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A two-story, 13-unit, multi-family housing development proposed to replace a single-family home on East Avenue received unanimous support from the Livermore City Council last week, despite some dissent from neighboring residents.
Located at the southeast corner of East Avenue and Dolores Street, the approximately 0.62-acre project site is also set to include one additional dwelling unit, according to a staff report prepared by Livermore associate planner Kam Purewal.
Of the 13 rental units, one is set to be priced for a household with very low-income, set at 50% of the area median income, the report states.
The project dubbed Abboud Townhomes will feature two garage spaces per unit and a total of four uncovered guest spaces for the overall development, including one van-accessible space.
Along with the housing, project applicant and owner Frank Abboud agreed to contribute $50,000 toward improvements at the intersection of East Avenue and Dolores Street as well as an easement for dedication to the city for a future bike lane along East Avenue, contingent upon their future study and design approval within 25 years.
The project with limited council discretion passed muster via 4-0 vote, absent Vice Mayor Evan Branning.
“We need more housing and it has to go somewhere,” Councilmember Kristie Wang said during the Nov. 24 meeting, noting general opposition from the public toward tall residential projects and outward expansion of the city. “This is relatively low-density in a very under-utilized lot.”
Project entitlements the council considered included the planned development, subdivision and site plan design review.
Discretion was only permitted in the council’s review of the planned development, Livermore principal planner Benjamin Murray explained at the meeting.
As supported by staff, the council agreed in its legislative capacity to permit variations from three zoning standards: one unit may exceed the 24-foot maximum height limit by approximately four feet, porches along Dolores Street and East Avenue may encroach an additional three feet into the setback over the five-foot maximum and the unit with an attached ADU may exceed the 36-foot maximum permitted width by eight feet.
Regarding the subdivision and site plan design review, the council was set to act in its quasi-judicial capacity, meaning the project was to be measured against the standards in place at the time of project application, Murray said.
Last week’s public hearing on the project was continued from the council’s Oct. 27 regular meeting because some residents of the nearby Carrigan Common neighborhood were not notified of the public hearing due to being located farther than 300 feet from the project site.

City officials subsequently widened the notification radius to 500 feet of the project site and included all the residential units in the Carrigan Common neighborhood, Murray explained at the meeting.
During the public hearing, five of the six speakers lived in the Carrigan Common neighborhood and expressed concerns over potential impacts of the development such as worsening traffic, parking availability and safety.
While expressing support for housing, Carrigan Common neighborhood resident Staci Kane argued that there is nowhere to place another driveway along Dolores Street between East Avenue and her neighborhood’s entrance.
“I’m afraid there’s going to be a lot of accidents — a lot more than we have right now,” Kane added.
According to Murray, the project is permitted to have public access from Dolores Street and the proposed location was found to have the least impact of available sites.
Alternatively, the future development could share a driveway with Carrigan Common, but the neighborhood homeowners association declined use of their driveway for the proposed project.
As a private dispute, the city cannot become involved in negotiations with the HOA, Councilmember Steven Dunbar noted.
Another public commenter called for present-day traffic calming measures, but the city already implemented said measures on East Avenue as part of the city’s ongoing effort to enhance mobility and safety along East Avenue, including temporary bollards, street narrowing and traffic enforcement, City Manager Marianna Burch later said.
As part of future capital improvement projects, the city intends to enact additional traffic calming measures such as raised sidewalks and permanent bollards along the corner of East Avenue as well as bulb-outs for pedestrians and signal light improvements at the intersection of East Avenue and Dolores Street.
Experts in traffic and public safety have studied and addressed concerns to minimize the potential impacts of this project, Wang said. Even some of the pre-existing issues will be addressed through the project, she added.
In response to a public commenter who expressed concern over the killing of heritage roses on-site, the council directed city staff to preserve the roses if possible.



