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The Pleasanton Planning Commission will be reviewing an analysis on the environmental impacts of a proposed project, which aims to construct nearly 30 new single-family residential homes in an unincorporated area of Alameda County located just south of Dublin Canyon Road, during Wednesday’s commission meeting.
Along with the annexation of a portion of the project site — including the area proposed for development as well as the existing Oak Hills Congregation Church Site — into the city of Pleasanton, the Hidden Canyon Residences and Preserve Project also aims to build new roadways and reconstruct two existing single-family homes in the project area.
“The proposed project includes constructing 28 new detached single-family residential units and roadways on approximately 23.89 acres of an approximately 130.98-acre project site,” Derek Farmer, assistant director of Community and Economic Development, wrote in his Dec. 10 staff report.
According to Farmer’s report, the Planning Commission will be focusing its discussion Wednesday on providing feedback and receiving public testimony on the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
“In accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) a DEIR has been prepared to analyze the environmental impacts of the proposed project for each of the environmental resource areas potentially impacted by the project,” Farmer stated in his report.
Other aspects of the project include dedicating about 104.6 acres of public open space, modifying a portion of Dublin Canyon Road and constructing a new public trailhead dedicated to the East Bay Regional Park District. The new trailhead would include a restroom, parking, equestrian staging area and a new trail that will provide “access to the Pleasanton Ridge EBRPD trail system.”
“Improvements would be made to the frontage and driveway access for the Oak Hills Congregation site in conjunction with development of the residential project,” Farmer wrote in his report.
Wednesday’s hearing is part of a 45-day public review and comment period that serves as an opportunity for members of the Planning Commission and the public to offer feedback on the DEIR.
“The DEIR analyzed the environmental impacts of the proposed project and has identified that the project would have no significant and unavoidable impacts in all impact areas with the exception of transportation, specifically, impacts related to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT),” Farmer stated in his staff report. “This means that, with the one noted exception, any potential impacts that may have been identified in the analysis can be adequately mitigated so that they are not considered significant impacts on the environment.”
According to the staff report, in order to certify the Environmental Impact Report for the project, the city will have to identify significant benefits the project would have on the city that would also outweigh the “significant and unavoidable impacts and adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations prior to approving the project.”
“The Statement of Overriding Considerations specifies the reason why the City is certifying the EIR and approving the project, despite the significant and unavoidable impact related to VMT,” Farmer stated. “Additionally, this document discusses why the alternatives analyzed in the DEIR would not achieve either all or part of the project objectives.”
Some of the alternatives mentioned in the DEIR include not building the project at all, building the project through the use of existing zoning districts, or utilizing a different project site altogether.
Farmer stated in his report that once all comments regarding the project’s DEIR are submitted, a Response to Comments document will be prepared. That document, along with the DEIR, will be combined to develop a Final Environmental Impact Report.
“Once the FEIR is complete, the Planning Commission and City Council will hold public hearings to consider certification of the EIR and to take action on the project applications, with those hearings tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2026,” Farmer stated.
The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 10). The full agenda can be accessed here.
