Moraga planning panel approves Saint Mary’s rugby clubhouse design review and stadium lighting, forwards master‑plan amendment to council

The Moraga Planning Commission on April 15 approved a design review and grading permit for a 9,785‑square‑foot Rugby Clubhouse and athletic field lighting at Saint Mary’s College and adopted a CEQA addendum, while recommending a campus master‑plan amendment to the Town Council.

The commission’s approval covers design review (DRB04‑23) and a grading permit (GRO1‑23) for the clubhouse, installation of stadium lighting at Saint Mary’s Stadium, the baseball stadium (Brother Ronald Gallagher Stadium) and the softball field (Contrail Field), and adoption of a CEQA addendum to the 2016 Campus Master Plan EIR. Staff told commissioners the clubhouse building permit cannot be issued until the Town Council approves the campus master‑plan amendment (GPO1‑23).

Staff planner Neil Mendez outlined the project and the requested actions. The two‑story clubhouse is sited on the east side of campus, will have about 9,785 square feet of floor area and rise roughly 36 feet above grade, and will include locker rooms, coaching and storage spaces on the first floor and a multipurpose room on the second floor with a wooden deck leading toward a nearby redwood grove. Water would be supplied by a private groundwater well and a 10,000‑gallon storage tank; firefighting water would be available via a hydrant connected to an existing 10‑inch East Bay Municipal Utility District main.

The proposal also includes LED athletic flood lighting on multiple poles: stadium mounting heights range roughly from 70 to 100 feet depending on topography. Staff said the luminaries would be down‑shielded and a photometric study provided by the applicant found no significant lighting spillover to off‑campus “sensitive uses” because of distance, intervening trees and light orientations.

A traffic analysis referenced the ITE “community center” trip rate and estimated roughly 25 new daily vehicle trips tied to about 4,785 square feet of added clubhouse program. Staff said the clubhouse could generate about 30–35 additional events per year and that the 2016 campus master‑plan EIR addressed most event impacts; staff identified the project as appropriate for an addendum under CEQA Guidelines §15164 and said the EIR’s mitigation measures would still apply.

The commission’s approval included specific conditions added during the hearing. Commissioners directed that the applicant submit a Dark‑Sky certification for each athletic lighting installation before building permit final for those systems; the record shows staff will require a certified, third‑party dark‑sky approval. The commission also directed that the applicant relocate the existing public‑address speakers onto the new lighting poles and orient them toward the campus (away from nearby residential neighborhoods) to reduce off‑site sound; staff will finalize the exact language and verification method. Commissioners additionally requested the applicant revise the clubhouse locker‑room/restroom layout so the design accommodates multiple women’s and men’s teams (the applicant agreed to review changes to provide equitable fixtures and access).

The project includes grading of approximately 1,305 cubic yards (about 60 cubic yards of cut and 1,245 cubic yards of fill, yielding about 1,185 cubic yards of net fill) for the clubhouse foundation, fire access road and stormwater bio‑retention. The applicant’s arborist identified 13 coastal live oaks proposed for removal, described as being in fair to poor condition, and recommended additional removals; a tree‑protection zone for 47 trees would be established during construction, with nine trees within five feet of construction activities. Mitigation commitments in the campus master plan EIR call for in‑kind replacement of native trees removed, generally at 48‑inch box size or at specified ratios where smaller stock is used.

Public comment at the hearing was substantial and largely focused on noise and the stadium‑sound system. Several nearby residents told the commission they already hear music, loudspeaker announcements and practice noise from the existing stadium and asked for stronger measures to prevent increased nighttime disturbance if the lights permit evening games. Neighbors and an acoustical commenter said some on‑campus measurement locations do not capture sound levels at higher elevation residences and asked for additional study and for the speaker relocation. Members of the Saint Mary’s project team — including vice president of facility services Isidio Farias, athletics director Mike Matheso (appeared as Mike Patoso in earlier packet text), and CFO Charlie Foss — said the college will pursue dark‑sky certified fixtures, will relocate speaker arrays to the new poles to direct sound back toward the stadium and campus, and will work with staff on a contact protocol (public‑safety line / event manager) for neighbors to report problems.

Staff recommended — and the commission adopted — the CEQA addendum and the design review and grading approvals, and forwarded the requested campus master‑plan amendment to the Town Council for final action on the master plan. The approvals are appealable to the Town Council within the time limits specified by ordinance.

Why it matters: Saint Mary’s is proposing a larger clubhouse (the current campus master plan contemplated a smaller building or different location), plus high‑mounted stadium lighting that will permit additional evening events. The commission tied approvals to dark‑sky certification and to measures intended to reduce off‑site noise that were the primary concerns raised by nearby residents.

What’s next: The commission’s action makes design review and the grading permit final, subject to appeal, and allows the applicant to apply for building permits for the lighting. The clubhouse building permit is contingent on Town Council approval of the campus master‑plan amendment; the record shows staff will require the dark‑sky certificate and the acoustical verification / speaker relocation as conditions before final building sign‑off.

Quotes from the hearing include: “Prior to building permit final for each of the baseball, softball and St. Mary’s Stadium athletic field lighting, the applicant shall submit to the town a dark sky approved certificate for the sports lighting,” (staff reading of the condition). Neighbors said: “The impact is more than I can put into words … we literally can’t sit outside or have our windows open” (Kyle Hickey, nearby resident). And the applicant’s CFO said: “We will put the speakers up on the poles so that the speakers are facing back to the campus… That sound should be less and mitigated as it’s coming back.”

Commissioners asked staff to return precise verification language for the acoustical/speaker condition so the file documents how compliance will be demonstrated. The commission recorded no “no” votes on the design review and grading items; one commissioner recused from the St. Mary’s matter and one seat was absent for the hearing.