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The Danville Town Council is set to hold a public hearing this week on the next steps for the development of a planned housing project on a portion of the former walnut orchard known as the Borel property in the southeast area of town.
The council is set to hear public input and consider voting on a proposed resolution that would approve issuing up to $30 million in California Municipal Finance Authority Exempt Facility bonds for refinancing, acquisition, construction, or improvement costs for the proposed condominium project poised for a portion of the 17-acre site at 3020 Fostoria Way.Â
The borrower for those proposed bonds would be Pacific West Communities Inc., which is charged with the development of the 46 below-market-rate units set to be included in the 167-unit housing project being led by Trumark Homes.
The upcoming public hearing is required in order for the bonds to be qualified as tax-exempt, aimed at allowing community members to weigh in on whether or not to use those bonds to finance the 46 low-income units, with the council set to make a decision later in the meeting after hearing that input.Â
“The Bonds to be issued by the CMFA for the Project will be the sole responsibility of the Borrower, and the Town will have no financial, legal, moral obligation, liability or responsibility for the Project or the repayment of the Bonds for the financing of the Project,” Chief of Planning David Crompton wrote in a staff report for the upcoming meeting. “All financing documents with respect to the issuance of the Bonds will contain clear disclaimers that the Bonds are not obligations of the Town or the State of California but are to be paid for solely from funds provided by the Borrower.”
In addition to the new housing set to be constructed at the former walnut orchard, the East Bay Regional Parks District currently has plans in the works for the construction of an agricultural park on the remaining 10 acres of the parcel, at the behest of its late owner Armand Borel. Although Borel left the entire parcel to the parks district upon his death in 2009, financial troubles with his trust and estate — and a loan from the district — complicated matters, with the EBRPD board electing to sell a portion from the property in order to settle his estate.
The Danville Town Council is set to meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 4). The agenda is available here.
In other business
*The council is set to issue a proclamation recognizing February as Black History Month to District 5 Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston.
*The council is set to discuss the recruitment and application processes for numerous volunteer positions open to town residents at its next regular meeting.
Seats are currently up for grabs on the Senior Advisory, Parks Recreation and Arts, Heritage Resource and Bicycle Advisory commissions, as well as the Design Review Board, and the Contra Costa County Advisory Council on Aging, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s Citizens Advisory Committee.
The town is also seeking to appoint a poet laureate and youth poet laureate for two-year terms, and youth representatives for the Parks Recreation and Arts Commission and Arts Advisory Board.
An expedited application process is currently underway for the Bicycle Advisory and Heritage Resource commission seats for members to fulfill the remaining terms of former commissioners who have vacated the positions.
Applications are open through Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. for both vacant seats on the Bicycle Advisory Commission – previously held by Al Kalin and Bruce Bilodeau prior to a council vote in favor of their removal last month – through June 2026, as well as three seats on the Heritage Resource Commission.
The Heritage Resource Commission has vacancies for one term ending in December 2028 for a member who has “a demonstrated interest, competence or knowledge in the culture/arts of the community,” and two seats for terms through December 2027 for someone with a “demonstrated interest, competence or knowledge in the field of history, archaeology or geography” and for a licensed architect.
Interviews for those positions are scheduled for March 11 and March 18, with the selected applicants set to begin their terms immediately.
*The council is set to hold a closed-session discussion with legal counsel on anticipated litigation.
