Thank you for joining us for tonight's meeting of the Arinda Planning Commission on January 27th, 2026.
In the back of the room, there is a table where you will find copies of tonight's agenda as well as staff reports for the items that will be heard tonight.
At the dais in front of the commissioner table you will find a request to speak
cards. If you would like to speak to the commission this evening please fill out
a card and place it in the speaker card tray on the table at the front here. If
you are the applicant or the applicant's agent you do not need to complete a
speaker card. Once we begin the public hearing portion of this meeting each
each item will be announced with a brief description
of what is being proposed.
After any general questions by the commission to staff,
the hearing will be opened
and the applicant will have 10 minutes
to present their project.
If you are the applicant
at the beginning of your presentation,
please let me know how much time of your 10 minutes
you would like to reserve for any rebuttal.
After the presentation by the applicant,
The public hearing will be opened and anyone wishing to speak to the commission on this
item will be invited to do so.
When your name is called, please come to the speaker podium at the front.
Each speaker will have three minutes to speak.
Once everyone wishes to speak, has made their comments, the public hearing will then be
closed and we will bring the matter up to the commission for discussion and decision.
If you will be speaking to us this evening, please be sure to make all of your comments
when you come to the podium.
As a courtesy to all, comments made from the audience during testimony or commission deliberation
will not be allowed and will not be included as part of this public record.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the commission's options will be to approve, continue, or deny
of project application. Now I will proceed with roll call and confirm certain matters
for the record. Commission roll call. I would like to note that commissioners Armstrong
Davis, doctors Hubner, Jelenek and Schmidt are in attendance and that Commissioner Marola
has an excused absence. Item B adoption of the agenda. Planning director, are there any
changes to the proposed agenda? I have none. Hearing none, I would like to move
forward with tonight's agenda. Do I have a motion to adopt the agenda? Move to
adopt. Motion by Commissioner Huebner. Do I have a second? Second. Second by
Commissioner Doctor's. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. The motion is
approved unanimously and we have an agenda item C is the public forum the
first item on tonight's meeting agenda is the public forum the public forum is
an opportunity for you to address the Planning Commission on items that are
not listed on tonight's agenda is there anyone who would like to address the
Commission on an item that is not on the agenda there are no speaker cards thank
you and there are none in the room so we will move on to item D the consent
calendar the consent calendar section of the agenda consists of items that are
acted on in one motion unless a commissioner or a member of the public
requests that the commission remove an item from the consent calendar for
discussion by approval of the consent calendar the staff recommendation will
be adopted. If the item is removed from the consent calendar the Commission will
follow the procedures described in the agenda for new public hearings. May I
have a motion to approve the consent calendar as proposed? I move to approve
the consent calendar as proposed. Do I have a second to that motion? Second.
thank you all in favor say aye aye and we have a unanimous vote item e policy
matters appears there are none item f continued public hearings we do not have
any at tonight item G new public hearings at one Wilder Road a fourth
extension of design review general use and exception permits for the one
Wilder country house memory care project which consists of 38 assisted
living units in a one to two story 32,084 square foot congregate care facility.
The staff recommendation is to adopt Statement of Official Action, PC-SOA-2026-001, approving
a one-year extension of approval for DRA-2016-094 GUP-2016-004,
EXC-2017-017 EXC-2020-021 through January 19th of 2027.
This project is subject to the conditions of approval contained in City Council Resolution
the city council on January 19th, 2021. And I will ask now, staff Selena Palmer to present
your report, please. All right. Thank you. Good evening, Chair Armstrong and members
of the commission. So as we just heard, this project is a request for a one-year extension
of DRA 2016-094, GUP 2016-004, EXE 2017-017, and EXE 2020-021, which would give the project
a new expiration date of January 19, 2027. The project itself is the One Wilder Country
House Memory Care Project, which consists of 38 assisted living units in a 1-2 story
32,084 square foot congregate care facility. The project is located at the entrance of
of the Wilder Subdivision, south of Highway 24,
north of Wilder Road and west of the Wilder Fields
and the Wilder Park Ranch House.
The project was originally approved
as an appeal of the Planning Commission decision
on January 19th, 2021 by the City Council
under Resolution 02-21
with an expiration date of January 19th, 2023.
On March 28th, 2023, the Planning Commission approved
a one-year extension through January 19th, 2024.
On January 16, 2024, the Planning Commission approved a one-year extension through January
19, 2025.
On January 14, 2025, the Planning Commission approved a one-year extension through January
19, 2026, and now the applicant has made a timely request for an additional one-year
extension through January 19, 2027, and that's the project before you today.
The applicant has previously cited financing and increased construction costs, which have
required them to pause the project.
The findings for an extension are not based on the reason for the extension but under
the conditions listed in earned a municipal code section 17.44.1c that the city regulations
and standards relevant to the approval have not changed in any material way since the
time of the approval and there have been no material changes in the existing conditions
at and around the project site since the time of the approval.
The municipal code has not changed in any material way however our adopted housing element
list the 38 units in this facility as pipeline projects which count towards our arena which
is regional housing needs allocation so it's important to keep the application alive for
purposes of the housing element. Prior to January 17th, 2026 staff noticed the project
for this planning commission hearing and have not received any comments for this extension
of the project. As the project meets the standards for an extension per a rendered municipal
staff recommends the Planning Commission adopt statement of official action PC s o a dash 2026
dash 001 approving a one year extension of the project through January 19 2027 and it would
remain subject to the conditions of approval contained in City Council resolution 02 dash 21.
Thank you. Thank you. Commissioners, do you have any questions for staff?
Is there a limit to the number of extensions on a given project? Anywhere in our municipal
codes or that you're aware of? The municipal code does not list a
maximum number of extensions. Okay. And second question is beyond the sort of vague construction
financing, construction costs have increased, which I certainly understand. Any kind of additional
context that you're able to provide this being a fourth extension. I'm just sort of curious for a
little bit more detail there if we have it. I would defer to the applicant for that. Okay, thank you.
If this land was not currently entitled for this use, what could be put on the property?
Could residential housing, affordable housing, and if that could, what would that density be?
the current zoning is um p.s it's semi-public public's my public utility district so everything
needs to use permit um and so for example had an inquiry for a public storage facility
so you would be looking at uses of that nature um unless i look at a rezoning and a general plan
amendment appreciate it thank you are there any other questions from the commission to staff
if there are no further questions for staff i will open the floor to the public starting with
the speaker cards and i have one here from a bob finch mr finch excuse me one moment i want to
give an opportunity to the applicant if they would like to speak okay okay thank you thank you
Thank you Mr. Finch. Yes I'm Bob Finch and I'm a director of the Wilder HOA. One thing that's
unusual about this situation is as I understand it the property has been on the market for some
time and so when we refer to the developer we're no longer referring to the initial developer
but a currently unknown developer that isn't on the scene yet. Basically
representing Wilder. We have the same concerns that we've expressed at the initial approval
of this project, both mainly in terms of safety. One of the two significant safety concerns
has to do with evacuation. Wilder is a community of about a thousand people.
We have one way in and one way out, and the proposed project is exactly at the entrance
of our project. So we have expressed before, and I express again, concerns about that choke point,
where the last thing we think we need is a development enterprise at that choke point.
While the community has been designated as a shelter-in-place evacuation center,
and the memory care center would abut the dangerously short highway 24 ramp, which is
already a continuing danger. There are continuous accidents at that spot.
I would say almost one a week and I think there was one actually today. It's a very dangerous
location. Some of those crashes have included vehicular fires. In fact, one of the highway
signs that are there burned up and had to be replaced regularly, the light post that's
at that point has to be replaced because of accidents. And as I say, some of these have fires
And that's a concern as well as the fact that the air quality on that ramp to the highway would
abut the place where the patients would be. The second of the two concerns of safety
has to do with fire in addition to the fact that those vehicular accidents often include fire.
In order to satisfy the or render requirement that a congregate care facility have kitchens
in the units and at the same time the state requirement that memory care centers cannot
have kitchens, the initial resolution of this conflict was that there will be kitchens in every
unit but they will be locked except for staff and guests of the memory care patients. Our concern,
concern, of course, has been and still is that there is plenty of opportunity for kitchens
of memory care patients being left unlocked. We think that's a fire hazard. And of course,
in the current situation, fire is of utmost importance to everybody here, especially in
Wilder where we only have one way in and one way out. The current owner and the initial
approval had what I view as an improbable plan in the case of evacuation to use a van that was kept
at its facility and conquered and would have to use Highway 24 to get to this facility. And we
know of no evacuation plan for the potential developer because as far as we know there isn't
one. You can finish your point. Okay as it is with that one Wilder we are having terrible
problems with getting fire insurance as almost everybody is and many of us have had to resort
to the Cal Fair plan which is terrible insurance. So for these two main safety concerns we oppose
this this fourth extension. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Finch. Are there any other public comments?
Any online? I want to ask if the applicant could maybe address. I know
Commissioner Doctors had a question that perhaps you can address and any points that were made.
happy to. My name is Richard Weston. Just for the record, I have been the owner of this property
since 2008. There has been no other developer owner. It's me.
In terms of some of the things that were brought up, they have been litigated, so to speak,
by this commission and by the City Council
at previous occasions.
And it is a result of the positive vote
to approve this project
that we are here seeking an extension.
And I guess the question is,
why am I seeking a fourth extension?
I don't really want to, but we have to
because we have not been able to make the numbers work.
We would have to charge the folks that are living there
more money than we think is appropriate
and that the market will bear.
And so we have been deferring the construction
of this project.
Nothing has changed.
Not one part of the plan has changed,
including the ownership and we are getting closer
to the day that we think we might be able to break around
on the plans that have already been approved.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
I'm just curious if you can elaborate a little bit
on what getting closer.
Again, with the full, I understand making the numbers work.
It's a challenging environment.
So very sympathetic to that.
But again, just looking for maybe a little more context
about why this fourth time around within the next year,
you feel as though you actually will be getting closer.
The cost of construction has gone from understandable
and workable to the opposite.
And they have calmed down
and it is becoming more feasible at $450 a square foot
to construct a building such as the one
that has been approved, just doesn't make any sense.
We would probably have to charge in the neighborhood
of $20,000 a month for a resident to make it work.
$20,000 a month 20 years ago when I was on this commission
was a lot.
It is less now, but it is still a lot.
And that's what I've been referring to
in terms of feasibility.
Thank you.
Are there any other questions of the applicant?
Okay.
May I add one quickie?
Not to put too fine a point on it,
but you said we're getting close.
How close?
I wish I knew.
So the end number is what we need to charge for someone to live at Country House.
And we currently, we're not novices, we've been at this, I personally have been in the
assisted living business for 40 years.
And the country house brand label
is in numerous other places, maybe 30,
mainly in the Midwest,
but I think three in California.
It is, you know, there's nothing that I would like more
than to see, to attend the ribbon cutting
at the Wilder location.
It is a really good location.
It is a service that is needed in this city.
And after living here for so many years,
I would love to be the one to get us across the finish line.
How close are we?
We're getting closer.
I know it's a silly innocuous statement,
but we are getting closer.
As I said, had you proposed or had I proposed 20 years ago
that we would charge $20,000 a month
and someone would actually pay that,
it would have been preposterous.
Now, people are beginning to pay $15,000, $16,000 a month
at similar, more local locations.
Just not Arinda, because there are very few places
in Arinda that you can bring this service to.
And it's a high touch, therefore,
quite expensive from a labor front.
I mean, it used to be that the minimum wage,
I don't know what it is now, because it's so silly,
but it used to be like single digits.
Well, that's impossible, right?
Who could possibly get by on $8 an hour,
no matter how many hours you worked?
And so it has to be 25 to 30.
We have to take those numbers into account
as well as the construction costs.
And then we come out with a final number
that we would propose to the public
and say, hey, listen guys,
this is as good as we can do and stay alive,
stay in business.
Do we need this very location to survive?
No, fortunately.
Would we love to bring this service to Orinda?
You have no idea.
Thank you.
Hearing no other comments, thank you.
Are there any additional public comments?
Please, thank you.
Can you please state your name?
Yes, I'm Kathleen Finch, and I'm a Wilder resident.
Mr. Weston is right that obviously that his development
plans haven't changed.
But I think things at Wilder really have changed.
I mean, now we've got a Montessori preschool
across the street, across the road
from where the memory care center will be held.
We've got five playing fields that are full of kids
playing all the time.
We've got a thousand people now at Wilder,
all 245 lots have been purchased,
and I think there are only about five
that are still being built now.
So we've got a large group of people there.
And, you know, Mr. Weston's idea is great.
And, you know, we've had lunch with him years ago.
um, about this whole thing. I, I had suggested that he try to put it at the other end of
Wild Road, um, so that it wouldn't be right at the entrance there. Um, and he said that
he couldn't because of zoning. But you know, the city fixed the zoning. I mean, they are
allowing dementia patients to have stoves in kitchens, even if they're locked. I mean,
husband said, well, you know, they can be unlocked. I mean, if somebody forgets to lock
it up, a staff member or a visitor forgets to lock it. I mean, there is a significant,
I think, chance that there could be a fire. We're more worried about safety than anything
else because it's the only way to get in and out of our subdivision. So it's not that we
don't want it. It's not that, you know, I would have been perfectly happy to have it
other into Wilder Road so that it wasn't at that choke point. So I mean I know his plans haven't
changed but Wilder has you know changed significantly since he proposed this. The other thing is this
property I know Mr. Weston says he owns it but it's been on the market. I mean if you go you know
if you go to Zillow you'll see one Wilder has been on the market for a while so I don't know
you know, what the plans are, who's going to buy it, or whether he'll still be the developer.
But things have really changed. So that's all I want to say. The development plans may not have
changed, but where it's being situated will change. And it's scary, I think, you know, to be at Wilder
now and just have that one in and out place. And there are car accidents there all the time,
right on the ramp. And I mean, you can look at the arena police reports and see it. So
it's just a really tough place to have 38 people who need a van from Concord to come and evacuate
them if necessary. That's all. Thank you. And one last chance if there any other public comments.
Seeing none and hearing none.
The floor is closed and I'll bring this matter up to the Commission for discussion and action.
Are there any comments from the Commission?
I'll just make a kind of historical note. This has been in front of the Commission,
obviously several times now. And I think in response, the Commission has always found that
to get the benefit. And the
risks have been abated. The
benefit outweighs any risks.
And the housing element is
another aspect that has
changed, but changes because
the city has relied on this
development, and I certainly
hope that it can proceed. I
mean, it can be made feasible
to go ahead. So that's my
comment. And I think the
to be what they would be upon being filled out. And those, again, access and egress conditions were addressed during the original application and evaluation of the project.
I would maybe just note, I think that our job here tonight is not to re litigate what has already come before the commission, I understand and hear your points but I think our role tonight is limited to assessing whether the extension is appropriate or not based on the project.
there's no need to have a
vote on whether it's appropriate
or not based on the municipal
code and based on what associate
planner Palmer shared with us
earlier, it does seem to meet
those criteria.
I just want to acknowledge what
you're saying but also make it
clear what our role is here
tonight that is limited to.
Seeing that the commission has
no further discussion on this
item, you may have a motion from
the commission on this matter.
EXC-SOA-2026-001, approving a one-year extension of approval for DRA-2016-094, GUP-2016-004, EXC-2017-017,
through January 19th, 2027 as staff recommends you have a second to that
motion second thank you and we'll have a roll call vote Davis hi
Hebner? Aye. Jelnick? Schmidt? Aye. Doctors? Aye. And Armstrong? Aye. The motion is carried
with seven voting in favor and one six voting in favor I'm sorry and one who's
not present. Item H other Commission matters. I do not have anything. Item
I planning commissioners report and I do not have anything on that item item J
planning directors update. Yes yes I have an update we will return on
February 10th to present to you the housing legislations and are basically
where we have been and what we've done in terms of the housing element
implementation. As you may know, each year by April 1st, we have to file an annual progress report.
But on the 10th, we'll come back, we'll talk about the legislation, we'll tell you what we've
been up to and what we've been or where we're headed. And I think at that time, I'll give you
specificity in numbers in terms of the SB9 applications, the 1123s, and the ADUs and the
the J.D. use at the time.
I just have one question, Dr. Kras, I think last two weeks ago, it was mentioned that
you all were coming back in front of city council, I believe it was last week, to do
another study session on the objective design standards for specific zoning. Just curious
if there was any kind of update or outcome from that meeting. I haven't had a chance
to watch the replay.
Yeah, good question. We are coming back. So the direction really was to check in with
the Affordable Housing Subcommittee. And now to look at another approach, if you recall,
we were looking at how we looked at In-Lu-Fees. It was the net square footage, but this approach
may not work because some of the comments we received from City Council was that why
are we exempting single-family homes? And so we're now going to be looking at including
single-family homes in the inclusionary housing ordinance and so that may
change the way we determine how that fee is calculated so we're coming back with
that we're coming back with the single-family housing research and I
think the other one which I'll bring to you on the 10th there was a question
about what happens if we don't meet our you know we have our 1359 arena allocation but
when they're divided up into income levels so what happens if we don't meet those numbers
so I'll talk about that on the 10th but those were the questions we received from City Council
so we're going to go back regroup one meeting before affordable housing subcommittee then
come back before City Council while showing them some of the additional changes for them
to give direction from there. Thanks Director Kras, appreciate it.
Director Kras, can you comment on the recent bond measure that is going to impact Moraga
Way if there's any implication or updates regarding planning the Planning Commission?
I can bring more details back on the 10th as well on that, but right now that grant was granted for
Moraga and Orinda. Moraga did most of the work in terms of hiring the grant writer. But when I was
listening to the updates on that and reading through, it's not tailored specifically just to
say evacuation is tailored for safety. How do we make that safety? How do we make traffic flow
more beneficial, so it's not a grant that's just for evacuation purposes. But I'll bring more back
for you to be able to read and see for our next meeting. Thank you. Okay. Do I have a motion to
adjourn? Second? Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye.