SCH Number 2021070517

Project Info

Title

Spieker Senior Continuing Care Community Project

Description

The project proposes to amend the Land Use Map of the County General Plan’s Land Use Element by way of changing the land use designation of the project site from SM to Congregate Care/Senior Housing (CC); rezone the project site from an A-2 district to a site-specific P-1 (Planned Unit) district; a tentative map approval to reconfigure two existing parcels from approximately 13 and 17 acres in area to 25 and 5 acres in area with refined legal descriptions; a land use permit to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages; and a Preliminary and Final Development Plan to allow construction of a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) consisting of the following primary components: 1) a total of 354 independent living units and amenities for residents not needing daily assistance, 2) a health care center for residents and the general public, 3) a maintenance building, 4) associated drainage, access, and utility improvements, and 5) approximately 375,000 cubic yards of cut and fill grading activities resulting in a net export of approximately 75,000 cubic yards of soil from the site. Support staff for the entire CCRC is expected to represent a full-time equivalent of up to 225 employees. The 354 independent living units will include an “apartment” style building and 30 single-story residential buildings. The apartment building would be located on the southwestern portion of the project site, contain a total of 302 units, ranging from one to three bedrooms. Structurally included as part of the apartment building would be clubhouse and recreation areas, which contribute to a gross floor area of approximately 550,000 square-feet. The apartment building would reach a maximum height of 49 feet. The single-story units would be located adjacent to the apartment building to the north and west, as well as surrounding two new cul-de-sacs in the middle of the project site. The single-story residential buildings would total 52 units ranging in size from two to three bedrooms and reaching a maximum height of 20 feet. The health care center would house a total of approximately 100 assisted living units, including 33 skilled nursing beds and 23 memory care units. The health care center would have a gross floor area of approximately 85,000 sf and would reach a maximum height of 29 feet. The maintenance building would be located in the southeastern portion of the site and house the maintenance department, laundry, storage, workshop, golf cart maintenance, and a control system for the community’s utility systems. Access to the project site would be provided via an extension of Kinross Drive, which would lead to a new gated internal access road that would provide access to the various proposed buildings. The proposed Kinross Drive access would require the City of Walnut Creek’s acceptance of an existing irrevocable offer of right-of-way dedication for access and improvements, as well as a city-issued encroachment permit. Vehicle parking would be provided via uncovered surface parking areas, an above-grade parking garage in the apartment-style building, and private two-car garages in the single-story residential buildings. The project would include removal of up to 353 trees, new landscaping throughout the project site and also include native tree planting and riparian revegetation areas adjacent to the existing seasonal wetland features on-site. The project would include offsite utility improvements such as new water and storm drainage lines in North San Carlos Drive. Stormwater on-site would be directed to new stormwater lines, bioretention areas, and to an existing outfall along Walnut Creek. Easements will also be required from the City of Walnut Creek, Contra Costa Water District, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to accommodate public access, emergency vehicle access, and proposed public utilities. The CCRC would be licensed through the State of California Department of Social Services (DSS) Continuing Care Contracts Branch as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE). The Health Care Center would also be licensed to provide skilled nursing by the California Department of Public Health. While the CCRC will provide residential units for senior citizens, the units themselves would not be owned or leased by the residents. Instead, residents would be provided a unit as part of their care contract with the CCRC. As such, the CCRC would be licensed by the State of California as a non-residential institutional use and the County has determined the project does not contain any residential component for the purposes of implementing State and local land use regulations and ordinances.

5 documents in project