None. The project applicant will pay application fees to cover the cost of processing the GPA if authorized.
On July 17, 2019, the Department of Conservation and Development received a letter from Mr. Mark Armstrong of Pantages at Discovery Bay, LLC, requesting a GPA for a 171-acre group of parcels in the Discovery Bay area (see Attachment A). The subject parcels are designated SH, SM, and OS on the General Plan Land Use Element Map and zoned Planned Unit District (P-1). Mr. Armstrong proposes changing the General Plan land use designations to SH and OS, eliminating the SM designation.
The 171-acre property is located at the east end of Point of Timber Road. It is vacant and generally flat, with a substantial marsh and wetland in the northern half. To the west the property abuts single-family residences in the Ravenswood and Lakeshore subdivisions. To the east and south, across Kellogg Creek, are single-family residences in the original neighborhoods of Discovery Bay. These lots have docks and water access. To the north are irrigation district channels and undeveloped land. Attachment B is an aerial photo of the site and its surroundings.
The subject property has twice received entitlements for a 292-unit residential development known as Pantages Bays, most recently in October 2015 (see Attachment C). These entitlements included a mix of traditional single-family lots and lots that backed up to Kellogg Creek, providing water access similar to the access enjoyed by properties in the older portions of Discovery Bay. The applicant has stated, however, that securing the necessary State and federal permits to construct the approved project has proven too difficult. The latest proposal eliminates the water-access lots in favor of a more traditional design, resulting in far less disturbance to Kellogg Creek (see Attachment D). Other significant changes include reducing the unit count from 292 to 277, providing public roads instead of private, and providing a more extensive on-site park and trail system that would be accessible to the general public. Staff notes that widening Kellogg Creek at the northeast corner of the subject site and providing a parcel for a Sheriff's Marine Patrol substation, which would have improved boater safety in the area, were two of the primary public benefits of the previously approved project. As these improvements have been eliminated from the proposal, substitute public benefits must be demonstrated if the GPA is ultimately to be adopted.
Staff 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.
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 current land use designations.