Welcome to this September 17th, 2025 design review commission meeting.

May we do a roll call, please.

Commissioner Riley here.

Vice Chair Basting.

Here.

Chair Newsom?

Here.

And Commissioner Case 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 any proposed?

We have none.

Okay, thanks.

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.

Do we have any requests for public communications outside of the public hearing?

Okay, so we're moving on.

So before we go to the public hearing, has anybody had any ex parte 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 Tablo mixed use development.

And I understand staff has a presentation.

So go ahead when you're ready.

Okay.

Good evening, Commissioners.

Simmer Gill, senior planner with the city.

We are here tonight to um receive a design review commission feedback on the proposed Mount Diablo Mixed Use 74 unit residential development that will be located at 2094 Mount Diablo Boulevard.

Uh to answer any questions that you may have after the presentation, as am I available for any questions.

And also identified as an 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.

Um, and I 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 seven-story 74 unit uh mixed use development.

Uh there is a 3,000 square foot ground floor commercial space, and uh the project also includes a 861 square foot 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 1,500 square feet.

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 eighty um eighty 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 near the drip line of neighboring trees along the west property line.

So this project is also providing eight very low-income units as part of the project, therefore being processed under the state density bonus law, which does allow waivers and concessions to city's development standards in order to develop this project.

And this project is also being reviewed under the Housing Accountability Act, also known as SB 330.

So tonight, design review commission 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 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 consider the concessions and waivers that are being utilized under density bonus.

Again, as mentioned earlier, this project is being processed under housing accountability act, which really limits the city's 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.

The project cannot be denied and the density cannot be lowered unless the city staff or the commission makes findings that these project will result in any health or safety impacts.

And here is some information on the density of the project.

It is zoned mixed use commercial, has a general plan designation of mixed use commercial, which allows 88 dwelling units per acre, resulting in a base density of 49 units.

The applicant providing eight very low-income units then allows them to have a 50% increase in density, which results in 25 bonus units with a total of 74 units allowed for this project.

And the applicant is building 74 unit project with requesting seven waivers as well as two concessions.

And I can go into more detail, but an explanation of what the difference is between a concession and a waiver if needed at the end of my presentation.

The applicant is requesting the concession to reduce the overall construction costs.

What's being proposed is a single stecko facade with a different mix of different color paint colors.

And the second concession request is for the frontage improvements along Mount Diablo Boulevard.

The West Downtown specific plan does designate the sidewalk width from the property line to the face of the curb as 14 feet.

The applicant will be retaining the existing frontage conditions, including the 10-foot sidewalk and the driveway apron, and this concession will avoid the need to construct any new improvements as such as the sidewalk or replacing the sidewalks or a new landscaping or any associated stormwater treatment facilities in the frontage.

As the applicant has stated that this would result in significant cost savings for their project.

So they're leaving the existing frontage as is.

Again, I believe I've explained this in the staff report, but happy to elaborate if needed after my presentation on any of if you have questions on any of these waiver requests.

And here is the existing site layout.

The existing building on site will be demolished.

And here is the proposed layout.

Vehicle access to the site is taken directly from Mount Diablo Boulevard through the existing 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 this does ensure connections to the residential lobby, the commercial space, as well as the child care center.

The child care center again towards the north end of the site does include a separate entrance from the drive aisle and also a secure outdoor play yard for the children that is separated from the from vehicle circulation.

And as we move into the slides, I'll go more into the detail, but at the roof level, residents are provided with a amenity deck, and it's accessible by stairs that are located at both ends of stairs and elevators that are located at both ends of the building.

And again, just another look at the proposed project in relation to the surrounding uses.

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 the trash, solid waste, the utilities, a child 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 here is the street-facing elevation.

The project's architectural character is contemporary and it does reflect the vision of the West Downtown Specific Plan, which envisions a vibrant walkable and transit-oriented development.

The building features smooth cement plaster finish with a mix of colors that are identified on this slide, as well as glass guardrails on the outdoor decks, black metal louvers and screens, and black metal canopies, as well as exterior outdoor lighting, like wall sconces or light fixtures, building mounted.

And here is the north elevation that's facing the back of the site, and facing the residential properties, the existing residential properties that are accessed from Oakland Boulevard.

Again, the same mix of 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.

And this is the ground floor landscaping plan.

It's a very tight site.

There's not a lot of space, so the proposed landscaping is what you see here.

Essentially shrubberies and some bioretention plantings.

Here is the rooftop landscape plan.

There's outdoor, there's a roof deck with a seating areas as well as several new trees, landscaping as well as the mechanic the location for the mechanical equipment is also on the roof.

And as part of this project, the applicant 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.

I think Port of Air Health, so there was the City Arborist could support the removal without having the commission to weigh in.

And the remaining six offsite trees will be preserved and they are identified on this encircled trees, tree numbers 145 through 150 on the West property line.

So this project does need to meet the city requirements, and it did qualify for a class 32 in fill CEQA exemption.

What that essentially means is that there are it's a less than five-acre parcel.

There's existing utilities on the site, the project will not result in significant 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 has also been designed to meet the city's objective design standards.

The SB 330 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.

And this is something I wanted to highlight because there's been an updated or revised staff report, as it was an oversight on staff's part.

This project is within a half mile of BART, which means that no parking needs to be provided for this project.

Of those eighty-eight, eight are surface stalls.

Again, they don't need to provide it, so they are providing as part of the project, but it's not a requirement under 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, and provide a recommendation uh to the planning commission on the design and landscape plan of this project.

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 elaborate applicant 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 uh 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 let's go ahead with us.

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?

There you go.

Don't know what the red light means.

Okay.

Um my name is Ben Johansson with LCA architects representing 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 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.

Thank you, Samar for your presentation.

We appreciate the opportunity to present this project tonight.

As was mentioned, this is 74 units of residential, including eight very low-income units to qualify for density bonus and to you know as a benefit to the city, and also preserving the kind of the community commercial nature of the dry cleaner, and then also 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 as well.

Um move on.

So this will be quick.

Hopefully, it'll add something to what has already been presented.

You know, we just feel that 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 Oakland Boulevard and a straight shot up to 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 uh 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 did we we have had conversations with all the neighbors.

Um there wasn't sort of an interesting 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 project uh the parcels to the west.

We do share a driveway access.

Um we we need to keep that open, it will be used by 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 work to accommodate that on site, particularly as the West Downtown Specific Plan 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 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 as a 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 envision the one at the back.

More residents might use more to come up and down to their cars.

Uh also can take oversized trash to the trash room or to 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 that we we want to prioritize the views out toward downtown and towards Mount Diablo, at least at how the city is currently developed, there's going to be some amazing views from these units.

We also want to give them each uh as many units as we could, the private outdoor space, and so within particularly building code uh requirements for opening separation and stuff, we've worked the perimeter of the building to allow for that in as many units as we can.

And then there's the roof deck that was talked about before.

The um landscape architect is here tonight.

If they have more questions about what's provided up there, they're available for questions.

For the elevations, um, we we did want to uh 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 to give it a more refined um articulated appearance, 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 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 uh 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 uh 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.

If you have any questions, we're here to answer.

Thank you.

Um that's it, huh?

So 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 I think it meets the 26 feet.

So it comes in, it kind of we we're keeping the existing driveway apron, which does come down to about 21 feet for the first at the entry, and then as soon as it hits the um where the parking is, we allow we have 25 feet to the um so there's a 10 foot easement on either side of the east property line.

We provide so that's 20 feet that we know is gonna 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.

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 of 250 feet that the fire marshal has approved, and then we've done we we have an approved alternative methods and materials application that uh puts uh standpipes in the stairs.

Okay, and you're you're over the you need two axes.

So I guess the other access is Mount Diablo Boulevard.

What do you mean by two?

Well, I mean the building is is six stories high, so it needs to be a little bit more.

We have a pedestrian path for exiting on the east side of the building and on the west side of the building.

Oh, for trucks.

For trucks.

I mean it's it's right out of the fire code.

I mean, you just have to get by the far.

No, no, I know.

I mean, this is why we did have the alternative methods and means just because access is 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 stormwater features on this building?

There is a stormwater detention basin in the rear of the site.

Um we have the roof has quite a bit of planting to limit the pervious.

I mean, you gotta meet that, that's all.

And just long 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 stormwater, 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 watered back towards Mount Diablo wasn't really an option.

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 stormwater 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 yeah, okay.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Um I guess now we're gonna open it up for public comments.

Are there any public comments?

Uh do you have do you have a speaker card?

No.

Um, 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 just found out about this development.

I didn't really know about it before I was notified of this meeting.

So I decided to just come to the meeting, look at the drawings 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 it's just it's very large.

And with the size of it and the number of people in traffic, there are gonna be a lot of challenges uh 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 wanted to just raise um some of my concerns.

Um the first is I'm gonna focus on just my safety concerns with policing.

Um it's gonna it's gonna be a long building going all the way to the back of the property.

There isn't gonna 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, it'll be the best way, but there's gonna have to be a lot of lighting and a lot of um surveillance at this site because otherwise it would be very difficult to um to police.

Just uh 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 gonna 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 wasn't able to raise, but in your life, we should go ahead.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

So I'm concerned 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 along there.

Um including myself too.

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.

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 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 details, 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 adjoining property owners such as myself uh work were considered accordingly.

Thank you.

Thank you, for sure.

Any other public comment?

Do you have a speaker card?

Okay, I'd like to say that you require no introduction, but I'm afraid you're gonna have to introduce yourself.

I'm just waiting for my two minutes to be put up on the board.

Oh, they've got me done already.

Okay, Charles Krelling, former design review commission, current transportation commissioner.

From a location standpoint, I think this is a good location for a high density housing project, and I actually also think it's a pretty well designed nice 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 gonna be more cars than they're providing for, and I I know with the rules that they don't have to provide any parking, but and it's nice that they're providing the 84 or 88 spots, but that if I was a guessing man, there'd 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 half a mile.

If it's the shortest walking or driving route, it's about 0.6 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 gonna open it up for commissioner comments.

Do we have any?

So I have a 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 dead end driveway.

So I I think you should highlight your uh plans for that, the lighting and and or surveillance or any anything else that would make it more safe for someone like me or any of you 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.

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 well-designed 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 gonna be easy.

I I I you know I I'd say I kind of second everything they say.

I mean, I I think there are a few things.

I think this is gonna be a great project, and and I think the density is needed.

Um I think that uh that that sorry.

Um that said, from a health and safety standpoint, I just think it's gonna be really important that the fire apparatus be worked out with the fire district and be safe.

It's this building's gonna 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 truck shucks.

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 150 without a turnaround.

I that's that's something that's gonna need to be codified.

It's if if you're using the adjacent property, it's you're gonna need to have an easement, a wider easement in the back than you have, probably, my mind.

Um, 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 dent to that 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 gonna be very important that you know I'm not sure that it's there or not, but making sure that um that there's an adequate side triangle for vehicles entering Mount 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 direct cellar into the freeway, probably going 40 miles an hour or more.

So it's gonna be really important that you do that.

And uh, I think that's it.

I mean it you're gonna have to do those things anyway to get a building permit, and um I expect there's probably gonna 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 the on the front?

I think it'd 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 gonna make a motion here, right?

Um maybe you want to just repeat what you heard.

So just to summarize um the concerns where we're 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 the fire turnaround, the need for the easements, um, for the trucks to pass, and then lastly again, um, to look at the adequate site triangle for pedestrian crossing at Mount Diablo.

Is there anything else?

I think I made all the comments.

So, okay.

Thanks.

I think you got it all.

Um, so that's that's it.

That's the end of the public hearing.

So we're gonna 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 SQL primer, which is pretty much the basics of SEQA.

Okay.

That's all.

I will not be here, so I will watch it on video when I can.

Thanks.

Okay, that's it.

Adjourned.