Alright, welcome.

Good evening and welcome to the December 11th Planning Commission meeting.

Will the secretary please call the roll?

Thank you.

Commissioner Moran?

Here.

Commissioner Cound.

Here.

Commissioner Strongman.

Here.

Commissioner Quok.

Here.

Commissioner Klopp.

Here.

Vice Chair Knighting.

Here.

Chair Anderson has phoned in.

He will not be here tonight.

So we have six.

We have a quorum.

Perfect.

Do we have anything on the consent calendar today?

We do not staff recommends no changes.

Okay, beautiful.

Now, before we begin, there are two opportunities for the public to provide comment.

The first is during the item of each agenda as it pertains on the agenda.

And the second one is would be right now, and it's for comment that is within the purview of the Planning Commission, but not something that is on the agenda.

So does anyone want to provide any public comment for items that are not on the agenda tonight?

Seeing none.

Then I would like to then start with the public hearing and open the public hearing.

Does oh, pardon me.

Has anyone had any experte communication?

Seeing none, lots of shaking heads.

Well, I I just will say I drove all this, I drove all the sites.

So perfect.

Do staff have a presentation?

Thank you.

Good evening, Commissioners.

Simmer Gill, senior planner with the city.

Uh we are here tonight to consider the Mount Diablo mixed use uh development that will be located at 2094 Mount Diablo Boulevard.

Uh the applicant representing this project, uh Ben Johansson and his team are here tonight, as am I.

And with the city, we have Ryan Cook, who is the senior civil engineer also available for any questions after the presentation.

And just to quickly orient you with the site, uh it is zone mixed use commercial, and there is an existing commercial building on the parcel.

Uh it's a roughly 20 24,000 square foot lot, and it is located within the West Downtown specific plan and also listed as a housing site or where we envision housing um future housing.

Uh so it's listed in this inventory uh sites table.

And here are just some photographs really showing you uh what's currently on site.

It is that existing single-story building with multiple tenants, and uh the project request before you tonight is uh to demolish that existing commercial building to build a seven-story 74 unit mixed use development, uh, which also uh consists of approximately 3,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space as well as a daycare center, and uh it the project does consist of a mix of studios, 35 one bedroom units, and 35 two-bedroom units.

Sizes range from 591 square feet to uh roughly 1,500 square feet uh and uh there is new ground floor as well as rooftop landscaping.

There is 80 parking stalls that will be located within the mechanical parking system as well as eight surface uh parking spaces for the commercial component.

Uh a drip line encroachment permit is also requested as part of this project and uh because the project is providing eight very low income units, uh, it is um utilizing state density bonus law as also being processed under the housing accountability act, which I'll go into more detail or further in my presentation.

Uh so this project did go before the design review commission um on September 17th, where they reviewed the project as well as made some comments which are listed on this slide and made a recommendation to move the project forward to the commission to the planning commission uh for consideration of the entitlements.

And um the plans have been revised to address all of the lighting and um lighting related comments, um, as the project does include building mounted uh security lighting, the site distance triangle, as well as the drainage plan was reviewed by uh the city's traffic engineer and the public works department, and the fire apparatus access is also shown on the plans.

Uh the applicant is requesting to waive um to did not address uh did not incorporate a second material because they're requesting a waiver to that associating it with costs that are associated to the project.

And so tonight the planning commission will consider the design review for the new building, tree drip line encroachment permit, as well as the density bonus concessions and waivers, and also a conditional use permit, which is for the day care portion of the project.

Before we go into the project, I really just wanted to touch on the applicable state housing laws that apply to this project.

So this project is being processed under the Housing Accountability Act, which does require cities to approve housing projects that meet the city's objective standards.

And the only way the city could deny this project is by making specific health or safety findings.

And these findings must be based on objective existing written public health safety standards.

It's also being processed under SB 330, which essentially got adopted in 2019 to strengthen the Housing Accountability Act, which means that if a project meets the city's objective standards, SB 330 essentially prevents the city from reducing those housing units or adding any new development standards after an application that was submitted to the city has been deemed complete.

And as mentioned earlier, they're utilizing density bonus, which they're providing affordable units as part of the project.

And a waiver is granted when a development standard would physically preclude the project from being built at its permitted density.

The permitted density is the base density plus the additional units they get under density bonus law.

And concession is granted to reduce the overall construction costs of that standard or requirement, which is resulting in a more cost for the project.

And the city may only deny the waiver and concession if the city with substantial evidence can show that it causes a specific adverse health or safety impact.

And also regarding the concession, it could only be denied if the city can determine that the concession is not resulting in any cost savings for the project.

And just now I'm gonna move on to the density of this project.

So the lot, it is 0.55 acres, and the mixed-use commercial general plan designation allows 88 dwelling units per acre, which then results to 49 units as the base density.

But because they're providing a low-income affordable units, under density bonus, they get a 50% increase, which then results in 25 additional bonus units that could be added, then resulting in a total of 74 maximum units that could be built on this project.

So the applicant is proposing to construct 74 units, also requesting five waivers from the city's development standards and three concessions.

And now I'll move into the three concessions that are requested tonight.

The first one is building materials, which the city's objective design standards require two materials be provided on any building frontage.

The applicant is only providing one single material, and again, they're citing uh costs that it will reduce the costs if they apply only one material.

And this is in addition to the glazing and railings, and once we get into the uh the elevation slide, I could go into more detail about what they are doing in terms of articulation or adding more like from an aesthetic point of view what they're doing because they're only using one material.

And the second one is front edge improvements that are required along Mount Diablo Boulevard.

The West Downtown Specific Plan does require a 14-foot wide sidewalk.

The applicant is retaining the existing frontage as is, and that's including the existing sidewalk and driveway apron.

Again, stating that the new that if they were to put in the new sidewalk, replace the existing sidewalk as well as widen it, widening it, it then triggers stormwater treatment facilities to be placed as well, and that does result in a significant cost savings if they're requesting the concession for it.

A third one is public art.

They are waiving the public art requirement as the anticipated construction cost for this project is $30 million.

And if they were to pay that public art fee at that one percent, it would be $300,000, or they would have to install art on site.

So again, they're waiving that siding cost savings.

And here is a list of the density bonus waivers.

I probably won't go into too much detail on this because just to be respectful of everybody's time.

The applicant is also making a presentation and we'll walk through all of the waivers.

But I did want to highlight that the two that are in yellow are um after further review, staff did determine that these do not need to be requested as waivers as this is existing conditions.

So the proposed is actually existing conditions on site.

The applicant's not proposing it's there right now.

So nothing is changing or they're not exasperating the area in any way.

So here is a closer look at the site plan.

Again, the existing building on site will be demolished.

Here is what it will look like with the proposed layouts.

And this is just for site context.

This is a mixed-use building.

So I really just put this slide in here to show that the adjacent uses are commercial and retail, and this the ground floor of this building is commercial, and the upper floors are residential, and there are residential uses directly behind the site.

So it would be a good fit for this type of project.

And here is a closer look at the ground floor.

As you can see, the commercial component is fronting Mount Diablo, and there's a lobby that'll take you to the upper floors, the residential units, and as you go down the site, there's a bike room, and in the middle of the site is the mechanical parking system or spaces that you can park into, and further down into the site is another lobby that takes you to the upper floors.

I could probably use this.

Yeah, so and then there's the waste or uh waste room as well as the utility room and the child care facility, and as you can see here, there's an entrance right off of the south side, right there.

I'm trying to get the clicker there.

There you go.

And then there's another, there's an exit or an egress door that goes out to the west side, and there's a five-foot path, five-foot-wide path that leads out here in case of any emergency or evacuation from that child care center.

And um, here is the second floor plan.

And here you can see the uh parking system, which does consist of four modules.

The system stores the vehicles vertically and horizontally, and each space does function independently, storing the vehicles without having to relocate any vehicle to get a new car in.

And uh the residential storage units that are required for multifamily uses are being provided on the second floor as well.

And now moving into the um the building architecture, the entire building consists of smooth cement plaster finish with a mix of paint colors and a material material board with the color swatches is provided tonight, is right behind the secretary.

If uh if you would like to see that passed around to see more of the color palette, also consists of black metal louvers and screens as well as black metal canopies.

Glass guardrails will be installed on the outdoor decks.

Again, this is the street-facing elevation, and again, just to be respectful of time, the applicant has a presentation, and they'll really go into more of the design concept.

This is the rear elevation that will be facing the existing multifamily uses.

And again, the same color material palette carried along as well as the outdoor decks.

And this is the east elevation facing inwards where you would access into that mechanical parking garage.

And to go up to the upper floors.

This is the west elevation, which is from if you're at the adjacent parcel where the service station is looking to that side.

So essentially the back of the of this building.

And moving on to the landscaping plan.

Because it's a tight site layout and there's existing utilities along the frontage.

There was really no space to put in any trees or street trees.

But the applicant is providing shrubs, grasses, and ground cover as well as compliance with the bioretention, the basins that are located.

And there will be trees that are planted on the roof deck.

So there's 14 new trees that consists of us olives and pine trees, and I think those were selected because they're evergreen, and they're also wind resistance.

So this the roof deck also consists of lounge seating, a spa area, shaded areas, open space for other types of gatherings.

And the mechanical equipment is also located on the rooftop.

And there are four trees on site, the pear trees that are being removed.

These were administratively approved by the city's consulting arborists due to their size, health, and the species.

And there are six off site trees that are all located along the west perimeter of the site that are shown on this.

And these are all being preserved and they'll be protected in place during construction.

And as mentioned earlier, this project also consists of a daycare.

It is 860 square feet and consists of also includes the outdoor play area.

And the hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7 30 a.m.

to 5 30 p.m.

And this will function exclusively as an amenity for the building residents.

So it won't be open to the general public.

No additional vehicle traffic is anticipated beyond the normal active residential activity, as it is again just not open to the public and just an amenity for residents.

The outdoor play area is enclosed and separated from the vehicle circulation routes, as uh shown back here.

Sorry, I'm having fun with this new clicker, they just added this new feature, and it's fun.

So this project also qualifies for a class 32 CEQA exemption, which is the in-filled development.

Uh, there's a criteria, there's I think five findings that need to be made, one such being that is consistent with the policies of the mixed-use commercial uh zoning and general plan.

Um the site is less than five acres.

Uh, there's existing utilities on site, and I believe there's uh there the project site is currently developed, and there'll be less than significant effects to traffic and air quality and so forth, and all of this has been outlined in the draft resolution attachment one in more detail.

And same goes for the findings that are required for this project.

Again, all are addressed in the draft resolution, but it does uh require to approve this project tonight.

The project needs to meet the subdivision and design review findings, and then the conditional use permit and special uh specific child care findings for the child care portion.

And um the project also meets the intent of the West Downtown Specific Plan, which really does envision um a activated ground floor or um a commercial space that um fronts the Mount Diablo frontage uh with uh residential uses on the upper floors, and the project does meet the objective design standards.

Uh the project is located within a half a mile of ART.

Uh so uh per our parking standards and I believe it was was it AB 2097.

A B 2097 also says that if a project is located within a half mile bar, it does not need to require it does not need to provide any parking.

The project is providing 88 parking stalls, and with that, um staff does recommend that the planning commission adopt uh the updated draft resolution approving the um the entitlements listed before you for the mixed use project at 2094 Mount Diablo Boulevard.

Um I did want to mention that there were minor corrections made to the draft resolution, um, and a copy of that updated reso has been presented to all of you.

The corrections are highlighted in yellow.

Um that is all I have.

Oh, and I sorry, I also need to make the finding or recommendation for the CEQA exemption.

And that was already outlined in the draft resolution, but I I forgot to state it for the record, so my apologies.

Thank you, thank you.

Does anybody have any perfect?

Uh going back to the sidewalk um waiver, is I know that we we most likely will grant if we approve it, we'll be granting that waiver, but will the city be able to come through sometime in the future and create a 14-foot sidewalk through there?

Yes, because there is sufficient right-of-way, and um the 14 feet that's envisioned in the west downtown specific plan will be achieved as the existing street width will be reduced to accommodate that 14 feet.

So, regardless of this concession, that will still happen.

And um, we do have as mentioned earlier, the city engineer here if uh we need to elaborate on that.

Thank you.

And another question I have it's great that it has a daycare, but uh it closes at 5 30, which I think is awfully early.

If it with my kids in there, I would never make it there in time to get my kids out.

So are they willing to change that to more reasonable time of say six?

That's a great question.

I believe the um property owner is also or is here tonight.

And uh third question there's appears to be only two elevators, is one of them sufficient to handle furniture going up people for people who move in and out?

Yes, and it meets all the building code uh requirements, so I believe it would have sufficient space for that.

And final question, the HOA on this.

How does an HOA work with residential and commercial?

Is there anything special on that or is there?

In this in this case, it's not a commercial endeavor, it's an amenity.

So the HOA would be responsible to maintain the amenities on the property.

Okay, thank you.

Uh no question for the questions right now.

Thanks, Mark.

Um, I'm curious about the the in lieu waiver.

Is there precedent for for this?

I mean, is there is the city look at at the numbers and say you're right, we get it, you know.

You're tight on the margins.

Or can you just expound on that a little bit?

Is it regarding the public art fee waiver?

Yeah.

Um Claire, do you want to?

I can take a stab at that.

The um applicant argued that that the art fee is is similar to a development standard in that it required on-site public art to spend one percent of your construction cost estimate on an art project, or you can take the you know the low road, or the high road, I guess, depending on what roads you're driving, and pay the fee.

So it was it was likened to a development standard, and development standards are waivable.

And in this case, maybe the the philosophy is there's not a lot of real estate necessarily.

So where's the giant windmill gonna go?

Right?

Is that my thing the right way?

Okay.

Thanks, Jim.

Um my mic is not on.

That would help.

So there's there's no separate commercial lot that's being created or subdivided as part of this map.

It is, yeah.

There's a separate creating the yeah, one is the commercial, the daycare is the amenity.

Okay, because that that's what I was pinging to your question.

Because when there's a separate lot, then the Davis Sterling Act would go ahead and have C C and R's specific for the commercial lot and then the residential, I'm assuming.

Cause then because then the second the residential lot will then be condo mapped, yes, with the 74 residential units, yeah.

Um then speaking of concessions, so I thought that um a concession for fees is discretionary under state density bonus law.

It so the density bonus statute does say you know that does not require the provision of financial incentives.

I think that's what you're referring to, but the the idea here is that the requirement is the provision of public art, the fee is the in lieu of that.

That's standard is the division of art.

So you're conceding out of of actually providing the art itself, not the in lieu fee.

Correct.

Okay.

Did that help?

Well, no, it was my understanding that we were waiving the fee, right?

Well, the waiver would be for the requirement to provide art because the fee is not to provide the art, but pay the fee instead.

So, but the bottom line is we're not getting the extra 300 grand.

Correct.

Okay, I think the fee was shown just to so show there will be a cost savings, which a concession requires the city to illustrate will there be a cost savings by approving the concession.

I'd build on that by saying that the cost of the art is supposed to be equal to what the fee would be.

Yeah, 300,000 approximately.

Any more questions I have?

Oh, go ahead.

No, none.

Um if the if there was any truck turning analysis completed as part of the categorical exemption and or, and also did the fire department look at this?

Yes, they did.

And um again, uh the applicant as part of their presentation is gonna incorporate the whole the discussions they had with the fire department as well as building to make sure there's been this uh accessibility provided on.

Okay, yeah.

Then I'll just save my questions for there.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Um I did want to ask, is the overflow room open?

It is not prepared.

Okay, we're just gonna get nice and cozy in here.

Um, and it's cold outside, so it's fine.

So, how long does the applicant have to ten minutes?

Okay, I'd like to then open up.

Does the applicant want to come up and provide a oh there we go?

Okay, hello, my name is Ben Johansson with LCA Architects representing the applicant.

Um thank you, Simmer, for your uh your summary of the project, and um we'll work to provide a little more information on particularly where we've gone and the discussions we've had since the design review commission heard it.

So this is the feedback that we heard.

We heard about public safety and visibility.

They encouraged us to look into these further, the street-facing elevation, the site triangles.

There's a neighboring property owner who wanted us to confirm that uh their drainage would not be impacted by this development.

So first public safety and visibility.

It's our feeling that the project will improve safety and visibility on the site just by opening it up to 24-7 surveillance by introducing residents previously.

There's the parking lot, the storage areas for the Nage Brewing Retail in the back, and it just it's not as easy to survey as the proposed project.

We are providing adequate light around the perimeter, and we imagine the site will be activated at more hours.

Street facing elevation, we feel that one primary material in addition to the glazing and the railing that do not count towards the to the standard that we're asking to be waived, as well as articulation of the building face, will create a high-quality interesting facade.

There's some curved balconies on the corner.

There's large storefront glass at the ground floor.

I mean, we probably exceed the 20% in glass alone on the frontage, but that doesn't count towards the standard.

So we're asking it for it to be waived.

We did the analysis as requested for site distance triangles, and the project conforms.

So we are matching at the center line of the driveway with the existing conditions.

There's pervious paving on our side now.

The existing cache basin is going to remain.

Submit an alternative means and methods application and worked with the fire marshal to come up with an acceptable plan.

As far as truck access, there is not just the dimensions of the site would not allow for a fire truck to turn around on the site.

So we have we have to provide alternatives.

So the fire marshal says we can do a dead end to 200 and 200 feet, and then they would back out from there.

Those are kind of the primary things.

This is a fully sprinklered building.

We have been able to work to a solution that's acceptable to the fire district and to the building division regarding fire and emergency access.

The alternative means and methods that are proposed are sort of standard exceptions when a site is not able to provide the aerial apparatus access road as would be prescribed in the code.

So we worked with the building division to make sure that all the openings on this tight site, all the openings conform to the standards in the California Building Code.

We worked to make sure that each of the exit pathways from the front and from the mostly from the rear stair and from the child care facility in the back of the site would be protected and maintained as a safe exit pathway, exit passageway in the event of an emergency.

As part of that discussion back and forth with building division, we did need to eliminate four metal grill louver systems at the back of the mechanical parking, which would have, you know, we we had anticipated perhaps being able to provide natural ventilation for the parking garage, but that would have created openings that couldn't be protected even in the event of an emergency, and so we've eliminated those to make the passageway safe, and we will provide mechanical ventilation for the parking garage.

So it's kind of into the weeds, but we've had a lot of discussions and we appreciate the uh the work of the fire district and the building division.

Driveway width is another is a waiver, the first waiver I'll discuss.

We are maintaining the same width of the existing entry drive into the site where there would be a where the standard would be for the first 25 feet, it would be 25 feet wide.

Just the cross section across the site with providing a viable commercial space, the residential lobby, the exit passageways, just make that a difficult standard to it would physically preclude the project to apply the standard.

So we are asking for that waiver.

The standard would be for there to be a 27-foot backup at these parking stalls.

We're providing four inches less, at least conceptually, we may be able to increase it as we go into construction documents, but we want to make sure that we're providing adequate dimensions for the mechanical parking system and structure, and so we're asking for a waiver as that as well for four inches.

So here is the um the section that's proposed in the west downtown specific plan for Mount Diablo Boulevard.

It's all within the hundred foot right-of-way that's existing.

So each of the 14-foot walks on either side of the road, the new bike paths, all of that occur within the existing defined right-of-way.

We are asking for a front setback reduction.

The front setback is fifty is standard is for 15 feet at the ground level, up to 40 feet.

We're proposing a reduction to about 12 foot 3, and that is measured from the curb.

So in this walkway, if this was to be developed and to Commissioner Strongman's point, we have not precluded development of this section as intended in the future.

When that walk is increased to 14 feet, we would provide as shown in this.

We would provide 15 feet six at the up to 40 feet and meet the standard.

We would ask for the waiver of the step back, you know.

We have 25 density bonus units, we're accommodating them.

We need more building envelope to do so, so we aren't stepping back as far.

We do step back at the top to uh to a distance that is that we meet the standard, but there's a couple of floors in there that we do not.

Side and rear yard courts.

There's a standard about 20 by 20 courts at living rooms, 10 feet by 10 feet at bedrooms along the side yards, and the site is not it's too narrow with the units that are proposed to meet those standards.

Again, we've worked with the building division to come up with ways that the the goals of ventilation and light would be met within the units that have the closest setback.

And you know, this is all you know, we we have to build as if there's a site next door, but currently there is not.

So thank you.

Wrap it up.

If there's any questions, I'm here, the civil engineer is here, and the applicant is here as well.

Thank you for your presentation.

Does anybody have any questions for the applicant?

Yes.

Alright, I'll start.

Um so thank you so much for the presentation.

It was very helpful to understand what the developers did to conform to to work to get the to address the issues and concerns with fire safety and also code conformance.

Um on the issue of safety, I did want to get clarification on the mechanical parking stacker.

I do uh park in one of those at work, so I do I am aware that they are very powerful machines, and at my work they're gated to make sure that people can't walk under the platforms as the cars move up and down.

So is the yes, these will be gated.

Okay, all right.

And then there's adequate protection measures to make sure that if someone's gonna be able to do that.

Yeah, there's all the safety sensors and um there'll be card access to open the gates.

Um, you know, there'll be four gates that go up at each one at each bay, and so at any time, you know, it would just be for the car that's coming in.

I have it in the other presentation, okay.

Um, that's good.

Yes, it's included our set.

There's a list of the safety features that are provided.

All right, thank you.

Um going back to your emergency plans uh what about the daycare?

Is there an evacuation plan if there's an emergency?

Yes, there are as um are pointed out, there are two.

Is this the fancy thing?

Yeah, so there's there's there are two exits out of the child care, so there's this one that would come out along the east side of the site to exit, as well as there's another um exit on the west side to come down as well.

Thank you.

Um, so just um when I drove the site to kind of see what we were looking at.

I know that the right next to this, um, on the bottom of that map is the ACE hardware right next door.

Um, and so just to clarify, you have the on this map you have the red and the purple, and then below that is ACE hardware, and they have access to parking on on that side of their fence.

Can you just describe that a little bit?

The site has a um a shared parking access road.

There's 10 feet on our side of the property line and 10 feet on the uh the west property is as well, and so that is what the easements are, and so we are maintaining that 10 foot easement all the way to the back of the site, and then on so we are providing the same access that they're afforded now going forward.

Anyone else?

Um I have a couple of questions.

Um so you had mentioned that you're keeping, and I understand that you're you're using a waiver.

Is it a waiver concession for the driveway width?

The um the waiver is is uh oh, yes, it's a waiver.

It's a waiver.

Yes.

So my question is you're saying you're keeping it as is, but the air, there's kind of two.

So there's a concession that allows us to keep the frontage improvements, including the driveway apron.

And then behind the driveway and apron, there's a development standard for for the first 25 feet.

Yeah, you're supposed to be 25 feet wide.

And so it's kind of both, I think.

And you have it at 21.

We have it at 20.

Where I'm getting at this is that the existing buildings don't qualify to trigger the aerial apparatus code because of their heights, correct?

Correct.

Exactly.

So the problem that I have right now is the fact that normally the fire department goes 150 feet.

That's the length of their hosed.

Um, and I get that you're getting an AMMR.

I'm very, very familiar with AMMRs.

So it sounds like are you you're providing additional, sometimes they don't allow you to use the room method.

So then you have to provide additional fire sprinklers.

And the reason I bring all of that up is because you have a child care facility.

The existing conditions don't even trigger that.

And I noticed that you're sharing it with the law firm.

What are we sharing?

The purple is the access for the law firm that's the brick veneer building next to the front.

Yeah.

And so how when BKF did the truck derning, they just had the truck, they had an aerial truck going in and then just backing all the way out.

When we discussed this with the fire marshal, and um they approved the AMR, they um they said we will uh and the fire code has a provision that the fire marshal is allowed to say, okay, you know, usually we would go in 150 feet for a dead end.

They can extend that.

So he said we will we are willing in this condition to go in 200 feet, and then also we anticipate being able to come up from Mount Diablo Boulevard as well to access the roof with an aerial apparatus.

And then beyond that, you know, you you see projects that don't have any access roads onto it.

We did 17 16 lofts, um, and it's just a walkway around it.

There's no, there's just the one you come off of Main Street and you can ladder up.

Um so in some ways this is an improvement over something like that, and then the code offers the opportunity to do the wet stand pipes in the stairwells.

Right.

Did you do ladder truck exhibits that show the ladder truck the only so they would bring a truck in?

This that would not be an aerial apparatus aerial apparatus.

It doesn't have they're not gonna do that.

Because an aerial apparatus um driveway is 26 feet.

That's why I asked.

Right.

This is not an aerial apparatus that's coming into the site.

They anticipate being able to put an aerial apparatus on Mount Diablo, right in front, go up to the roof that way.

And then a different truck driving 250.

And they've already confirmed inside the only re only reason I'm bringing this up.

Sorry.

I mean, there it's the children that live in the building anyway.

So they would be, you know, they could be upstairs, they could be down there, in some ways having, you know, while they're on the ground floor, that's easier for them to evacuate than they're just all in someone else's there.

There's a there's 11 of them, I think is what I read.

Yeah.

So at the end of the day, the fire marshal has confirmed the aerial apparatus wouldn't go down here, which now makes a lot more sense to me.

Um, it would be a different truck that they've already confirmed, can drive there, they can have their hose so now because in my mind I'm thinking to myself, how in the world like you need.

No, aerial apparatus you have to be 26 feet, you have to fit 15 feet away from the building.

Yeah, it doesn't.

But I did want to make that clear that you know, when you stated, oh, it's the same driveway with we're just keeping it because existing conditions, you're triggering a completely different building code.

Yes.

Um, then what is then what's existing.

Um, so it's not an aerial appropriate.

Okay.

Um, the other question, I only have two more.

One of them's really easy.

The second question is um the BMRs, affordable housing is always good.

Where are they located?

Where are the the eight?

Yeah.

They'll be distributed.

I mean it'll be um proportional.

I forget exactly the two the two-bedroom, one-bedroom studio count.

One bedroom, 35 each and then one studio.

So it hasn't exactly been confirmed, but it'll be proportional to the unit types.

Um, yeah, okay.

It has not, you know, it wasn't, it hasn't come up as far as assigning them at this stage.

It will need to be assigned.

And then the last question is um the green roof.

Are you using that for uh C3 water quality purposes?

We are using it to reduce the amount of impervious area on the site.

It's not a treatment.

Okay, got it.

Okay.

Any, I feel like I'll ask a lot of questions, and there's a lot of people in here.

Any other questions?

Okay.

Thank you so much.

So now um I'd like to open up the public comment.

Does anybody have anything that would they would like to discuss on this item only?

Out of all the people here.

No public comments on this item.

Oh, yes.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, I actually live two blocks from this project.

It's kind of scary, but um, I'm I'm not anti-development at all.

So I appreciate the questions.

It looks like the team has done a great job in terms of um accounting for the the site challenges.

I mean, I literally live two blocks from the site, so I I know this very well as well.

So um I appreciate the efforts that everyone's put into this and and look forward to it.

It'll probably be a nightmare for a while with the construction, but um, you know, that's just part of the you know process.

So thank you.

Thank you.

With nobody else, um now the applicant has a chance to speak again.

I don't but you don't have to?

Thank you.

I would like to now close public comment and bring it to the commission for any considerations, emotions, thoughts, comments.

All right, um, I'll make the motion.

So I move to approve this draft resolution for the time to have subdivision 9697 for condominium purposes.

Final design review, density bonus, tree drift line encouragement permit, and conditional use permit application number Y24-040 at 2094 Mount Diablo Boulevard.

And just uh confirm that's the revised version that's been presented.

Oh, as amended.

As amended, yes.

Thank you.

Second, are we right there?

Okay.

Commissioner Quok.

Yes, Commissioner Cound.

Yes, Commissioner Moran?

Yes, Commissioner Strongman.

Yes, Commissioner Klopp.

Yes, and Vice Chair Knighting.

Yes.

Okay, that is motion carries.

Thank you.

And now we're going to be moving on to the second item on the agenda for application Y2303083 located at 7449 Buena Vista Avenue.

Does the city have oh perfect?

Yes, uh staff has prepared a presentation for tonight.

So uh good evening, commissioners.

My name is Stephen Cook, assistant planner with the city's community development department.

Uh before you this evening is a request for a conditional use permit uh to establish a new K-8th private school, the LGD Academy at 2449 Buena Vista Avenue.

Uh the associated project number is Y twenty three oh eight three.

Uh before we begin, I'd like to note a few housekeeping items.

Uh since the publication of the agenda packet, the applicant has invoked California Assembly Bill 2097.

So AB 2097 prohibits local jurisdictions from imposing minimum off-street parking requirements on eligible projects located within one-half mile of a major transit stop, which in this case includes the Walnut Creek BART station located just south of the site.

Accordingly, staff has updated the draft resolution to reflect this change.

Revisions include updates to the background section, the conditions of approval, as well as the addition of the approved transportation demand management plan, or TDM, as a new attachment confirming the project's eligibility under the city's off-street parking ordinance.

The project site is located on Buena Vista Avenue, just south of Alvarado Avenue.

The parcel is approximately 36,000 square feet and contains four detached single-story buildings totaling roughly 7,0100 square feet.

The property is owned by the Walnut Creek Islamic Center and is currently being used as a religious assembly facility.

An existing surface parking lot as shown on the slide provides on-site parking for visitors and staff.

The surrounding area consists of a mix of a single-family residences, other religious assembly facilities, and several elementary and K-8th private schools.

And the zoning for the site is duplex D3 residential.

For background, the school previously operated on the site from fall 2023 through spring 2025.

During the final spring semester, the city's building official and a fire inspector from the Contra Casa County Fire Protection District directed the school to cease operations until all required permits were obtained.

Staff also confirmed that the school is actively registered with the California Department of Education as shown on the slide.

LGD Academy is a 501c3 nonprofit organization seeking to establish again a K-8th private school within the existing Islamic Center.

The submitted business plan identifies a maximum enrollment of 90 students, and for context, the school previously enrolled 46 students.

Staffing includes four administrative staff, two fully credentialed teachers, and 10 part-time teachers and training.

The academic curriculum includes English language arts, mathematics, science, leadership, religious studies, and foreign language.

Daily hours of operations are Monday through Thursday, with a staggered drop-off period between 8 and 8 40 a.m.

And uh staggered pickup period from 3:30 to 345 p.m.

Fridays.

Exclusively operate as half days with an 1130 a.m.

pickup.

So this operational schedule indicates that the school activities will not overlap with the scheduled religious assembly functions, thereby minimizing any on-site parking demand and reducing potential traffic congestion.

So transitioning into the proposed site plan.

The layout identifies the seven classrooms when administrative office, which are marked in stars for reference.

All other areas will be retained by the Islamic Center, and the project also includes modifications to the existing surface parking lot, including restriping to create a designated pickup drop-off area, improve on-site circulation, and ensure compliance with ADA fire access and the city's parking design standards.

As shown on the plan, site access is provided from Buena Vista Avenue with separate ingress-egress points.

So during the noticing period, staff received several public comments, many of which raise concerns relating to parf perfect parking traffic and noise, beginning with parking and traffic.

As noted earlier, the project invokes assembly bill or AB 2097, which prevents the city from imposing minimum off-street parking requirements.

Under the city's off-street parking ordinance, projects relying on AB 2097 must submit a transportation demand management plan for review and approval by the city's uh transportation administrator.

And so the applicant's TDM plan has been already approved and includes several measures, including operational and design strategies to prevent spillover parking, procedures for regular monitoring of neighborhood parking conditions and contingency measures.

So if spillover parking is observed, there's an activated share parking agreement with a nearby property at 2317 Buena Vista Avenue, just south of the site, about a quarter of a mile, which has approximately 77 parking spaces available.

And so the approved TDM plan is included as an addendum to the agenda packet as attachment seven.

So in addition, the project includes parking lot improvements, and these improvements are intended to better manage the flow of vehicles entering and exiting the site onto Buena Vista Avenue and for concerns regarding unauthorized parking on private property on or in red curved areas.

Residents could contact the Walnut Creek Police Department traffic enforcement division to report any violations.

That division is responsible for enforcement and can issue citations to offending vehicles.

Please refer to the GIS vicinity map, which illustrates the project site's location within one half mile of the Walnut Creek Bart Station for your reference.

And regarding noise, the city's general plan recognizes that noise is both subjective and context dependent, with sensitivity often increasing during the evening and nighttime hours.

So the general plan's land use and noise compatibility table guidelines as shown on the screen.

Classifies single-family residential uses and school uses within the same normally acceptable and conditionally acceptable thresholds for the day-night average noise levels.

In addition, the school's business plan indicates that all academic construction will occur within fully enclosed buildings, and to further limit potential impacts, the draft resolution includes a condition prohibiting outdoor school-related activities within the parking lot.

This ensures that the open areas on the site are used primarily for vehicle circulation rather than student activities, thereby minimizing potential noise exposure for nearby residents.

To summarize, the applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to establish the new K 38th private school for LGD Academy, and the planning commission is tasked with uh reviewing the required uh CUP findings as shown on the screen.

Uh staff believes that the commission can make the necessary findings and has prepared a draft resolution that provides a response to each.

Okay, the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15301 class one, existing facilities as it evolves the partial conversion of an existing religious assembly use into a new school use with no expansion of the building footprint.

Okay, staff recommends that the planning commission move to determine that the project be exempt from CEQA under the section 15301 existing facilities and adopt the revised draft resolution approving the conditional use permit for the LGD Academy at 2449 Buena Vista Avenue.

Okay, and that concludes staff's presentation for tonight.

I'm available to answer any questions and representatives from LGD Academy are also present here tonight to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation.

Does anybody have any comments for staff or questions?

None.

Okay.

Um I'd like to then open up the public.

Oh, does the applicant have a presentation?

Not a presentation.

Okay, just speak.

Okay.

Okay.

Uh good evening, uh, commissioners.

My name is uh excuse me.

I've been talking all day.

Uh my name is Yester Nassiri.

I'm a parent and a founder, uh, one of the founders of LGD Academy.

Um I'm also uh an optometrist.

I've been serving community health centers my entire career, about a decade, and uh and specifically in expanding services to underserved areas.

Um I shifted my um interest to education, uh, as of course uh you never think about that, but with having two kids, um I saw that my daughter was going through some challenges at school, so I looked to find an alternative for her.

Um so Al Judy began began really as a collaborative effort with other community members who wanted to find something different, an alternative uh education opportunity for their kids.

Um, and we chose Walnut Creek.

It's been the Center hub for a lot of our families.

Um it's Al Judy would be the first Islamic school if given the permit uh in the Walnut Creek uh Tri-Valley area.

And um growing up here, uh you know, I've been raised in the Bay Area, gone to public schools, I graduated from Cal.

I know that the most important thing is to make sure that the school is also a part of the community.

And one of the most important things that makes L Judy special for my daughter and for one of the reasons why parents pick the school is that it's brought in a leader in me.

Leader in Me is an established program that works to bring in and adapt the principal seven habits of highly successful individuals.

And that framework teaches kids that leadership starts with service.

The essence of leadership is service.

And when we first came into the community, we knew we know kids make noise.

We know that.

I mean, I have two, and I feel like I have 20.

So it's it's not easy.

And our students went door to door to the adjacent neighborhood in an in an effort to show that we're here, you know, we want to create a type of friendship, a bond.