City Hearing Focuses On Apartment Complex

A large apartment complex by the freeway off-ramp and potential zoning changes for the Shadelands Business Park are on the agenda of the Walnut Creek City Council tonight (Tuesday).

The council meets in regular session at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday) at City Hall, 1666 N. Main St. That follows a scheduled closed session at 5 p.m. to discussing pending litigation and negotiations with city unions.

The council has scheduled a public hearing for an apartment complex with 141 residences on four levels above two garage levels on a 1.55-acre site at Ygnacio Valley Road and Lacassie Avenue adjacent to the Ygnacio Valley Road off-ramp from Highway 680. The building would be about 60 feet tall.

The project involves razing seven existing structures that house a dozen living units.

The staff report recommends amendments to the General Plan to ease density and building height restrictions.

At the Shadelands Business Park, city staff is putting forward a work program to discuss potential lifting of zoning constraints to "facilitate a broader array of uses." In the last year, city staff has been working with property and business owners in area to develop options to reverse the trend of increasing vacancy rates at the business park, according to a report by the city Community Development Department.

The report proposes a six-month schedule of study sessions and public hearings on the issue.