Contra Costa County supervisors voted 4‑0 on Oct. 21 to approve the Camino Pablo residential subdivision, a 13‑lot single‑family development on a 7.9‑acre portion of a 23.9‑acre property near Camino Pablo and Tharp Drive in unincorporated Moraga. Chair Candace Anderson moved approval; the motion carried on a 4‑0 vote.

County staff told the board the project is proposed under a general plan amendment, rezoning, a vesting tentative map and a residential development plan. The northerly 16 acres of the parcel would remain in agricultural zoning, with development rights over that portion deeded to the county to preserve it in perpetuity. The 7.9‑acre development area would be rezoned to a planned unit district and developed at about 2.2 dwelling units per net acre, consistent with the resource‑conservation designation staff proposed for part of the parcel.

Staff said the county prepared a draft mitigated negative declaration (MND) that identified potentially significant impacts across several topics — including agricultural resources, biological resources, air quality, hydrology, noise and tribal cultural resources — and included mitigation measures that, according to staff analysis and responses to comment letters, would reduce those impacts to less‑than‑significant levels. The draft MND was circulated Nov. 24, 2024–Jan. 15, 2025 and again Sept. 3–Oct. 3, 2025; staff reported receiving 19 comment letters in the overall public review periods and provided written responses in the final MND.

Why it matters: the board’s approval clears the way for new market‑rate housing while also preserving a substantial portion of the larger parcel as permanent open space; the decision follows years of review by both the town of Moraga and county staff and responds to local concerns about wildland fire risk, biological resources and traffic.

What the board heard: speakers for and against the project addressed air quality, wildfire risk and species habitat. The Moraga‑Orinda Fire District recommended a fire protection plan, defensible space, and fire‑hardening building materials; staff included the fire district’s recommendations among the project’s mitigation measures. Opponents urged a full environmental impact report (EIR), citing comments from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and consultant letters that raised issues about sensitive species and air quality risk; staff and the project team said those issues were analyzed and addressed through the MND mitigations.

Project specifics: the applicant (Dobbins Properties, represented at the hearing by managing partner Matt Dobbins and consultants from DK Engineering) said the proposal would develop only the 7.9‑acre portion inside the urban limit line and place the remaining 16 acres into permanent open space; the applicant noted that about 620 additional acres in the vicinity had been placed under permanent protection by prior transactions with East Bay Municipal Utility District and land trusts. The project design includes mostly two‑story homes, two single‑story homes at the rear of the subdivision, and roadway/frontage improvements coordinated with the town of Moraga.

Board action and next steps: the board adopted the final MND and mitigation monitoring and reporting program, approved the general plan amendment and rezoning for the 7.9‑acre development area, and approved the vesting tentative map and development plan. Staff will complete the conditions of approval, mitigation monitoring and building permit processing before grading or building begins. The county recorded the vote as 4 in favor, 0 opposed; one supervisor was absent for the vote.

Ending: the project must still meet the conditions and mitigation requirements set by the county before permits are issued; several neighbors and environmental commenters signaled they may continue to monitor implementation and mitigation compliance.