Planning commission approves rebuild of fire‑damaged warehouse with reduced setbacks

The Concord City Planning Commission on Tuesday voted 5–0 to adopt resolution 25‑09PC, approving a use permit and design and site review application to demolish and replace a fire‑damaged 7,455‑square‑foot warehouse and office building and make related frontage improvements at parcels spanning 2454 Vista Del Monte and 1130 Caven Way.

The project replaces an existing mid‑century warehouse with a new building of the same size and location. The application includes right‑of‑way dedication and new curb, gutter, sidewalk and street‑tree planting along Vista Del Monte and Caven Way; it sought a use permit to allow reduced building setbacks of 4 feet from Vista Del Monte (15 feet required) and 1.5 feet from Caven Way (10 feet required).

Principal planner Frank Abajo told commissioners the site combines two parcels totaling 0.49 acres and is zoned Service Commercial. “I’m Frank Abajo, principal planner with the Community Development Department and the project planner for the Foskett Building Rebuild,” he said, describing a plan to demolish the 7,455‑square‑foot fire‑damaged building and replace it at the same location while providing new frontage and on‑site landscaping and a bioretention area. Staff concluded the project meets findings for a use permit because the new building would preserve the existing relationship to the street and would include frontage improvements that resolve informal and unsafe parking on the frontage.

Why it matters: the existing building is a legal nonconforming structure because its setbacks do not meet current code; typical nonconforming status ends when a building is demolished and rebuilt. The use permit is the code mechanism the applicant used to request the setback exception for this commercial parcel rather than a variance. The project also triggers design and site review and multiple conditions recommended by staff and the Design Review Board.

Key project details and conditions - Building area: 7,455 square feet, to be rebuilt in the same footprint and location on two contiguous parcels totaling 0.49 acres. - Address/parcels: 2454 Vista Del Monte and 1130 Caven Way (project parcel information as described by staff). - Setbacks requested after right‑of‑way dedication: 4 feet from Vista Del Monte (15 feet normally required) and 1.5 feet from Caven Way (10 feet required). - Frontage: dedication and construction of curb, gutter, sidewalk and street trees along both frontages; an on‑site bioretention area is proposed to treat stormwater before it enters the public system. - Design Review Board and staff conditions: parcel merger (to avoid bio‑retention encroachment across lots), removal of outdoor storage containers, removal of razor wire on an existing permanent chain‑link fence (condition 23), a construction security plan (condition 10), and several DRB‑return items including fencing design and trash enclosure (condition 16). Staff also recommended allowing temporary chain‑link fencing during construction but requiring its removal before final inspection (condition 4).

On process and environmental review, Abajo said staff determined the project is eligible for a CEQA common‑sense exemption because it replaces a building in the same location and is not expected to have a new significant environmental effect. "Staff is recommending that the planning commission adopt resolution number 25‑09PC," Abajo said.

Applicant and public comment Jeff Potts of SDG Architects spoke for the property owner, noting the fire damage occurred about three and a half years earlier and that rebuilding has been delayed by required design upgrades and new frontage and parking requirements. "The original intent was to just rebuild the building as it was, replace it, cover the losses and, and move forward," Potts said. He told the commission the applicant followed DRB and staff direction and asked the commission to approve the project as conditioned.

Commission discussion and outcome Commissioners asked whether fencing could be installed by right and whether temporary construction screening would be required. Abajo said a standard six‑foot fence could be constructed in ordinary circumstances, but because the project is going through design and site review, fencing design is a discretionary element that will return to DRB for review per the conditions. Commissioners also asked about sight lines at the corner and vehicle circulation; staff said the transportation division reviewed sight‑line and turning radius concerns and found the project acceptable because it would not worsen existing conditions.

Commissioner Law moved adoption of resolution 25‑09PC; Commissioner Cario seconded. The commission voted 5–0 to approve the use permit and design/site review application with the staff‑recommended conditions.

What happens next The resolution approval allows the applicant to proceed with the entitlement as conditioned. The record shows staff and the DRB retained review controls on fence design, trash enclosures and related details; construction‑phase security and removal of razor wire are explicit conditions. Engineering staff were available for technical follow‑up on frontage and stormwater details during subsequent building permit review.

Notes: quotes and attributions reflect statements on the record to the planning commission. The commission recorded a roll call outcome of five in favor, zero opposed.