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An approximately 13-acre lot in northwest Livermore may soon be home to 253 new residences, depending on the City Council’s decision regarding the Cornerstone housing project at a meeting on Monday.
Located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Collier Canyon Road and Constitution Drive, the residential project proposal includes 143 for-sale townhomes within 21 three-story buildings and 110 for-rent apartments in a single five-story building, according to city staff. Six of the for-sale townhomes will be priced for moderate income households and 108 of the apartments will be priced for low-, lower, very low- and extremely low-income households. The other two apartments are intended for on-site managers and offered at market rate.
Also included in the proposal are a public neighborhood park along Constitution Drive, a pedestrian and bicycle path along Collier Canyon Creek to connect Collier Canyon Road with Constitution Drive, a pocket park along the new Collier Canyon Creek path, an off-site pedestrian and a bicycle path from the site to North Canyons Parkway as well as street frontage landscaping and connections from units to public streets.
The project proposal appears before council following unanimous support from the Livermore Planning Commission at a meeting in December, with minor modifications to the design of the pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Collier Canyon Road and Gateway Avenue.
If forwarded, the project would be part of implementing the Isabel Neighborhood Specific Plan, which aims to develop a complete, transit-oriented neighborhood with over 4,000 housing units, including about 1,000 affordable units; new office, business park and commercial development; three neighborhood parks; pedestrian and bicycle facilities and infrastructure improvements, according to a staff report prepared by Livermore planning technician Emily LaDue.
The project would also help the city make progress toward its current Regional Housing Needs Assessment housing unit allocation, according to the staff report.
The Cornerstone project requires two concessions and 11 waivers from city development standards, according to the note from the planning commission. Since the concessions and waivers do not compromise health and safety or violate state or federal law, they must be granted.
Concessions include allowing 108 affordable units in one building and dropping a requirement to disperse the affordable units among the rental units and the for-sale units. Four waivers relate to building design and view protection with another seven related to comparability of all the affordable units with the for-sale market rate units.
Given the project’s implementation of the specific plan final and supplemental environmental impact review as well as its accordance with California Environmental Quality Act guidelines, the project is exempt from CEQA, according to city officials.
As for the council’s role, they will consider approving the project’s vesting tentative tract map, site plan design review, conditional use permit and exemption from CEQA.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Monday (Jan. 27) in the Civic Center Meeting Hall at 1016 S. Livermore Ave. The agenda is available here.
In other business
* The council will consider creating an ad-hoc subcommittee to select interview questions and review applications for two seats on the planning commission — vacant as of March 1 — in preparation for interviews by the full council March 3.
One of the two seats is already open and Commissioner Daniel Leary will depart from the second.
* On the consent calendar – composed of items that are routine and typically decided with a single vote — the council is on track to award a construction contract to McGuire and Hester capped at $2,434,000 for the construction of the Flagpole Plaza Project at the intersection of South Livermore Avenue and First Street.
The existing bluestone sidewalk and decomposed granite dining areas will be replaced with new stamped concrete and hardscape designated outdoor dining areas.
Fully ADA compliant and accessible to all, the planned upgrades also include enhanced lighting, new landscaping and advanced security cameras.
“This project aims to enhance both the safety and aesthetics of a prominent city intersection, transforming it into a vibrant and functional space for the community,” city engineer Joel Waxdeck wrote in a staff report.
