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The Livermore Planning Commission is holding a public hearing Tuesday on amendments to project approvals for the Shea Aura and Shea Serenity housing developments.
The May 5 meeting will not include review of the long-awaited Wine Country Inn project as that discussion has been postponed to another meeting set later this month, according to city officials.
Proposed for a 3.2-acre vacant parcel at 3459 Arroyo Road, the hotel project includes 24-single story cottage-style buildings with a total of 30 guest bedrooms, a meeting space, guest kitchen, lobby building, guest pool and caretaker unit, according to a staff report prepared by Livermore division clerk Michele Donley.
The current proposal shifts away from a previously approved project Site Plan Design Review, cancelling a 77-seat restaurant and reducing the building area to approximately 19,100 square feet from a two-story 29,345-square-foot structure.
The project is also proposed to have 39 paved parking spaces, eight bicycle parking spaces, landscaping with 82 new trees and improvements on and off-site.
The commission is now scheduled to review the project during its May 19 meeting instead of the May 5 meeting as previously planned.
Meanwhile on Tuesday’s agenda, developer Shea Homes is requesting permission to convert up to 25 moderate-income for-sale units across two projects (Shea Aura and Shea Serenity) into market-rate units in exchange for alternative means of complying with the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, such as in-lieu fees.
Livermore City Council approved the Serenity project in July 2022 for 299 units with 89 for-sale condominium units and 210 for-rent apartments. Initially, 60 of the units were poised to be offered at affordable rates and 51 were accessible units. Serenity is located at the southwest corner of the Portola Avenue and Tranquility Circle intersection.
During July 2024, the council approved the Aura project for 164 for-sale condominium units, composed of 33 affordable units and 17 accessible units, at the northeast corner of Portola Avenue and Collier Canyon Road.
“Due to market conditions, the applicant, Shea Homes, has experienced increased difficulty selling moderate-income for-sale units at Serenity and anticipates similar challenges with the Aura Project,” according to a staff report prepared by Livermore assistant planner Emily LaDue.
“Although satisfying the affordability requirement for the Serenity and Aura Projects through an alternative means of compliance would result in an immediate decrease in approved affordable units, it would provide the opportunity for flexible funding that may be directed toward deeply affordable projects serving lower-income and special needs populations,” the staff report states.
The role of the planning commission in amending the project approvals is to make a recommendation to the City Council for its consideration.
The planning commission is scheduled to begin its meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday (May 5). The agenda is available here.
