Proposed 6230 Claremont Senior Residency Facility Update

by Mark Aaronson, RCPC Board

On March 30, the Oakland Planning Department accepted the initial application of Ellis Partners and Spirit Living Group for the development of a 203-unit Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE). The facility would contain independent, assisted living, and memory care units, and is located on Claremont Avenue across from Safeway.

The application will now be reviewed by the Planning staff for zoning and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance, a process likely to take at least four months from the acceptance date.

This project is subject to a regular design review, which in this instance results in a decision by the Planning Director, subject to appeal to the Planning Commission. The Planning Director must post public notice of the proposed decision at least 17 days before it becomes final.

For comments to be effective and timely, they should be submitted in writing for the record earlier in the staff review process. Only issues raised in writing can be appealed to the Planning Commission. There is no appeal to the City Council, and any further remedy would involve litigation.

The project site is within Oakland's CN-1 Neighborhood Commercial Zone. The developers have not requested a major variance or major conditional use. While there will be some CEQA review, it will not involve the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report.

Overriding State law applies to the review of this project. Most significantly, RCFEs are eligible for a State bonus residential density allowance of 20 percent without any requirement to provide affordable housing. This calculation affects the permissible height and bulk of a project determined by the number of proposed residential units using a complicated combination of local and State legal provisions.

What is legally most at issue is not how high or how bulky a building is but whether the project falls within the permissible number of units under the State bonus density law, not local land use limitations. As part of the application process, developers first must show that the proposed number of residential units falls within the permissible limits and then apply for waivers from local requirements, such as for height, step-backs, and setbacks.

If the project meets the units test, the only reason in most cases the Planning Director, and then the Planning Commission were there an appeal, can deny a waiver is if it has a specific, adverse impact upon health or safety that is "quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable…, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions." This State standard significantly limits the discretion of local officials in denying project approvals, far more than was the case under only local law in the past.

At a meeting attended by 50-60 Rockridge residents on March 31, representatives from Rockridge Neighbors for Sensible Housing (RNSH) presented for discussion objections to the number of units and situational appropriateness of the proposed RCFE, not an RCFE of a lesser scale. The objections focused on the height, bulk, and safety of the project, which has a 21 ½-feet ground floor with a partial mezzanine and six mainly residential floors above, and is a little under 85 feet in height.

The RCPC Board has appointed a seven-person Consultation Committee, which has met with the developers to discuss potential changes in the proposed project. The Committee's members include RNSH participants, at-large neighborhood residents, and RCPC Board members. The next meeting with the developers will be in mid-May.