Concord City Council votes to delay selection of developer for huge project
The Concord City Council voted late Tuesday night to put off till next week a decision on whether to choose the only developer left in the running for the first phase of a multi-billion dollar real estate project — a 2,200-acre township on the former Concord Naval Weapons Station.
Lennar Urban was the only developer being considered after Catellus Development Corp. dropped out, frustrated over several parts of the process, and accusing inappropriate lobbying of a council member on the part of Lennar's associates.
The city plans to turn the land into a trendy, transit-oriented community, lined with parks, greenways, bike paths, a vibrant shopping district, a golf course, hotels, several schools and about 12,000 homes.
The council had seemed poised Tuesday to give the green light to a master developer for 500 acres between the North Concord BART Station and Willow Pass Road — the first leg of a potentially decades long project — but ended up voting unanimously to wait until next Wednesday to make a decision.
Mayor Laura Hoffmeister, along with Council members Dan Helix and Edi Birsan, said at council meeting overflowing with about 200 people that there were still unanswered questions surrounding several aspects of the bid, including the amount of affordable housing that would be offered, mitigation of increased traffic and plans for revenue sharing.
“On all levels I’m confident they’re more than qualified to build a city the people of Concord will be proud of,” he said during public comment.
The battle over who would win the bid to develop one of the largest mixed-use projects in Northern California has been plagued by accusations of improper lobbying and illegal closed door meetings, along with the death of a city official.
Catellus argued in a Sept. 24 letter sent to the city manager that Lennar had insider connections in the process because of Lennar’s ties to former Mayor Tom Grayson’s state Assembly campaign.
Catellus also accused city officials of holding an illegal closed door meeting where they decided to ignore a city staff report that endorsed Catellus for the job.
On Oct. 6, Coon jumped to his death from the third floor of a Walnut Creek parking garage, according to Walnut Creek Police Lt. Lanny Edwards, who said several witnesses saw him jump.