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The San Ramon Planning Commission is set to consider granting an extension to the application filing period for a proposed redevelopment project that would replace the San Ramon Valley’s only skating rink with housing.
The rink has remained open despite the owners announcing its planned closure in late 2021, later thanking skaters from throughout the region for their support in what had been set to be the rink’s final days, and rescinding the closure announcement while committing to keep the rink open for an indefinite period of time.
Meanwhile, the clock has been ticking on a redevelopment application for housing on the site at 2701 Hooper Drive that was approved in 2022 by the city’s planning commission and council, with the property having been included as a housing opportunity site in the city’s current housing element.
According to a letter from the owner’s attorney to the city last month requesting a six-year timeline extension, the delay so far in moving forward with construction of the Windflower Fields housing project – and the demolition of the rink – has been due to a landslide on an adjacent property that spread to the site in question, rather than simply a desire to keep the rink open following the outpouring of support for the facility after its closure announcement.
“Shortly after the first submittal of the Improvement Plans, we discovered evidence that a landslide that emanated from a portion of the open space within the Preserve project to the west had migrated onto the 2701 Hooper Drive property,” attorney Bryan Wenter wrote in the letter on behalf of the property owner, Hassan Sharifi. “Unfortunately, the owner of the Preserve project does not yet appear to have mitigated the effects of this slide or done anything to ensure the slope will be stable in the future, affecting the implementation of the Windflower Fields project.”
Wenter added that he and his client were working with geotechnical engineers with the aim of implementing their recommendations into revised grading plans that would be submitted to the city.
“The requested extension should provide us with enough time to complete the processing of the Improvement Plans and have the project begin construction,” Wenter wrote.
While Wenter noted that the city’s code does not generally allow for extensions of the length Sharifi is seeking, he pointed to a state subdivision law and case law that he said applied to the Windflower Fields project.
“The Subdivision Map Act provides that upon the application of a subdivider such as my client ‘before the expiration of the approved or conditionally approved tentative map,’ such map may be extended for a period or periods not exceeding a total of six years,” Wenter wrote. “While the City’s code appears to provide only for extensions that do not exceed three total years and also appears to require an extension application filed “no later than thirty calendar days prior to the tentative map expiration date,” those limitations are preempted by the Subdivision Map Act.”
City staff agreed with Wenter’s analysis on the implications of the Subdivision Map Act, recommending that the commission approve a timeline extension of at least 1.5 years, during which the applicant can demonstrate progress on the project and file additional extension requests for up to six years in total.
However, they noted that while the project was approved prior to updates to the city’s General Plan and other new ordinances and policies, city officials have the option of holding the project to the regulations currently in effect due to the delay of construction.
“Construction for the Project has not commenced within the two and one-half (2-½) year period from the final approval date, as a result, the Project can be subjected to current City ordinances, policies, or standards, though not required,” Associate Planner Ryan Driscoll wrote in a staff report prepared for the upcoming meeting.
If commissioners approve the proposed extension through 2026, the applicant would be allowed to file the required construction permits for the project starting on Dec. 27 if a valid appeal or call for review isn’t submitted before Dec. 27 at 5 p.m. If they vote to deny the request, the current entitlement and applications for the project would expire.
The San Ramon Planning Commission is set to meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (Dec. 17). The agenda is available here.
In other business
*The commission is set to review and discuss development applications for the proposed 190-unit Bartlett housing project at Bishop Ranch 7, and to consider a resolution approving the project under its current conditions of approval.
*The commission is set to hold a study session on proposed amendments to the city’s zoning ordinances that have been developed in response to the most recent Housing Element and General Plan updates.
