Council holds off on land use changes Council holds off on land use changes (December 02, 2005)

Oak Grove, assisted living debates continue
by Jeb Bing

The City Council Monday considered a wide range of land-use changes that could allow more housing units over the voter-mandated 29,000 housing cap and also force a developer to cut by a third the homes planned for Oak Grove, a project planned for the top of Hearst Drive on the city's far east side.

At its fourth workshop in a series of public meetings with the Planning Commission, the council focused on how to categorize housing units planned for a proposed senior Continuing Care Community that would be built on undeveloped county land called Staples Ranch.

The facility would include 766 assisted living units and an 89-bed skilled nursing facility. The assisted care portion of the complex would include 625 apartment-style units and 65 attached home-style units that could meet the criteria for city-designated independent housing units. If so, they would add to the number of homes in Pleasanton when the property is annexed.

If approved as small dwelling units that would have little impact on schools or traffic, these would accelerate the pace to build out the city at 29,000 units. If classified as assisted living units not subject to the housing count, they would make those numbers available to others who want the city to add more affordable housing before build out.

Principal Planner Janice Stern recommended that the assisted living units continue to not be counted under the housing cap, even though many of the proposed units for Staples Ranch would have kitchens and dining areas, similar to apartments elsewhere in the city.

Dolores Bengston -- speaking for Citizens for a Caring Community, an affordable housing advocacy group -- urged the council to accept Stern's recommendation so that the 766 Staples Ranch units could be taken out of the housing count and that number left for affordable housing elsewhere.

"Pleasanton has failed to meet its obligation for housing those with very low incomes, and this would give us an opportunity to provide that kind of housing," Bengston said.

But council members said they wanted more information on how the state housing authorities categorize residential units in a complex such as Continuing Care Community is proposing. Many of the planned homes closely resemble those at Ridge View Commons, another senior facility, where apartments are part of the city's current housing count.

As for residential land use changes, Stern suggested enforcing a safety element of the current 1996 General Plan that allows no development on areas prone to landslides, where there is slope instability or where the ground slopes more than 25 percent. Although the provision was added in 1986, it no longer is part of the city's building requirements.

"We may want to consider a revised definition of gross developable acres that excludes any portion of property that exceeds slopes of 25 percent or greater," she said.

The proposed ruling could affect a third of 98 $1-million-plus homes being planned for a portion of the 562 acre Oak Grove community, a controversial development plan by the Lin family that owns the acreage. It could also reduce from 82 to 60 the number of homes that could be built on Lund Ranch II, planned by Greenbriar Homes, and other developments being considered on city hillsides.

The council voted to delay any consideration of Stern's recommendation until after the Lins, their representatives, and a delegation from the Kottinger Ranch community complete their work at reconciling differences over how many homes might be acceptable on the Oak Grove parcel.

"I don't want to talk about land use changes that could interrupt these discussions, which could prove to be the best way to deal with the proposed housing development," said Councilman Matt Sullivan.

The council will hold its fifth land use workshop next month with the Planning Commission to consider land use policies and concerns in the east side section of the city near the gravel quarries. That property, which is also in unincorporated Alameda County, is expected to be annexed within the next few years as gravel operations wind down. Some of the land is suitable for housing and commercial development.

2

E-mail a friend a link to this story.