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The San Ramon Planning Commission is set to discuss the Faria Preserve project, specifically the “Neighborhood V” development proposal, in a public hearing this Tuesday evening.
The developer proposes that project consist of 40 standalone houses, 122 townhome units and a 2-acre house of worship parcel across the 12.6 acres of land dedicated Neighborhood V, according to the staff report prepared by city senior planner Cindy Yee.
The Faria Preserve project has been debated for years, having been first introduced in October 2012 by Lafferty Communities before being sold to Faria Preserve LLC/CalAtlantic Homes and finally Faria Preserve LLC/Lennar Homes.
Neighborhood V is the fifth and final neighborhood to be constructed in the Faria Preserve project. The other four neighborhoods, with 438 residential units total, are already under construction on the swath of land in western San Ramon.
The plans for the development of Neighborhood V changed in 2016 as a result of the reduction, open space protection and workforce housing endowment initiative, which lowered the density of residential units from a maximum of 302 to 180. The developer is now proposing to move forward with 162 housing units.
Changes to the overall project included the requirement of a housing fee paid to the city by the owner, changes in the housing type and establishment of an alternative approach to providing affordable housing — a workforce housing endowment program.
The Preserve development project is located within the Northwest Specific Plan area — east of Bollinger Canyon Road, north of Deerwood Road, west of San Ramon Valley Boulevard and south of the city limit.
Faria Preserve Parkway would lead to the neighborhood, with open space on the south and west sides of the neighborhood and the community park and rose garden to the east. To the north, a 20-foot retaining wall would separate Neighborhood V from Neighborhood IV.
An East Bay Regional Park District public trail would run north through the neighborhood, with five trailhead parking spaces.
The proposed single-family house designs include two floor plans and three architectural styles for each plan. Each home has a two-car side-by-side garage.
The proposed multi-family building designs include five floor plans and two architectural styles for each, with guest parking along the private street. Four of the five floor plans are designed with a two-car side-by-side garage, and the smallest floor plan has a two-car tandem garage. City staff refers to the multi-family buildings interchangeably as townhomes and condominiums.
Renderings of the buildings and landscape concept can be found in the staff report. Final landscape plans were not submitted with the application, though review by the Architectural Review Board is required before building permit issuance.
The proposed development agreement calls for a 10-year term that would ensure the completion of the project by developer Lennar Homes.
The applicant, Mike Conley of the Faria AJF Partnership, would provide additional housing in-lieu fee payments to the city, totaling $9 million to the affordable housing fund rather than the required $6.1 million. The developer would also provide $2 million to the open space fund.
Since the existing site is vacant, the development of the site as a residential area would bring in property tax benefits, however, there would likely still be a funding gap between the cost of services for residents and the revenue from development, according to city staff.
Yee states in the staff report that a potential funding solution for the project is joining the Citywide Community Facilities District, so that each residential unit would pay an annual assessment to offset the cost of city services, but the staff and the applicant will continue to work with the city’s Finance Division to refine the specific funding mechanism.
The San Ramon Planning Commission will be having a regular meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at 7000 Bollinger Canyon Road. The full agenda and staff report can be viewed here.
In other business
* The Planning Commission will review a revised draft of proposed updates to the Crow Canyon Specific Plan.
The project involves approximately 128 acres of land (over 90 land parcels) bounded by the San Ramon-Danville city/town limit.
* The members of the commission will also select two commissioners to serve on an ad hoc committee to conduct interviews for the Housing Advisory Committee.
* The commissioners will make liaison assignments.
Planning commission has really dropped the ball on the Faria project, the ugliness of the hilltop crowned with housesightly crammed together is unparalleled. What can you expect, this is San Ramon.