Court upholds decision that stopped development in Pittsburg’s Hills

A decide has upheld Save Mount Diablo’s victory in its current authorized problem to a developer’s plans for a big housing challenge on Pittsburg’s scenic hills.

The Seeno/Discovery Builders improvement group has proposed constructing 1,650 properties within the hills that overlook the Harmony Naval Weapons Station. The 606-acre challenge, often called Faria/Southwest Hills, was unanimously permitted by the Pittsburg Metropolis Council final 12 months regardless of opposition from lots of of residents.

Following the approval, although, environmentalists, together with Save Mount Diablo, instantly challenged the choice in court docket, arguing that the challenge’s environmental influence report did not correctly analyze the challenge’s impacts on air high quality, visitors, Pittsburg’s water provide and special-status plant species.

Contra Costa County Superior Decide Edward G. Effectively agreed, ruling in early Februrary that the town’s environmental assessment of the challenge was insufficient. Discovery Builders then requested for a retrial, which the court docket rejected on April 4, upholding the earlier ruling.

“This can be a main victory for Pittsburg residents,” Save Mount Diablo Land Conservation Director Seth Adams stated in a press release. “This was the worst environmental influence report we’ve ever seen for the worst challenge in Northern California. Seeno was losing money and time asking the court docket for a retrial over its personal resolution.”

The environmentalists stated the Faria challenge in unincorporated Contra Costa south of Pittsburg would have fragmented open house and broken wildlife corridors. The biologically wealthy web site helps delicate wildlife species and uncommon crops and is in one of the crucial seen and most environmentally constrained areas of the county, in line with Save Mt. Diablo.

“Fortunately, our supporters helped us arise in opposition to the identical highly effective pursuits for a second time on this case, and we’re so grateful that the rule of legislation and environmental protections for the larger good received once more,” Save Mount Diablo Govt Director Ted Clement stated.

The group additionally stated that the proposed housing would have “modified the gorgeous inexperienced hills eternally” by annexing the property to the town of Pittsburg and finding 1,650 new properties removed from jobs, transit and companies.

However Louis Parsons, president of Discovery Builders, noticed it in a different way, and vowed in an interview this week to return again to the desk with the challenge after the town makes what he known as “minor fixes” to the environmental paperwork.

“We’re more than happy and inspired that this ruling supported the overwhelming majority of the work and evaluation included within the metropolis’s Environmental Impression Report,” Parsons stated. “Metropolis employees and the environmental consultants did an unimaginable job analyzing this challenge. Whereas a number of minor technical particulars stay, these will probably be addressed in an effort to convey these much-needed properties to the area.”

Among the many fixes wanted have been clarifications and extra mitigations associated to greenhouse gases and questong of the timing of organic surveys. Deliberate accent dwelling items additionally wanted extra evaluation.

The event staff contains Seeno corporations Discovery Builders Inc. and Faria Buyers LLC. Discovery was based by a member of the Seeno household, which has constructed and managed properties in Contra Costa County for a number of generations.

The developer known as Save Mount Diablo an “extremist group” and stated it was “simply one other instance of a gaggle not wanting improvement though the voters of Pittsburg need us to develop.”

“I imagine the town is intent on getting this challenge permitted in order that it might probably convey much-needed housing to the area and likewise implement the need of the voters of Pittsburg and the need of the Metropolis Council,” Parson stated.

However Adams of Save Mount Diablo stated the Faria challenge would have additionally impacted the brand new East Bay Regional Park District’s Thurgood Marshall Regional Park on the web site’s southwestern edge, previously a part of the Harmony Naval Weapons Station. The housing challenge would have been positioned above the brand new park.

“Whereas our victory is dear for the town and Seeno/Discovery Builders in money and time, it doesn’t cease the challenge eternally,” Adams stated, noting that after bettering environmental paperwork, the Metropolis Council “can approve Seeno’s horrible ridgeline challenge” once more if it chooses.

“However now they’ve a second likelihood to make it higher by defending the ridgeline and neighboring regional park,” he stated. “We don’t should argue about defending ridgelines in different cities. The Pittsburg Metropolis Council ought to do the precise factor.”