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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
February 1, 2007
Officials seek input on growth
PITTSBURG: City leaders ask for public comment concerning rules that
would shape future of development
Laurie Phillips
Pittsburg officials have released and are seeking public comment on
two documents created to guide future decisions about growth in the
southern hills, the city's last remaining area open for new development.
City officials crafted the proposed Hillside Development Ordinance and
Hillside Design Guidelines after spending about a year studying
regulations in more than two dozen communities in California, Colorado
and Washington.
The ordinance outlines rules and restrictions on development above 500
feet of elevation. The guidelines explain how grading should proceed
and what buildings, fences and vegetation should look like, but they
do not address the condition or stability of the soil in the region.
The documents address density, ridge preservation and development
standards for structures and neighborhoods.
"We did attempt to make the rules as clear and as workable as
possible," said Bob Odland, a consultant who helped craft the
documents and has studied hillside ordinances for 30 years. Other
local cities with restrictions on hillside development include
Lafayette and Orinda.
Odland said the purpose of Pittsburg's standards is to ensure new
neighborhoods take shape appropriately, while keeping development as
unobtrusive as possible and protecting the environment, to provide
housing for the region's growing population.
No homes in Pittsburg are now built in the hills above 500 feet,
although some in Discovery Builders' San Marco subdivision approach
that mark. If the Contra Costa County Local Agency Formation
Commission next year approves annexing close to 1,600 acres of land in
that region into the city, development on the Montreux, Faria and
Thomas Ranch properties would be subject to the restrictions. The
acreage, owned by the Seeno and Thomas families, could collectively
hold as many as 1,800 new homes.
Topics that generated a lot of discussion among those assembling the
standards, Odland said, included preserving views, natural topography
and environmental habitats; minimizing grading to maintain existing
slopes; and integrating fire-resistant vegetation into the landscape.
The documents are of particular interest to Concord, whose officials
have said that they want to make sure any development proposed on the
Los Medanos Hills, those between that city and Pittsburg, "is
sensitive to the natural topography and protects viewsheds from
throughout Concord," Mayor Mark Peterson said in mid-January in a
letter to officials in both cities.
"Our residents have some concerns about what that might look like as
that area gets developed," Peterson said later of new homes in the
hills.
Christina Wong of Greenbelt Alliance said the environmental group is
glad to see the standards considered before the land to be affected by
them is annexed into the city. But the group still doesn't think
Pittsburg is ready, she added, to build higher in the hills.
"Maybe you won't see the houses, but I'm sure Pittsburg residents will
feel the effects on their daily lives of this increased development,"
Wong said. "We just have a lot of concerns about whether this is going
too fast, and we would like to see the process slow down to include
more public input."
Contra Costa County planner Pat Roche reviewed Pittsburg's proposed
ordinance and said it takes an approach similar to the county's
longtime regulations.
"This establishes clear policy as to what is acceptable and what the
parameters are," Roche said. "I think it provides pretty good guidance
to city staff, the planners and developers."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To obtain a copy of Pittsburg's proposed Hillside Development
Ordinance and Hillside Design Guidelines, visit the city's Web site,
www.ci.pittsburg.ca.us, and click on the "Public Reviews" section.
Comments on the documents will be accepted through Feb. 16, and should
be sent to planner Kristin Vahl at kvahl@ci.pittsburg.ca.us; or 65
Civic Ave., Pittsburg, CA, 94565. Her phone number is 925-252-6941.
People also can offer their thoughts March 19 at a public workshop
with the Planning Commission and the City Council.
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