San Ramon To Consider Allowing For Lower-Density Buildings

SAN RAMON, CA — The San Ramon City Council and Planning Commission are hosting two joint public hearings on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., followed by a third meeting on the same topic at an unspecified date.

The city council and planning commission are considering a proposed amendment to the city's General Plan 2040 and Zoning Ordinance that would propose development with a lower amount of building floor area in relation to the size of the parcel where the building is located, and could lower the intensity of development.

Sunset Development Company, the group that owns Bishop Ranch, is proposing reducing the minimum Floor to Area Ratio (FAR) for the Downtown Mixed Use – North Land Use and Zoning Designation (DMU-N), a 205-acre area around the intersection of Norris Canyon Road and Camino Ramon, according to a city staff report. It is proposing reducing the minimum FAR from 1.25 to 0.50 for all of DMU-N, since it has had trouble meeting the minimum requirement.

The allowed density of 20-60 dwelling units per site would remain unchanged.

While the current FAR minimum encourages developers to build multi-story buildings to maximize land efficiency, the proposal would allow developers to construct smaller buildings with fewer units.

The first meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at San Ramon City Hall. It can also be viewed on Zoom (Webinar ID 937 0682 8987), by calling into 669-900-6833, or viewing the city's YouTube channel. The city council will also conduct its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m.