| | Published October 23rd, 2024
| Orinda City Council acts upon Writ of Mandate
| | | By Sora O'Doherty | | |
Public comments on the issues raised by a recent Writ of Mandate issued by Contra Costa Superior Court highlighted once again the conflict between the drive by the State of California to force more housing units on localities and the concerns of residents that more density will worsen the already frightening danger of not being able to evacuate from deadly wildfires.
On Oct. 9 the Orinda City Council voted unanimously to set aside the Jan. 31, 2023 certification of the Plan Orinda Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and certain related approvals, including the Downtown Precise Plan. The council held a special public meeting on the action.
Several public speakers addressed the council. Frequent public commenter Nick Warranoff took the opportunity to complain about Mayor Darlene Gee and Vice Mayor Latika Malkani, asserting that they had prejudged the issues before hearing the evidence. "It's tantamount to a contempt of court," he charged.
He continued to say that the two members of the city council do not care about what the EIR will show, how long it will take residents to evacuate, or how residents feel about the daily traffic backups on Moraga Way that will be caused by the Downtown Precise Plan.
Michele Jacobson, the only known member of the group that sued Orinda, Orindans for Safe Emergency Evacation (OSEE), is a former Orinda resident who now lives in Lafayette. She urged the city to hire a firm of traffic engineers to do an update of the evacuation analysis. Jacobson has previously been elected to the board of the Orinda Association when it was, she said, "the de facto city council" of Orinda prior to its incorporation in 1985.
Orinda resident Carolyn Mils also spoke about the EIR. She told the council that since 1971 she served as chair of the Rental Association Planning Commission for many years, and was a planning commissioner before the city incorporated and sat on the Design Review Board for seven years. She said she had also prepared EIRs for cities, provinces, and special districts. She mentioned that allegedly disregarding the comments of the chief of the Moraga Orinda Fire District was uncalled for.
Kathleen Jenkins, an Orinda resident, spoke about having her own home insurance not renewed, and how frightening the threat of fire in Orinda is. She recommended that the city not readopt the Downtown Precise Plan (DPP) which, she suggested, is not required for the current Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) in the Housing Element.
Rusty Snow submitted written comments on behalf of Orinda Watch, urging the city to not readopt the DPP, which, he wrote, "creates too many housing units that Orinda Watch believe the majority of Orinda residents do not want."
Following public comments, Planning Director Lashun Cross gave a detailed presentation about the work done by the planning department on Orinda's 6th cycle Housing Element, which was adopted prior to her appointment. She also summarized many new laws and their effect on localities in terms of discretion, or lack thereof, to approve new housing units.
Orinda was one of the first California localities to have its 6th cycle HE approved by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), but was sued shortly thereafter by Orindans for Safe Emergency Evacuation.
The staff report, presented by City Manager David Biggs at his final Orinda city council meeting before his retirement, said that "It is important to note that the Judge left the City's Housing Element in place and acknowledged that the City has no choice but to meet the State mandate for adding opportunities for housing development in Orinda. In addition, the Safety Element also
remains in place."
As a result of the Judge's rulings, the city was required to set aside its certification of the Plan Orinda EIR and the Statement of Overriding Considerations. Orinda was required to rescind the DPP during the EIR revision process. Following the action by the council on Oct. 9, staff will revise certain portions of the EIR for review and certification. The matter will return to the city council for further action, and there will be opportunities for further public comment. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA