More Letters: County Putting Developer Profits Ahead Of Public Safety?

Subject: North Gate Road Residents Fear for Their Safety as County Puts Developer Profits Ahead of Public Safety

Editor;

Outraged neighbors fear for their safety over the planned 19-Lot subdivision at 1125 Northgate Rd. (County File #CDSD24-09696) just outside the gates to Mt. Diablo State park and within a Cal Fire Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and sitting on the Concord fault.

1)The proposed 19-lot development sits at the base of Mt. Diablo State Park on North Gate Road, a narrow, two-lane road and the only ingress/egress. Adding 19 high-density homes significantly threatens evacuation capacity during wildfire or earthquake emergencies.

2)The site sits directly on the newly mapped Concord fault line and within a designated Seismic Hazard Zone. Approval relies on outdated building codes that ignore these hazards.

3)The developer’s brazen profiteering disguised as altruistic intent in order to trigger State Density Bonus Laws. The inclusion of three “very low income” homes” in order to trigger the State Density Bonus Law and justify 16 additional luxury market-rate homes (nearly three times the density allowed under the prior 2011 development plan).

4)Vesting plans reveal a “Vehicle Double Swing Gate” that physically segregates the 3 affordable housing units from the 16 market-rate luxury homes. Furthermore, the affordable units are clustered in the seismic hazard zone next to an equestrian facility (subjecting them to manure odor, rodents, flies) violating mandatory duties to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (Gov. Code § 8899.50).

5) The proposal reduces lot sizes down to 3,500 sq. ft., violating the North Gate Specific Plan’s requirement of 40,000 sq. ft.

6)Developer plan Condition 51 includes a $550,000 “community benefit” that lacks transparency or allocation of funds. The community demands the county deny the plan as is, conduct a site-specific Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and fire evacuation study, full transparency of $550K, revert to the original plan of 8 homes.

Martha Hanck/Walnut Creek
www.protectnorthgate.com