San Ramon For Open Government Files Suit to Protect Public/Citizens

SAN RAMON FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT FILES SUIT OVER MASSIVE CITY CENTER PROJECT TO PROTECT PUBLIC/CITIZENS

GROUP CHALLENGES CITY CENTER MIXED USE PROJECT TRAFFIC, DENSITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PROJECT AT ISSUE

San Ramon CA. - San Ramon for Open Government, a group of San Ramon residents, filed a lawsuit today to prevent the San Ramon City Center Mixed Use Project from moving forward. Spokesman Jim Gibbon warns that the project could create a traffic tsunami and cost taxpayers million of dollars. The lawsuit was filed challenging the adequacy of the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) and for violating the voter approved San Ramon General Plan.

On November 6, 2007 the project was approved by the Planning Commission and the SEIR was certified. Subsequently, two appeals to the project were filed, including one by Gibbon representing San Ramon for Open Government. On December 11, 2007 the appeals were heard by the city council and denied, the SEIR was re-certified and the project approved.

Gibbon says the City Council is attempting to change the intent of the voter approved 2020 General Plan. It specifically states the City Center is to be primarily ‘a cohesive mix of civic, compatible retail, and open space uses with an arts and entertainment focus. Intended as a vital core for San Ramon, the City Center will be a people place first and include a performing arts center, library, and small scale retail establishments, such as restaurants and cafes, bookstores, gift shops, etc.’ “What this council created is a massive urbanized commercial center with high rise office buildings, no cultural venues and no open space in blatant disregard to the voter approved General Plan,” states Gibbon. Gibbon added that the project is primarily structured to economically accommodate the Sunset Development Company.

According to the SEIR, the project will also generate a minimum of 30,000 additional vehicle trips a day, creating an unacceptable increase in traffic density along already congested Bollinger Canyon Road, Norris Canyon Road and Alcosta Boulevard. Many residents expressed concern that Bollinger Canyon Road will become a traffic morass of unparalleled proportions, with commuters spilling into residential neighborhoods in search of routes around Bollinger Canyon Road.

Other unavoidable environmental impacts generated by this project according to the lawsuit are a significant degradation in air quality, increased noise impacts and the glare generated by illuminating the City Center at night.

Gibbon believes the City Council is ignoring the wishes of San Ramon residents by revising the voter approved General Plan and moving forward with this project. Consequently, he is not ruling out a referendum on the project in an effort to allow San Ramon voters to make the final decision on the project. “The City Center Mixed Use Development is the biggest issue facing San Ramon since incorporation of the city. Why shouldn’t they have an opportunity to vote on the project?” says Gibbon.

Contact: Jim Gibbon
www.SROG.org
(925) 828-8563
(925) 226-5680

Go to SROG press release. Save and print press release PDF file.

City Council Votes Against Downtown Appeals

Two Appeals Were Denied By City Council Pertaining to the Certification of the City Center Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report and Approval of the Associated Project Entitlements.

John Nunes and the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 5 filed an appeal with the City of San Ramon. After hearing public testimony, and testimony from the appellant and respondent, the City Council voted against the appeal. They voted for the downtown project with the addition of an amendment that would positively block (restrict) "Big Box Retail", 75,000 sq. ft. or more with 10% of non sales tax items from being allowed to reside in the Downtown Center without a vote of the City Council.

Solar Gone To Waste
Also included and passed by City Council was an energy savings amendment for the Downtown Center, which would include some solar and/or energy saving switching of lights off when not in use. However, the language on this amendment was somewhat more of a acquiescent olive branch offering than having any real teeth in promoting green or energy savings.

Jim Gibbon, representing San Ramon for Open Government also had submitted an appeal to the City of San Ramon pertaining to the certification of the City Center Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report and approval of the Associated Project Entitlements. After hearing public testimony and testimony from the appellant and respondent, the City Council voted against this appeal also.

An interesting amendment was included in voting for the Downtown Center in relation to this appeal in regards to "Congesting Pricing" and/or paid for parking. In essence, the City of San Ramon, Alex Mehran of Sunset Development, and the City Council voted for this amendment, that if Congestion Pricing and or paid for parking was implemented at a regional level, that San Ramon would also implement paid for parking at the Downtown Center.

It is interesting to note that there seems to be a conflict of interest between the City of San Ramon, the City Council, Alex Mehran of Sunset Development Company and the passage of the City Center Downtown plan. Because the City is in a partnership with Alex Mehran, there were blatant signs from the City Manager, Herb Moniz, of deferring issues to Alex Mehran for approval or not approval of selected items. In a somewhat of a comical situation, Councilman David Hudson came out and strongly and totally apposed the additional Congestion Pricing Amendment be added, but then when Alex Mehran spoke out in favor of adding the amendment, Councilmemeber Hudson sheepishly found himself on the wrong side of the majority and quietly and disgruntling voted for it.

You have to wonder, does the City really get any land out of this deal. Because of the past land deals with Alex Mehran, in which he allegedly sold (escrow shows it was sold on paper) the prime pieces of property to the City which includes the 7.5 acre property and 11 acre "City Center" property, Alex in fact maintained a type of veto right on what the property could be used for, and he could exercise his right to buy back the property from the City for any reason for just the cost that he sold it plus cost of living increases. This is a sweetheart deal for Alex Mehran and Sunset Development Company, because the land is worth so much more now. So, now the City is going to be giving up prime real estate land for a building. But, is the City really going to own the land the building is standing on? Will the City even own the building or will it be leased to the City of San Ramon? Additionally, it is interesting to note that because the financials have remained hidden from public scrutiny, there simply is no way to analyze the true merits of this partnership between Sunset Development Company and the City of San Ramon, and how this Downtown Center will ultimately play out for the stakeholders, the Citizens of San Ramon.

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Solar Opportunity Gone To Waste

Cough Cough

In light of the latest headlines in the news about San Ramon in the Contra Costa Times, City hopes to cut emissions by 11 percent in three years, one can't help but think that the proposed downtown city center plan is a green opportunity gone to waste.

The City Officials are so quick to think that this is the best deal for the city that they have overlooked what is happening in the world today and even more importantly what is happening in our own backyard.

The Contra Costa Times reported, "Within three years, San Ramon hopes to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by 11 percent, city leaders announced."

San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson was quoted as saying, "It's not just for the environment -- it makes good sense for the bottom line." And, Dave Krueger, the San Ramon Public Services Program Manager was quoted when questioned how the city will reduce its emissions once the environmental research is complete, he responded, "we aren't quite there yet."

Herein lies the rub. San Ramon city officials are looking to reduce emissions, but the downtown center will do anything but reduce emissions. Not only will the downtown center not reduce emissions, but it will significantly increase emissions with the increase in traffic congestion and thousands more car trips, each and every day. Watch what happens to emissions in the San Ramon Valley when that occurs.

Now, if that doesn't make you cough as it is, the planners of this Downtown City Center Design have not even considered the environmental impact of not going green. Not only have there not been studies of how to improve the environment by using solar energy at this mega center, but the positive economic impact that could be attained by designing solar throughout this project has not been considered either. On the other side of the coin, Google just recently installed photo voltaic solar panels at the Googleplex. Google committed to solar energy production because it made economic and environmental sense. The payback period is 7.5 years, and after that time, everything is free energy generated by the sun. Check out the Google Solar Panel Project and the fly-over video.

The best time to design for solar is when the project is on the drawing board to begin with, not after it is already built. Energy is not going to get any cheaper, and the opportunity to do the right thing is at hand. Hey Guys, go back to the drawing board. Let's not let it go to waste.

The City Center: Solution to a "Done Deal"

So much for the San Ramon Planning Commission! So much for the City Center Project not being a "Done Deal". Once the Planning Commission approves the DSEIR on November 6th the project will go before the City Council. The City Council will have three meetings during the holidays and before any one gets back from enjoying of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it will be another "Done Deal".

This is all by design and in the past they would have gotten away with it, but not now. The city's plea to "trust us" is too late. They are trying this trust us one too many times. There is no trust left.

Trust is given when trust is earned. The City Council manipulated the 2020 General Plan in 2002, they manipulated the Rezoning process in 2006, and they manipulated the Open Space Ordinance this year. There is only expectation left, and it is one of self interest and of a private club mentality. Expectation of a public forum and public representation is gone and in its place is private business to business partnerships and 'Done Deals'.

The City Center Project has been in the works for years. The first budget workshops were held in February 2004. The Economic Development Advisory Committee and Bay Area Economics held retail sector workshops in July 2005 and drafted a Strategic Plan. The city staff made a presentation to the City Council in October 2005. At the same time the City Council held private meetings with Sunset Development to form a private partnership. In 2006 the City Council made changes to the General Plan, the zoning, and created the Mixed Use Zoning. Finally, in March of 2007 the City Council rolled the finished City Center Project in a joint staff and committee meeting. All this maneuvering and decision making was done behind a wall of silence.

The first “public” input to the project in September 2007 before the Planning Commission came with statements that this project was NOT a done deal. After two meetings we found out that it was a “Done Deal”. No changes could be allowed because it would upset the economics of the deal. So much for the public trust.

What you can't trust is the private financial deal. What you can't trust is the "Statement of Overriding Consideration". What you can’t trust is the traffic study. You can't trust this project that is more suited to San Francisco. You can’t trust a project that is expected to cost $775,000,000.00 and the city is going to be rich from the sales taxes. You can't trust what they say is the real cost of this private “Done Deal”.

Trust me this is going to cost the City of San Ramon plenty. This starts off as a land grab. The city purchased the 11 acres and then the 7.5 acres from Sunset Development for real money ($12,000,000.00). In this deal the City Council transferred the FAR (Floor Area Ratio) to Sunset Development's other projects which left no use for the 18 acres except for public uses. After years of turning down proposed public uses the City Council rezoned the properties to Mixed-Use and added an FAR of 1.35 to them. They then rezoned from non- private uses to eight story buildings. The estimated value of the 18 acre property with the new zoning, in current dollars, is between $60,000,000.00 and $80,000,000.00 as it stands empty.

In the City Center Project the city owned property gets lost. The property where the new Civic Center is to be located is not even owned by Sunset Development, it is owned by Chevron. Chevron is already asking for compensation. No one knows whether the city will own the new Civic Center or lease it from Sunset Development.

It appears the city will get an increase in sales taxes but Sunset is expected to ask for a share of the increased revenue. What other guaranties is the City Council going to make in the name of this "Done Deal" project? The financial deal should be made public before we vote on this deal. The voters of San Ramon should have a chance to Vote on whether they agree with this deal or not.

This City Center Project needs to be redesigned to meet the needs of the public and not impact the city as severely as the present proposal shows. If the Project is built, it should have the following changes:

1. The buildings should be a maximum of five stories with a smaller total square footage to be compatible with the rest of Bishop Ranch. This is a reduction of about 50% from the proposed size. The parking lot structures should be reduced by one half the proposed size.


2. The Civic Center should be located on the north side of Bollinger Canyon Blvd and next to Central Park so that it has a relationship to other public uses. The size should be doubled to about 300,000 sq. ft.


3. The proposed City Center Plaza should face onto the Iron Horse Trail and Central Park.


4. All environmental effects of the project should be mitigated and not be a “significant and unavoidable cumulative impact”. Not a letter of “Statement of Overriding Consideration” from the Mayor to allow significant environmental impacts.

The City Center project should be approved by the citizens of San Ramon. If the City Council does not give them the opportunity to vote, a Referendum on the Project will be needed.

Article submitted to San Ramon Tribune

Planning Commission Intends to Vote YES for Downtown Center

San Ramon, CA
The San Ramon Planning Commission is scheduled to vote yes on the downtown city center, giving Alex Mehran of Sunset Development everything he wants. (Three 100 foot tall, 681,769 square feet, seven story office buildings, and eight story residential buildings totaling 487 units, plus 635,042 square feet retail, 169 room hotel, Cinema, and parking structures to accommodate 7,531 spaces)

After San Ramon Planning Commission heard public testimony about the downtown city center project, the planning commissioners voiced their intentions to vote yes on the plan as presented at the next meeting.

City Staff intends to have the Draft Environmental Impact Report completed with the added public written and voiced comments and concerns addressed in writing for the commissioners to read before their next meeting scheduled for November 6, 2007 at which time they will vote "YES" for the plan as submitted.

The commissioners had concerns with no Iron Horse Trail overpass, and no direct Downtown Plaza pedestrian access to Central Park. The commissioners did not feel it was fair to the developer, Sunset Developement, to have to include the Iron Horse Trail overpass into the plan. The plan developer and city staff are looking at the logistics of having pedestrian access to Central Park from the plaza area. There is also a study going on into finding funding for an overpass at the Iron Horse Trail at Bollinger Canyon Road. The Planning Commissioners did not want to see traffic stopped on Bollinger for people pushing a button to cross the street at the trail. Their attitudes about the heights of the buildings and intensity and density of the project is that even though these heights and densities are greater than office buildings in other parts of San Ramon, that it was acceptable to the commissioners to have these at the Downtown Center as presented.

Many on the city staff and the Planning Commissioners talked about this being a "smart growth" policy and that this would give a "heart" to San Ramon.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, Michael Jones, resident of San Ramon stated, "That we should not sell our soul to gain a heart."

People have until October 11, 2007 and are encouraged to enter their comments and concerns into public record about the Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (DSEIR) viewable at the San Ramon City website. Comments may be submitted by email and mail to:

San Ramon City Center
Draft Subsequent EIR
2222 Camino Ramon
San Ramon, CA 94583
(925) 973-2550
econdev@sanramon.ca.gov

Passion at Planning Commission Public Hearings

The people of San Ramon spoke their minds at last night’s Planning Commission public hearings for both the Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report, (DSEIR) and the actual City Center Downtown Plan. There was a full room of people present at the Community Center for the Planning Commission meeting, with over 30 speakers who wished to speak on either, or both, the DSEIR and the Downtown City Center Plan.

The public hearing portion for the DSEIR was spoken on by numerous San Ramon Citizens, who brought to light, the many inadequacies in the document, and expanded on the numerous unavoidable impacts for San Ramon.

The DSEIR, is a draft document put together by the consulting firm, Michael Brandman Associates, under contract to the City. It is over 700 pages in size and scope, can be downloaded from the San Ramon City website, and is quite difficult to digest in only a 45 day period. Most speakers requested an extension of 90 or 120 days for public input.

Some of the inadequacies brought to light include traffic impacts during periods of school, mid-day, and midweek studies were missing in the DSEIR. Information was given to the fact that the DSEIR does not conform to the General Plan 2020 in describing what a Civic Center is supposed to be and not what the citizens voted for when they passed the 2020 General Plan. Safety of children crossing from the Civic Center South West portion library area, to the North East section Central Park area was not addressed. Extended crosswalk timing requirements for the Iron Horse Trail and how this will impact the traffic on Bollinger was not addressed in the report. The shadow evaluations were strictly limited to mid-day instead of complete (all day) evaluations based on 100 ft tall buildings, and the impact on the Iron Horse Trail, which is a Park, was not addressed in the report. The aspect of the noise impacts in other surrounding neighborhoods (given the fact that wind will likely take the noise further distances) was not addressed in the DSEIR. Late night usage impacts from full service bars serving alcohol and what will likely result in noise increases, and more police having to patrol this area, and the impact on our youth in San Ramon along with the other various societal impacts on the San Ramon community as a whole was not addressed. In light of the fact that 680 will be, and is currently at times a parking lot for commuter traffic, and according to reports is at a grade "F" (and can not be mitigated) and will likely result in traffic jams and backups onto Bollinger Canyon Road and other surface streets, this was not addressed by the DSEIR.

Other items not addressed in the Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report and brought forth by the San Ramon Citizens included the annual events that have been a part of the heart and soul of San Ramon for years and have drawn the community together. These events have used the lots that would be turned into retail, residential, and office space with this downtown center. How will those events be impacted in the future from a parking and logistics standpoint? Items such as would parking be allowed in the parking structures for these events and would there even be any events in the future or would they be lost forever, were some of the questions that need to be addressed by the DSEIR?

The Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report was shown to be deficient in other areas also and spoken on by the public at the meeting. Information was brought forth, in light of the fact that small theaters all over the country are having great difficultly in drawing patrons, with Blackhawk Theaters given as an example, with most people instead going to larger theaters; is how realistic is an additional, small sized 6 screen theater, with foreign films going to be able to sustain itself in San Ramon. What will be the impact on the Crow Canyon Theater?

After the public hearing portion of the DSEIR, the planning commissioners, Chairperson Dennis Viers, Vice Chairperson Bob Patrino, and Commissioners Donna Kerger, Phil O’Loane, and Harry Sachs added their own thoughts and comments about the DSEIR and the proposed extension. According to City Attorney, Byron Athan, the period for public input can be extended out to 60 days instead of the 45 days currently set. The Planning Commissioners passed the extension unanimously. The extension goes through October 11, 2007. People are encouraged to study the DSEIR, and to write in with details and their thoughts about the various environmental impact deficiencies, what should be included, what needs to be studied or evaluated more thoroughly, and then submit it to the city for these comments to be added to the final environmental impact report. According to the process, these submitted comments, questions, and concerns will become part of the record and will be addressed, in writing, in the final EIR.

When it came time for the public hearing for the Downtown City Center plan portion, there were both the full supporters and many that opposed the plan as is currently laid out. Many of the former mayors, former council members, and members of the economic development committee were quite outspoken in pushing the project forward, though some had concerns about the issues brought forth, (like 100 feet tall buildings and traffic). Those opposed to the project as is presently laid out were quite concerned with the 100 feet tall office buildings, the tall parking structures, the high densities, traffic, safety, the small size of the civic center and distance the civic center portion of the buildings are located from Central Park, society issues, the huge project size, and the impact on the community at large.

The meeting ended a few minutes after midnight with everyone being given a chance to speak with passion, reason, and constructive input. Now both sides have much to think about for the future of San Ramon.

Next Downtown City Center Public Hearing:
October 2, 2007
Time: 7:00 PM
San Ramon Community Center
12501 Alcosta Blvd, San Ramon, CA


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Wal-Mart Superstore for San Ramon Downtown?

Could a Wal-Mart Upscale Superstore be in store for the Downtown City Center?

Think it can’t happen in San Ramon, think again. Wal-Mart has been trying for years to get a Superstore in the San Ramon Valley. While Pleasanton has a general merchandise Wal-Mart, it is not a Superstore. The terms big-box, superstore, megastore, and supercenter also refer to these large square footage retail establishments.

Just recently the Livermore City Council said absolutely No to Wal-Mart’s plans of building a Super Sized Store in the Livermore area. In fact a total ban on Big Box Stores was set in place.


“Livermore City Council passed an ordinance to forbid such superstores from being allowed within city limits. Livermore voted for the ordinance after Wal-Mart showed an interest in bringing an 185,000-square-foot discount retail center with a grocery store to town.

Although rebuffed by Livermore, Wal-Mart or another retailer deciding there may be a viable market in the Tri-Valley could shop their plans to another city.” ref

Why Did Livermore Ban Superstores?

The fact of the matter is where Wal-Mart superstores have been built in various places in the country, they have caused a major problem of urban decay. Urban decay occurs when areas of the city fall into a state of disrepair or a major shift in the buying habits of people put local community anchor supermarkets out of business, and associated retailers are subsequently displaced due to not enough business at the various locations around the area. The Livermore city council understood the significance of maintaining the local anchors to support the other large percentage of businesses and small retailers that make up the Livermore landscape. They recognized the threat of a Wal-Mart Superstore to the community and made the right decision for the people.

Dublin is now being targeted as a Wal-Mart superstore location, but Wal-Mart would like a much better location in the Tri-Valley. Could the new San Ramon City Center be a target for a Wal-Mart Superstore? Do you think that is ridicules? After all, our City Council keeps telling us that they want an upscale department store to anchor the downtown city center. As of yet, no upscale department store has shown an interest in setting up shop in San Ramon.

The demographics of San Ramon simply will not support an upscale department store, and the department stores know it. San Ramon buyers, while having significant income levels, are maxed out with high mortgages, and shop for the best deals possible. Blackhawk, a community with very high income levels had a major department store failure “when upscale Saks Fifth Avenue closed its compact but opulent store – its first in the East Bay – in early 1999 after being open only a year.” ref

So how does a Wal-Mart Superstore fit into the San Ramon landscape?

Forget the idea of a big sprawling box but think of the new upscale Wal-Mart Superstore like their prototype store in Plano, near Dallas Texas. “Wal-Mart is adding new products and revamping stores to catch up with competitors including Target Corp. and Issaquah-based Costco Wholesale Corp. that are winning customers with exclusive brands.” ref

What Would a Wal-Mart Superstore do for San Ramon?

This would likely result in the local Nob Hill store and all the other small retail shops in that shopping area being severally threatened to stay in business. The Target store adjacent to the new Wal-Mart would be severally crippled as well as all the little shops in that center. Competition in business is good, but when the supply and demand is way out of whack, the likelihood for urban decay and businesses going out of business is a very real probability. Not only would there be significant impact on the local San Ramon business community, but current traffic figures would have to be thrown out, because a store like Wal-Mart would bring in significantly higher traffic from all the outlying surrounding cities, and would likely draw the lower income crowd, which would be a major factor for the community at large.

Police services would likely have to be increased. The Iron Horse Trail would significantly be impacted. Safety of crossing Bollinger Canyon, Rd. will be a major issue for the Iron Horse Trail, which is being used more and more by the residents of San Ramon. The crowds at the San Ramon City Park basketball courts would significantly increase. With increased crowds comes an increase in the criminal elements. The skate park would be impacted. Actually, just about every city element is affected by this major influx of people traffic.

So, San Ramon City Council Members, be careful for what you wish for, because the very real possibility is you are going to get more than what you wished for, and you’re not going to like it. Think this can't happen in San Ramon? Read the Wal-Mart Watch

WALMART
The High Cost of Low Price

Extra Extra Read All About It!

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San Ramon City Center 2.0 FAR!

The San Ramon Environmental Impact Report for the city center site states that the building FAR (Floor Area Ratio) is 1.27 FAR across the entire City Center project.

Make no mistake about this, this FAR is extremely dense.

Building Massing

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) provides a measurement of building massing and is calculated by divided project square footage (2,168,466) by the square footage of developable land area (1,702,760). The entire City Center project would have a 1.27 FAR, which is within the maximum allowable 1.35 FAR established in the Zoning Ordinance for the City Center Mixed Use (CCMU) zone. [DSEIR Section 4 Part Two - Aesthetics, Light, and Glare]

DSEIR FAR Report is Misleading

This however, is quite misleading because of the word "entire" is used to spread the FAR out over the entire 44 acre project. The lot with the three seven story office buildings is actually being proposed at a 2.0 FAR. Note: No other office developments in San Ramon come close to the building density being proposed in the City Center. All other business office buildings according to the General Plan are 0.45 FAR maximum.

Understanding FAR - Floor Area Ratio

Floor Area Ratio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) or Floor Space Index (FSI) is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location, or the limit imposed on such a ratio.

The Floor Area Ratio is the total building square footage (building area) divided by the site size square footage (site area).

As a formula: Floor Area Ratio = (Total covered area on all floors of all buildings on a certain plot)/(Area of the plot)

Thus, an FSI of 2.0 would indicate that the total floor area of a building is two times the gross area of the plot on which it is constructed.

See Carfree Cities: FAR Explained

The current northern portion of undeveloped City-owned property where the three 7 story office buildings would be built is approximately 7.56 acres. The southern 6.71 acres portion contains parking areas associated with Bishop Ranch 1.

DSEIR 3.1.2 - Existing Conditions
The existing conditions of each individual parcel are described below. Photographs of the use of each parcel are shown in Exhibits 3-3a through 3-3e.

Parcel 1A
Parcel 1A consists of 14.27 acres of undeveloped land and developed parking areas associated with Bishop Ranch 1. The northern portion of Parcel 1A contains approximately 7.56 acres of undeveloped City-owned, rectangular-shaped property. This land contains ruderal vegetation, with ornamental landscaping surrounding the property on all four sides. This portion of the parcel contains fill imported from other nearby parcels that have been developed. The southern 6.71-acre portion of Parcel 1A contains parking areas associated with Bishop Ranch 1. The parking areas are characterized as at-grade, asphalt-paved with landscaped islands and freestanding lighting. Sidewalks are present along its frontages with Bollinger Canyon Road and the Bishop Ranch 1 East roadway.

Sunset Development has an existing entitlement to develop its portion of Parcel 1A as a 328,220-square-foot office complex in accordance with the previously approved Chevron Park Annexation and Development Agreement. This entitlement was originally granted to Chevron Corporation, the previous owner of the property. Sunset Development subsequently acquired the entitlement when it purchased the Bishop Ranch 1 property.

One acre = 43560 square feet. So, to come up with the square feet of the buildable area we can multiply the 7.56 acres X 43560 square feet = 329,313.6 square feet of land.

What is being purposed is for Alex Mehran of Sunset Development to build with the entitlement of 328,220 sq. ft. that originally came with the property, plus 194,652 sq ft. from the destruction of the office complex across the street, plus an additional 158,897 sq. ft. to come to a total of 681,769 sq. ft. of office space in the land mass of 329,314 sq. ft.

To figure the FAR, take 681,769 divided by 329,314 = 2.07 FAR.

This is Too Two FAR Out!

With these high structures next to the Iron Horse Trail, (note: the Iron Horse Trail is considered a regional trail and is maintained by the Parks District) they will tower above anything else in the city today. The DSEIR came up with shadow analysis on the Iron Horse Trail at 10 AM and 2 PM (where the sun is near it's peak heights) for both the summer and winter months, but conveniently left out the evaluation of what the shadows would be like at mid to late afternoon on the Iron Horse Trail. During the summer months, the Iron Horse Trail is used quite frequently in the mid to late afternoons. For this evaluation to be left out from the 600 page DSEIR is not by accident. This will have a significant impact on the Iron Horse Trail and needs to be taken into account properly, because technically the Iron Horse Trail is part of the Parks, according to the General Plan 4.8-I-17

"• Sun access planes adjacent to public parks (1:3.5) to prevent substantial shadow impacts.

City Center would be excluded from these requirements, with the exception of the sun access plane requirements adjacent to public parks. Refer to Figures 4-5 through 4-8."


The Iron Horse Trail is a regional trail facility that provides an excellent recreational experience for users. The Iron Horse Trail is operated and maintained by the East Bay Regional Park District (District). San Ramon City Article

What Does The San Ramon General Plan 2020 Say For FAR Averaging?

In the General Plan chapter 4 Land Use, Density/Intensity Standards it distinctly states, "No averaging is permitted such that the maximum FAR would be exceeded on any individual site." Well folks, this is exactly what is being done on the three seven (7) story office buildings site.

Here is the quoted text from the General Plan:

DENSITY/INTENSITY STANDARDS

The General Plan establishes density/intensity standards for each land use classification. In the residential designations, residential density is expressed as housing units per net acre, exclusive of public streets and other rights-of-way, drainage easements, public uses and undevelopable land (slopes over 20 percent and land subject to the Resource Conservation Overlay District).

For non-residential uses, a maximum permitted ratio of gross floor area to net site area (FAR) is specified. FAR is a broad measure of building bulk that controls both visual prominence and traffic generation, and is calculated exclusive of area devoted to parking. It can be clearly translated to a limit on building bulk in the Zoning Ordinance and is independent of the use occupying the building. No averaging is permitted such that the maximum FAR would be exceeded on any individual site. The Zoning Ordinance can provide specific exceptions to the FAR limitations for uses with low employment densities, or it can provide for bonuses in FAR in return for the provision of amenities for public benefit, such as workforce housing units. In addition to density/intensity standards, some land use classifications also stipulate allowable building types, such as single-family residential.

The density/intensity standards do not imply that development projects will be approved at the maximum density or intensity specified for each use. Zoning regulations consistent with General Plan policies and/or site conditions may reduce development potential within the stated ranges.

Let's call this for what it is, a Mega High-Density Center. The proponents of the Downtown City Center want to make you feel all nice and rosy with promises of a Downtown City Center with soul. What the people of San Ramon will get instead is a place that will bury their souls, and people will be asking years down the line, "Why on earth did the City Council want to place this high-density congestion on the people?"

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Citizens Outraged by Proposed High-Densities for San Ramon City Center

The following topics were raised at the Planning Commission Public Hearing last night:

Requested all financials on this project including Development Plans, Land Transfers; Tax Revenue sharing agreements with Alex Mehran of Sunset Development Co. and the City of San Ramon. Any, and all documents that effect this plan for the people to review ASAP.

Asked for a 30 - day Extension (to the 45 day review and comment period) to review the Mega-Size 700 Page Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and, to make comments.

The proposed project has a 1.27 FAR when aggregated over the entire approximately 44 acres (note: this is quite extreme). However, it really is a 2.0 FAR (Building ratio density) in the office area with the three seven story office buildings. This is extremely extreme! DSEIR report claims they can go all the way up to a FAR of 1.35 over the entire Downtown City Center area [DSEIR Section 4]. This 1.35 FAR is more than 3 times the allowed FAR for any other area of San Ramon. The 1.27 FAR and certainly the 2.0 FAR (with the 100 foot tall seven story office buildings) must be changed and, reduced with a reasonable density for condos etc...

Building height in this plan is open-ended with no current limits at all! They are grouping all the 44 acres into one section so Alex Mehran of Sunset Development can build what ever heights he wants. We need to establish limits to building heights in this plan. According to the Environmental Impact Report: "The City of San Ramon General Plan explicitly exempts the City Center project from any building height limits." [DSEIR Section 3-46] Certainly the people never intended for buildings 7 stories and 100 feet tall or greater in height in San Ramon to be built, when they voted for the General Plan. They reasonably thought that a City Council would not pack it in and give a developer carte blanche design with the kind of high-densities and tall building structures being forced down the people's throat.

Out of a total of 44 acres for this plan, the City is given only 3.5 acres - less than 10%!!! This is outrageous, and not a plan created by the people, for the people. This is a plan created by big money, for big money!

The plan entitles the developer to gain profits from one-million three hundred sixty five thousand (1,365,000) square feet in comparison to the total allowed of one-hundred ten thousand (110,000) square feet of the City Offices/Civic Center. Our 18 acres of owned City prime property next to Central Park will go to the Developer! Not Civic Uses.

Bollinger Canyon Road bike lanes have recently been removed and, now Bollinger Canyon is being expanded to alleviate traffic jams and gridlock that we currently have. This proposed City Center plan will add 30,000 new car trips per day and magnify our traffic problems.

The sign on the corner of Bollinger Canyon (next to Central Park) says future site of our "Civic Center Project" is misleading and untrue. Not a single civic purpose is planned for that site. It is all private retail, condos, hotel, department store etc.. We want this sign changed and corrected so that it is not misleading to the public. In addition, another sign placed where the proposed "Civic Center" is planned on the 3.5 acres for the public to see. Note: The original concept for a City Center, as outlined by the 2020 General Plan was primarily as a "Civic Center" for public use, not a major retail shopping center, high-density business offices, high-density housing, or a private hotel.

The bottom line, as this plan currently unfolds, it really is not good for the people of San Ramon. This plan allows a developer to get rich at the expense of the San Ramon citizens.

New readers please read the: San Ramon Tribune welcome message.

San Ramon City Center Public Hearing Notices

Application:
San Ramon City Center Mixed Use Project

Owners/Applicants:
City of San Ramon and Sunset Development Company

Location:
The project site is comprised of several parcels at the intersection of Camino Ramon and Bollinger Canyon Road (APNs: 213-133-063, 213-133-086, 213-120-010, -011, -012, -013, and -014),

Request:
The applicants are requesting approval of a Development Plan, Development Plan Amendment, Land Use Permits, Major Subdivision, Minor Use Permits, Architectural Review and Environmental Review. Specific project elements include approximately: 635,000 square feet of retail and cinema uses, a 169-room hotel, up to 487 residential dwelling units, 680,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of retail/flex uses, and a 110,000-square-foot City Hall, including Council Chambers, Library, and Police Department headquarters on approximately 44 acres.

CEQA:
A Draft Subsequent EIR has been prepared for the project pursuant to Sections 15146 and 15162 of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (45-day review period August 13, 2007 to September 26, 2007).

Contact:
City of San Ramon
Attn: Lauren Barr, Senior Planner
2226 Camino Ramon
San Ramon, CA 94583
(925) 973-2560

Posting Period:
August 10, 2007 to August 21,2007

If you challenge this application in court, you way be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public hearing.

SAID HEARING will be held by the Planning Commission, City of San Ramon, commencing at 7:00 PM, on August 21, 2007 at San Ramon Community Center, 12501 Alcosta Blvd., San Ramon, California, 94583. (Note Change in Meeting Location)

View the San Ramon City Center draft subsequent EIR here:

San Ramon City Center
Draft Subsequent EIR

Next Downtown City Center Public Hearing:
October 2, 2007
Time: 7:00 PM
San Ramon Community Center
12501 Alcosta Blvd, San Ramon, CA

San Ramon City Council Election Signups Deadline Aug. 10

Three San Ramon Council Seats are up for Election

The November General Election is right around the corner, and three seats are up for election.

August 10th is the final day of sign ups for the general election. The filing fee is $900.00.

Anyone interested in running and also interested in having a voice in the current state of affairs, should consider running on a team ticket. Each candidate will have as much as $28,000 to spend maximum on this election. Three good candidates, to make a difference, is what is needed. Having an organization to back a group of three that stands for truth in city government, maintaining a good quality of life in San Ramon, maintaining open spaces and hillsides, and bringing an openness back to the City Council, would be the ideal solution to the current state of affairs.

The Mayor and two City Council seats are up for election. Mayor H. Abram Wilson and council members Scott Perkins and Carol Rowley have said they are running for re-election.

Mayor H. Abram Wilson plans to jump ship from Mayor, if re-elected, and run for the Assembly District 15 seat, currently occupied by Guy Houston, R-San Ramon, if Houston is termed out. Houston is currently in his third term. News Media Source: Contra Costa Times

Wilson, Perkins, and Rowley want to increase traffic and congestion, increase building on the hillsides, and continue in their back room dealings with Alex Mehran of Sunset Development with a downtown center that has not been fully exposed for what it is. Namely, the City Center as it currently is being portrayed will be a divider of San Ramon, not a uniter, and the financial terms which have never been fully exposed to the people are yet to be determined what the final cost will be to the San Ramon taxpayers. The cost has been reported to be more than $750,000,000.00 to build it.

Here is what we know so far about the City Center. Planned eight story office buildings, more traffic and more congestion that will spill onto other city streets, a proposed upscale shopping area with an upscale anchor store (which has not been found to date), and a upscale hotel which also has not been found. It is important to note, that just because someone wants an upscale anchor and hotel for the shopping center, does not mean that an upscale anchor wants to set up a store or hotel in this part of San Ramon.

One has to wonder, what type of land swaps, reduced or elimination of city taxes and building fees, and other under-the-table dealings has the City Council agreed to with Sunset Development. What is Sunset Development holding over the head of San Ramon? Could it be that there are some hidden clauses in properties that have been given to San Ramon by Sunset Development, in exchange for a major reduction or elimination of permit fees and taxes? What type of liability issues are the San Ramon taxpaying citizens facing in the future with this San Ramon City Center deal?

The San Ramon News Team.

San Ramon Facing Downtown Envy Disease

The Antiplanner Perspective On The San Ramon City Center

From The Thoreau Institute, a non-profit organization that seeks ways to protect the environment without big government.

The following quotes are from an article written on The Antiplanner website looking at the San Ramon City Center plan.

But the city is suffering from an acute case of "downtown envy," a disease the strikes many Sun Belt cities. Many people, including most urban planners, think that a city can’t be a real city unless it has a distinctive downtown or city center. But in today's automobile age, developers no longer build distinctive city centers, so cities that have grown up since 1945 often feel they have to subsidize them.

The article goes on to ask the tough question. Why does San Ramon need a downtown?

At the city council meeting that first heard Mehran's proposal, someone testified that San Ramon "needs a downtown." Why? San Ramon is not a pedestrian-oriented city like Berkeley — yet it is hard to really find a downtown even in Berkeley. It is not a streetcar city like Los Angeles — yet Los Angeles only has a downtown because of huge subsidies and lobbying from downtown property owners.

Anyone that has gone through the intersection of Bollinger and Alcosta Blvd. in the morning or evening commute has to wonder, do we really need more density in this particular area?

Yet I have to wonder if San Ramon needs more density. Thanks to environmental demands that all available greenspaces be kept green, San Ramon's population density has already increased to 4,400 per square mile, which is pretty high considering all the land that is in office parks. Mehran's proposal will just add to the density, which will add to the congestion. Mehran himself lives in San Francisco, so he probably doesn't mind density, but many San Ramon residents are not too keen on the idea.

Alex Mehran, of Sunset Development Company, is the developer that is leading the charge on this downtown center plan. Accordingly, "Mehran's vision in 1978 was that San Francisco was too expensive and too congested and so many companies would want to locate in a suburb that was relatively free of congestion." Now, Mehran and the City Council want to turn that San Ramon vision into a nightmare of congestion, and high rise densities like that of Concord, with eight-story office high-rises. Furthermore, Mehran wants to have a major upscale shopping anchor for the downtown center. But, no upscale department store has yet committed to the downtown plan. What happens if no upscale department store is found to anchor a downtown plan?

Maybe, the San Ramon Council needs to step back and really ask themselves if this "downtown envy" is good for San Ramon. The questions that must be addressed are: Do we want more traffic? Do we want higher densities? Do we want 8-story office high-rises?

Read the complete article:
Anti-Town Planning #2: San Ramon City Center

Would also like to thank The Harper Team for forwarding the article to us.

Feel free to email us information or links that might prove insightful to this topic or other city topics.

By-the-way, read the San Ramon News Introduction.

San Ramon Mayor Refuses To Listen To Citizens' Concerns

Mayor H. Abram Wilson and the San Ramon City Council have already made up their minds about making San Ramon be like Concord.

Three Eight Story Office Buildings

The Mayor wants over 100 feet tall office buildings that are 8 stories in height. He and the City Council want to increase the traffic congestion in the intersections of Bolliger Canyon Rd. and Alcosta Blvd., Bollinger Canyon Road and Camino Ramon, and the on ramps and off ramps to Highway 680. He and the City Council want to give away approximately 15 to 20 acres of city property in exchange for a small 3.5 acre parcel that is too small to house the City Hall, Police Department, Library, and Transit Center. The Mayor wants to increase the traffic hazards for people crossing Bollinger Canyon Rd. at the Iron Horse Trail. The City Council thinks this is the best thing since apple pie. Their taste buds are salivating so much that they refuse to even consider what the ultimate cost of a Downtown Center is going to cost the citizens of San Ramon.

With recent traffic accidents that have happened on Bollinger Canyon Rd. even one involving a Highway Patrol Officer in the middle of the day because of traffic congestion, a Downtown Center, with a super concentration of development, with a major increase in traffic to and from this Downtown area, and a Dougherty Valley that will have four times the number of people currently living and commuting on Bollinger Canyon Road, it will only exasperate the situation.

SAN RAMON - A California Highway Patrol officer on a motorcycle was injured Saturday afternoon when the officer's motorcycle collided with a vehicle on Bollinger Canyon Road just west of the Interstate Highway 680 under crossing, according to a statement released by the CHP.

The incident occurred around 12:50 p.m. when CHP Officer G. Garcia exited I-680 going south on Bollinger Canyon Road. Garcia entered the intersection at the end of the off ramp and had almost cleared the intersection when the officer's motorcycle collided with a 2004 Honda vehicle.

This is ridiculous, for the Mayor and the City Council to be so blinded by their egos, to ignore the concerns of the citizens. What are we doing here? Why is having 8 story office buildings good for San Ramon? Why would we want to have to spend millions on new firefighting equipment, just to be able to handle 8 story office buildings? Why is this good for the City to give away land that we own, for something that puts the City into a little corner?

Places The City Into a Little Corner

The price tag for this Downtown plan is pegged at the $750 million mark, and climbing. Sunset Development has agreed to foot the $750 million price tag in exchange for what? What happens when there are cost overruns? Who pays for these? Oh, but we hear revenue sharing with the City. What happens if the rentals are not filled? Will the citizens have to foot the bill in higher taxes? If the City is an owner of commercial property, does that mean the City is going into the leasing business? This plan has not yet been fully exposed. It is wise to hold off giving a yes or no vote on any plan until all the facts are in.

But, maybe this Mayor and City Council know something the citizens do not. Who knows, maybe they have had back room dealings with Sunset about the new City Center and have not shared that information with the public. Maybe all the public input meetings are just for show, and they have already made their minds up. If this is the case, and the San Ramon City Council has already made up its mind, then we have much bigger problems in San Ramon, than lack of a downtown center.

Signed San Ramon

PS By-the-way, read the Introduction to San Ramon News.