Planning Commission backs recommendation to city council for 207-unit condominium project at former Kmart site

Planning commissioners voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve project 2025-CDP-01: a proposal to build 207 attached condominium units on about 9.72 acres at 895 Faulkner Road, the former Kmart site.

Staff presented the application as a conditional use permit, design review and a vesting tentative tract map (Tract 6114) and recommended adoption of Planning Commission Resolution No. 3,867. Staff said the project complies with the city’s 2040 General Plan land-use designation (Commercial General) and identified required findings for a conditional use permit and tentative map. The staff presentation noted the site layout, building types (three- to seven-plex and larger buildings), unit floor plans (two-, three- and four-bedroom models), required two-car garages for condominium units and one guest parking space per four units; the project shows 56 guest spaces where 52 are the minimum required.

The applicant’s representative, Yuri Gurevich of Heritage Development Group (representing the project team), said the team worked with city staff and the community on design and site planning. Architect Gary Cunningham (WHA) described a Spanish-influenced design with stucco exteriors, tile-like concrete roof tiles, balconies on select end units, and pedestrian-oriented downward-facing lighting intended to avoid nuisance light.

Neighbors and other members of the public raised traffic, circulation, drainage/sewer capacity, privacy and lighting concerns. Residents said Faulkner Road and Telegraph Road already experience congestion during peak travel times, that neighboring private roads could be affected by spillover parking, and that sewer capacity at the Kmart site has previously caused backups; several speakers asked whether the development would include a traffic signal or other off-site improvements. Staff and the applicant pointed to a traffic study included in the staff report and to ongoing coordination with Public Works and Caltrans; staff said the traffic analysis found the proposed condominium project would have less vehicle-miles-traveled impact than a fully built-out commercial use on the same site. Staff also said utility and grading work associated with the subdivision would require upgrades to sewer, stormwater and other infrastructure as conditions of approval.

Commissioners asked for clarification on: which approvals will ultimately go to Council (staff advised the entire package goes to City Council because one element — the tentative tract map — requires council action); parking counts and guest-space layout (staff said the project provides 56 guest spaces and most unit parking is garage-based with guest parking flanking internal roadways); and why condominiums require a conditional use permit under the municipal code (staff explained the code treats new condominiums and condominium conversions as needing a CUP so the city can review density, amenities and related standards).

After discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt Resolution No. 3,867 recommending City Council approval of project 2025-CDP-01 (conditional use permit for 207 condominiums, design review and approval of vesting tentative tract map 6114 for 23 developable lots and approval of street names, subject to conditions of approval). Another commissioner seconded the motion and the Planning Commission voted in favor by voice vote; no roll-call dissent was recorded.

The commission closed the public hearing and forwarded the recommendation and the staff conditions to the City Council; the council will consider final action on the conditional use permit, design review and the vesting tentative tract map.

Residents and staff requested that public-works issues raised at the hearing — Falcon Road access, on- and off-site sewer capacity, and coordination with VCTC/Caltrans on transit stops and roadway improvements — be transmitted to Public Works for inclusion in conditions of approval and in the project’s construction review.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article appear in the speakers section below and include staff, the applicant team and multiple residents who spoke during the public-comment period.