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C. 74

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:	October 9, 2018

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

General Plan Amendment Request for Bancroft Road Commercial Project

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/09/2018

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

(925) 674-7791

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 9, 2018
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. AUTHORIZE initiation of a General Plan Amendment (GPA) process to consider changing the General Plan land use designation from "Multiple-Family Residential-Medium Density" (MM) to "Commercial" (CO) for a 1.35-acre parcel located at 999 Bancroft Road in the Concord area, Assessor's Parcel Number 148-300-015.

2. ACKNOWLEDGE that granting this authorization does not imply any sort of endorsement for the application to amend the General Plan, but only that the matter is appropriate for consideration.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None. If the authorization is granted, the project applicant will pay application fees to cover the cost of processing the GPA.

BACKGROUND:

The Department of Conservation and Development has received a letter from Mr. Dan Briner of the Briner Property Group proposing a GPA for the parcel located at 999 Bancroft Road in the Concord area (see Attachment A). The subject parcel is designated MM on the General Plan Land Use Element Map and zoned Controlled Manufacturing (C-M). Mr. Briner has proposed changing the General Plan land use designation for the parcel from MM to CO to allow continued commercial use of the property after the current tenant vacates the site in early 2019.

The subject parcel is located in a small, unincorporated pocket approximately three-quarters of a mile north of the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART Station. The property is flat and occupied by a commercial/light industrial building constructed in 1955. The property’s irregular shape is best described as a trapezium. It is surrounded by multiple-family residences to the north/northeast and southeast, single-family residences to the east, another commercial/light industrial building to the south, and the Iron Horse Trail to the west. Beyond the Iron Horse Trail are additional commercial/light industrial buildings. Attachments B and C, respectively, are a map showing the existing and proposed General Plan land use designations and an aerial photo of the site and its surroundings.

The proposed GPA warrants the County’s consideration. The site has been continuously developed and operated as a commercial property since the 1950s. The site was designated “Light Industry” in the General Plan until at least 1983 and was likely changed to MM with adoption of the 1990-2005 General Plan in January 1991. However, subsequent to the redesignation to MM, soil and groundwater contamination was discovered emanating from industrial properties to the west. Monitoring and remediation of the contamination continues, making the subject property’s suitability for residential development questionable at best. Staff therefore recommends authorization to proceed with the GPA process. Staff emphasizes, however, that authorization to proceed with the GPA process does not imply the Board's support or endorsement for the application to amend the General Plan, but only that this matter is appropriate for further consideration.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If the Board does not authorize initiation of the GPA process, then an application to amend the General Plan cannot be filed and the subject site will retain its MM land use designation.