Seven high opportunity areas targeted for Concord high-density housing developments

CONCORD, CA (Jan. 23, 2025) — The City Council voted Jan. 7 to study seven areas for higher density housing to meet new state rules.

In an effort to accommodate 1,000 more housing units, the city will analyze these areas for overlay zoning to boost housing numbers:

• Site 1: The former Kmart property on Clayton Road and Ayers Road, 7+ acres with a maximum capacity of 471 units.
• Site 2: Clayton Faire, 4 acres/248 units. Centre Concord, the gym, bowling alley and parking areas are excluded.
• Site 3: Staples/CVS, auto repair and Burger King at Treat Boulevard and Clayton Road, 10+ acres/617 units.
• Site 6: Dental offices at Treat Blvd. and Oak Grove, 2 acres/126 units.
• Site 8: Infill at the Palm Lake Apartment Homes on Treat Blvd. and Oak Grove, 13 acres/480 more units.
• Site 16: Vacant land at Kirker Pass Road and Myrtle Drive, 2+ acres/141 units.
• Site 18: 1539 Kirker Pass, 1 acre/56 units.

Looking at community impact

The locations could become part of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rezoning Project. The plan would require amendments to the General Plan and Development Code.

“We’re not committing to any of those sites at this moment but going through the process of seeing how they would actually impact the community if they were developed,” noted Councilmember Dominic Aliano. “I’ve heard from a bunch of people that the impacts to our roadways, our schools, those are legit concerns.”
All the sites the council selected were on the staff’s short list except No. 6. Because of that, the council directed staff to inform business owners and tenants in that area of the city’s plans.

Even if the council votes to add overlay zones, it doesn’t necessarily mean that increased development would occur. That would depend on owner interest.

Analyzing the housing market

Since April 2024, the city has held numerous meetings with residents and stakeholders and conducted community surveys – creating what they call 3,200 “community touchpoints.”

To come up with the parcels under consideration, Eric Yurkovich said the consulting firm Raimi + Associates looked at “patterns of segregation” and identified factors that contributed to fair housing.

“The analysis showed that Concord had become ­increasingly diverse, with noticeable integration and rising racial and ethnic diversity across the city,” he said. “This is particularly true in the Monument and North Concord. These areas, however, face some of the higher poverty rates within the city.

“As home prices have become more expensive, it’s been more complicated for lower income families to find housing,” he added. “So the state law requires that cities take meaningful action to increase housing mobility and opportunity in those high resource areas.”

A key issue in Concord is that existing higher density housing sites are in what are considered “lower opportunity areas.” Therefore, the new housing program aims to increase opportunities by allowing more development in higher resource areas.

“High opportunity areas are known to have better educational and economic outcomes,” Yurkovich said during the joint City Council-Planning Commission meeting at Centre Concord.

Residents’ concerns

In 1½ hours of public comment, many residents lamented about increased traffic and the loss of privacy while others adamantly advocated for more affordable housing.

“As I had my third kid, I decided to come back to Concord. Thankfully, I was able to afford it,” said Alex Gude. “My brother, a music teacher, wasn’t able to. My sister, who works in hospitality, wasn’t able to. Of my three cousins, one lives with his parents and the others have moved out. I look at my three sons and I know that’s their fate if we don’t solve the housing crisis. The only way our city can survive is if young families can afford to put down roots here.”

Steve Johnson had similar sentiments.

“We want our children to be able to afford houses here, as well as the people who work here and teach our children,” he said, before cautioning: “You can’t drive to and from the Clayton Valley today. You know, it’s already full. You’d have to take out houses to make it three lanes in each direction.”

Johnson also wondered about the impact of 400 units Walnut Creek is adding in the Shadelands area. “We would need Walnut Creek’s help to make Ygnacio an expressway or something.”

Michael Dudoroff, who has lived on Myrtle Drive for 36 years, talked about the transformation of his once quiet neighborhood.

“The two main roads of Laurel and Myrtle have become an unwanted extension of Kirker Pass. Mornings and afternoons, these streets have become the new Concord Boulevard. These roads would be severely impacted by houses on Site 16,” he said.

Cal State East Bay site

Because many speakers questioned why the Cal State East Bay site was taken out of consideration, Mayor Carlyn Obringer asked staff for clarification.

“The state does not have a master plan for that campus that includes housing,” said planner Mindy Gentry. “It’s gonna take the state a long time, even if they were to initiate a master plan today, to figure out what that’s gonna look like.”

In that same vein, the former Concord Naval Weapons Station development does not fit the city’s current timeframe.

For more information, visit www.cityofconcord.org/AFFH-FAQ.