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The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors last week authorized staff to look elsewhere in East County if a proposed new county fire station in Brentwood does not move along in the city’s approval process by the end of 2026.
The proposed station at Lone Tree Way and Windy Springs Road is the second location in Brentwood that has been considered by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District in recent years for what would be called Fire Station 90. The county fire district became responsible for firefighting efforts in East County when it annexed the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District in 2022.
The fire district started looking in 2024 for a new site for Fire Station 90 after learning that the first location under consideration had soil contamination that would take several million dollars to clean up, according to a report presented by Fire Chief Aaron McAlister to the Board of Supervisors at its meeting last Tuesday.
The fire district ultimately acquired property at the Lone Tree Way location later that year with plans for the county to also build an adjacent youth center. The proposal requires the city to transfer a small parcel of undeveloped land and a private driveway that the fire district says is needed for the design and to access the station and youth center.
McAlister wrote in his report that Brentwood staff had talked in 2024 with the fire district about the sale of the city-owned land, but more than a year went by. Then in April when the district tried to submit an application to the city for building the station, it was rejected because it contained the city-owned property.
His report attributed the confusion to “staff turnover at the city” of Brentwood and said new rounds of discussions have since occurred between the city and fire district over the land transfer.
Then, earlier this month, the Brentwood City Council in a closed session approved selling the property to the fire district, contingent on the district getting the station project approved through the city’s planning process.
While the fire chief wrote in the report that the council’s action “is a step in the right direction, it does not guarantee that we will be successful in getting the project approved”.
McAlister’s report said the district also faced headwinds and extra costs when previously getting what is known as Fire Station 94 approved by the city in downtown Brentwood. The original concept was to have both Stations 90 and 94 built simultaneously to boost firefighting response times in East County.
The report said city officials considering the downtown Station 94 got bogged down in “obscure issues, such as questions about whether it is a ‘hotel’ or whether it includes a ‘gym’ used for firefighter fitness”. The Brentwood City Council ultimately approved the station, which is expected to finish construction by the end of 2026.
Board of Supervisors chair Diane Burgis, who represents the Brentwood area and other parts of East County, also noted at Tuesday’s meeting the challenges with getting the downtown Station 94 approved by the city, including issues raised late in the process about the color of bricks and other aesthetic features. She said she doesn’t want the same to happen with Station 90.
“Should this become impossible for us to get through because people want to make it difficult, we can move it right down the street … and relocate it into another city,” Burgis said.
McAlister said at the meeting that the nearby cities of Antioch and Oakley would be possibilities if the proposal with Brentwood falls through, but said in the report that there were no negative comments from neighbors at a community meeting held in late June to show the revised plans for Station 90.
He said there were more than $1 million in change orders for the Station 94 project and said the county should be wary of any similar late changes proposed if the county moves forward with the Station 90 plans in Brentwood.
“We really only want one bite at the apple” when it comes to an agreement with the city, the fire chief said at the meeting.
Supervisor Candace Andersen agreed, saying “We can’t afford another million dollars in contingencies.”
The supervisors agreed to revisit the proposal and other possible locations for the station at the end of the calendar year if it was not moving through Brentwood’s Planning Commission and City Council by then.
“We want to put a firehouse and youth center there, that’s still our intention,” Burgis said.
– Story by Dan McMenamin, Bay City News Service
