota of Walnut Creek dealership. That will be located at 2150 North Broadway and 1275 Pine Street. Uh, the applicant uh Steve Stephen Um Stephen Scanlan is here tonight along with his team, as am I to answer any questions that you may have after this presentation.

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