Controversial Tassajara Parks Development Up For Discussion

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — After more than a decade of re-imagining and battling various interests — including the Town of Danville — a developer will finally get its Tassajara Parks proposal for 125 houses east of Blackhawk before the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

FT Land LLC's project would push the county's urban limit line farther east, occupying 30 acres north of Camino Tassajara.

Another 727 acres, on both sides of Camino Tassajara, would go to the East Bay Regional Parks District. Seven acres would go to the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District to use for a training facility.

The Danville Town Council has officially opposed the plan, as has the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD). Danville, which is the closest incorporated municipality, has protested not being more included during the process, says its environmental impact report is inadequate and agrees with EBMUD that the project lacks an adequate water source.

On June 8, EBMUD's board of directors officially declared "the district has not planned to serve the project and does not have adequate water supplies to support the proposed annexation of the project into the district's service area."

A staff report for the project said its environmental impact report -- the adequacy of which is one of the factors the Board of Supervisors will decide Tuesday -- "analyzed water availability and identified measures that would result in a demand offset of up to 2 million gallons per day." Those measures would be off-site and "in consultation with and approved by EBMUD."

The off-site, accelerated conservation measures would be funded by the developer, who says they would mitigate the water demand of the 375 people anticipated to live in the development, according to the report.

It also says development can't proceed without water agreements in place. The development is also conditioned to require water limits on homeowners as enforceable provisions of the project's covenants, conditions and restrictions.

If approved, the county would receive $2.5 million for its livable communities trust and $4 million for an agricultural enhancement fund for the Tassajara Valley area. Instead of offering 15% of the units, FT Land LLC will pay the county $484,000 designated for affordable housing in Contra Costa.

The nearby City of San Ramon and the East Bay Regional Parks District have both officially endorsed the project, signing off on a preservation agreement for the project's open space. The project will also require amending the county's general plan to change the area's zoning from agricultural to residential where houses are planned, public-semi-public for the fire district's land and the remainder to parks and recreation.

The residential area will also include a community park. Lot sizes will range between 5,000 and 12,744 square feet.

The project was bigger when first proposed in 2007, under the name New Farm. The scope has since shrunk from a planned 185 homes planned on both sides of Camino Tassajara, surrounded by working orchards and vineyards. That plan drew considerable opposition from environmentalists before being changed.

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, and the meeting can be accessed remotely at https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/.

— By Tony Hicks, Bay City News Foundation

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