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The Livermore Planning Commission is set to once again debate the Garaventa Hills housing development at a special meeting Tuesday, following revision of its environmental impact report that analyzed — and ultimately dismissed — the no-project alternative.
Originally greenlit by the commission in December 2018 and approved by the Livermore City Council in April 2019 before being overturned in court, the proposal includes 44 single-family units on a vacant 32-acre site in north Livermore. Of these residences, 38 units would be detached and six would be paired as attached units.
The proposal also includes three homeowners association parcels composed of an open space perimeter, stormwater detention basin, two open space knolls, public trails and a privately owned street, according to the staff report from 2019.
At stake Tuesday is the commission’s final recommendation to City Council on whether to approve the development and its EIR. But before they rule, the public will have the chance to speak their minds on the residential project.
First proposed in July 2011, Garaventa Hills has been embroiled in controversy as it passed between the Planning Commission, City Council and even the Alameda Superior Court.
By April 2019, the city certified its environmental review and ultimately approved the project.
Within a month, the Alameda County Superior Court upheld the City’s decision following a challenge by Save the Hill Group.
By the looks of it, the project was on the road to development.
However upon appeal, the Court of Appeals ruled a partial reversal of the county court’s decision and found “the City violated CEQA by failing to sufficiently consider and analyze in the no project alternative the feasibility of permanently preserving the Garaventa Hills Project site as open space,” according to the commission’s drafted resolution.
Following the judgement, the city took back its environmental review certification and approval of the project in November 2022.
Then in April 2023, applicant Livermore LT Ventures I Group, LLC returned to the city with the Garaventa Hills proposal.
As part of the project coming back, its EIR was revised to “address inadequacies identified by the Court of Appeals”, according to the recirculated partial draft EIR. That meant the EIR addendum only analyzed the feasibility of the open land preservation on that site.
It concludes, “No Project, No Development involving site acquisition and preservation as open space is not a ‘feasible’ alternative the lead agency is compelled to adopt.”
The EIR motions to three points of analysis and evidence against the preservation of open space for that site.
For one, the owner is not willing to sell, so the land purchase cannot be funded through the Altamont Landfill Open Space Fund or the Dougherty Valley Settlement Agreement funds.
Secondly, attaining the property by eminent domain would be costly and against the city’s regular practices.
Lastly, the site is slated for residential development in the citys General Plan Housing Element.
The Livermore Planning Commission special meeting is set for Tuesday (Nov. 12) at 7 p.m. at the City Council Chambers located at 1016 S. Livermore Ave. The complete meeting agenda is available here.
