Decision delayed on 315-unit East Bay housing project

Planning Commission Chair Kristina Strum first raised the idea of continuing the meeting after public comments from nearly 90 people were read.

LAFAYETTE — Voicing concerns about potential “life and death” evacuations in a wildfire and increased traffic congestion, the Lafayette Planning Commission delayed a decision on the controversial 315-unit Terraces of Lafayette housing plan until its June 15 meeting.

Planning Commission Chair Kristina Sturm first raised the idea of continuing the meeting — which lasted until about 1:40 a.m. Tuesday — after public comments from nearly 90 people were read. The reading of the comments, both in support for more housing in the Bay Area and in emotional opposition to the project, ended after midnight. Sturm noted the time and said she would prefer to have the commission discuss the Terraces at length at another meeting.

The vote to postpone the decision was 7-1, with Commissioner Anna Radonich casting the only “no” vote. Radonich said she couldn’t deny the project.

Sturm said she was “feeling conflicted” over approving the plan, but said she was leaning toward approving the Terraces. She said she still needed “harder evidence” that traffic and congestion issues wouldn’t exacerbate public health and safety.

Sturm and several other commissioners pointed out that two fires occurred last October near the housing project site that not only caused extensive damage to the Lafayette Tennis Club, but also forced the evacuation of nearby residents and caused major traffic tie-ups as drivers tried to flee to safety.

Vice Chair Farschad Farzan wanted to know why the staff report cited 2013 data on traffic delays instead of using statistics in 2017, and also had questions about the Terraces impact on public health and safety.

A city staff report concluded that denying the project could potentially cost Lafayette more than $15 million in a legal fight and cited the state’s Housing Accountability Act, which essentially takes away the issue of local control regarding affordable housing projects because of California’s housing crisis. The Terraces project has set aside 20 percent of its 315 units — 63 in total — for affordable housing.

Bryan Wenter, attorney for Menlo Park developer O’Brien Homes, said in his rebuttal that there was “no valid way to deny this project” and said the Terraces would bring “critically needed new housing to Lafayette.” He urged the commissioners to approve the project and “be on the right side of history.”

The 20-page staff report concluded the Terraces apartment project is well-designed to “develop a safe and efficient circulation system that respects Lafayette’s quality of life and community character and is consistent with other city goals.”

O’Brien Homes proposes to preserve 16 trees, plant 68 more trees, widen Pleasant Hill Road to add a third southbound lane between Deer Hill Road and Highway 24, install a two-way stop sign and extend a northbound left-turn extension. It will also provide a free shuttle for residents to the nearby Lafayette BART station.

But Commissioner Stephen LaBonge raised his concerns about potential fire hazards. He was worried about the impact that a big apartment complex would have — with its hundreds of residents and hundreds of vehicles — on the neighborhoods and residents living north of it in a wildfire, and called it a “life or death issue.”

And Commissioner Karen Maggio asked if there were any other mitigation measures the commissioners could ask of the developer.

“Clearly, it needs improvement,” she said of the project. “We need to bring residents some relief.”

The Terraces apartment plan dates back to March 2011. It has been the subject of 20 public hearings and a lawsuit, as well as a state court ruling.

The developer earlier agreed to shelve the apartment plan and instead build 44 houses on the 22-acre site off Deer Hill and Pleasant Hill roads. The compromise plan, called Measure L, went on the June 2018 ballot. When Lafayette voters rejected Measure L, O’Brien Homes immediately revived the 315-unit apartment project.