315-unit Terraces project talk returns for yet another round
City’s contentious plan is subject of Jan. 21 joint commission meeting
LAFAYETTE » A controversial proposal to build 315 apartment units in this city will be back on the table early next year.
On Jan. 21, the Lafayette Planning Commission and the Transportation & Circulation Commission are scheduled to discuss the project’s potential traffic impacts and transit-related issues at a joint meeting.
Meanwhile, the city’s staff report on the socalled Terraces of Lafayette project and a traffic impact study will be published on the city website no later than Jan. 7, a city news release said.
Since it was initially proposed in March 2011, the Terraces plan by the O’Brien Land Co. has been marked by controversy.
It has been the subject of 20 public hearings, a lawsuit, a state court ruling and a failed referendum called Measure L that sought voter approval of a compromise plan of 44 houses instead of apartments. The property covers 22 acres off Deer Hill and Pleasant Valley roads near Highway 24.
Bryan Wenter, an attorney for O’Brien Land Co., said in an October interview that the “project is 90% of the way or more to the goal line.”
He also acknowledged an appeal to the Lafayette City Council “is virtually a certainty.”
Michael Griffiths of grassroots Save Lafayette said the group has “always opposed the Terraces” and now will “have to see what transpires.” Save Lafayette filed the lawsuit against the project and led opposition to Measure L.
Wenter has said any approval of the plan shouldn’t lead to a referendum because the company is only seeking a use permit for the Terraces.
“As a matter of law, that would be an invalid referendum and it would not go anywhere,” Wenter said. “There is no possibility of a valid referendum here.”
Wenter also said 20% of the Terraces units — 63 in all — would be designated as low-income units.
If you’re interested
For more information about Terraces, including the environmental impact report, go to the city website at lovelafayette.org/ Terraces.
The city said inquiries and comments should be sent to Luke Connolly at lconnolly@ci.lafayette.ca.us and to Planning Director Greg Wolff at gwolff@ci.lafayette.ca.us.
City offices will be closed through Jan. 1 and will reopen Jan. 2.