Council Narrowly Approves Almond-Shuey Project

On a 3-2 vote, the City Council gave final approval Tuesday night to a plan to build nine housing units in the Almond-Shuey neighborhood.

Mayor Cindy Silva and council members Gary Skrel and Kristina Lawson were in favor of the project, council members Bob Simmons and Kish Rajan were against it.

The council originally approved the project in early 2010. At that time, architect Galen Grant's plan was to build seven single-family detached homes and one duplex on an odd-shaped half-acre corner lot that fronts Oakland Avenue at Almond and Trinity avenues.

A few months after the original approval, Grant returned with an amended proposal. He asked that three of the two-bedroom units be expanded to three bedrooms. Grant said he needed a developer to finish the project and three-bedroom units were more marketable.

Neighbors raised concerns that the project, with its three-story clusters, would be out of character with the one- and two-story early 20th century bungalows that line their nearly 100-year-old downtown neighborhood.

At Tuesday's hearing, the main concern surrounding the expanded project was parking.

Neighbors said the extra housing units would increase the number of drivers in the area and, therefore, the number of people parking on the street. The Almond-Shuey neighborhood requires permits for street parking because of its proximity to the downtown area and the BART station.

Simmons said he agreed with residents' parking concerns. He also said he didn't like the design of the project. Rajan didn't give a reason for his "no" vote.

Silva, Skrel and Lawson voted "yes" without elaborating.