Controversial Senior Development Near Walnut Creek Approved: Report

WALNUT CREEK, CA — After deliberating for hours Tuesday, supervisors approved a contentious plan to build a residential care facility in unincorporated Walnut Creek, according to multiple reports.

The massive facility will be built on Seven Hills Ranch, an unincorporated open space, surrounded by Walnut Creek. Those who oppose the build are concerned about the impact of four years of construction near Seven Hills School, traffic, lack of emergency access and lack of public benefits, KRON4 reported.

Opponents have also complained that it won't meet local affordable housing needs and would destroy wildlife, the station reported.

Read more from KRON4: Supervisors approve controversial senior development near Walnut Creek

The Spieker Senior Center will include 354 housing units within 30 single-story buildings, an 85,000-square-foot medical center, a multi-story clubhouse, a recreational building, a maintenance building and parking garage.

The medical center would contain 100 care units, including 33 skilled nursing units and 23 memory care units for residents requiring daily assistance of medical attention.

Amenities would include a swimming pool, tennis and bocce courts, dog parks, gardening center, walking trails, gym, auditorium, restaurants, bar, theatre, library, and clubhouse. The site will include 594 parking spaces.

The project would also remove 353 trees from the site, but supervisors said Tuesday that 1,000 new trees would be planted.

Ahead of the Tuesday meeting, the staff report said the project "is in the public interest as California is in the midst of a housing crisis." and that rezoning the land would be "a 216 percent increase over the base single family medium density land use designation."

Ahead of the vote, opponents had gathered about 4,000 signatures in petitions against the project.

READ MORE: Seven Hills Development Vote Expected Tuesday

Bay City News contributed to this report.