Moraga Planning Commission approves 49-unit Park Street senior affordable housing project with conditions

MORAGA, Calif. — The Town of Moraga Planning Commission voted unanimously March 11 to approve design review (DRB‑02‑24), a grading permit (GR‑06‑24) and state density‑bonus concessions and waivers for the Park Street Senior affordable housing project, a four‑story, 49‑unit apartment building restricted to residents age 62 and older.

The project, proposed by developer Danco Communities and presented by the town’s associate planner Neil Mendez, will sit on a 1.26‑acre vacant lot in the Rheem Park specific plan area adjacent to the Rheem Theater and Rheem Shopping Center. Staff recommended approval with conditions after concluding the proposal is consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Advanced Planning Initiative (CAPI) programmatic EIR and state housing laws.

The vote follows a staff presentation detailing the project program and regulatory framework and a public hearing in which residents expressed strong concerns about wildfire risk, evacuation capacity and on‑site parking. Commissioners amended staff’s recommended conditions to require a recorded maintenance agreement, lease provisions limiting certain balcony fixtures and storage, and additional language directing the applicant to address landscaping/utility conflicts to preserve the project’s street trees and the intended Warner (Woonerf) pedestrian concept.

Why it matters: The Park Street project would add 49 deed‑restricted affordable units meant for low‑ and moderate‑income seniors, a housing type the town and state identify as a high priority. The approval moves the project into the building‑permit and financing phase; opponents urged the town to delay approvals until a countywide evacuation study is complete.

What the commission approved and why: Staff and the town attorney, Karen Murphy, told commissioners the site is a designated housing opportunity site in the housing element and the proposed senior housing is a permitted use in the Rheem Mixed Office‑Residential zoning. Under California’s Housing Accountability Act and recent legislation (including Senate Bill 330 and the Housing Crisis Act), staff said projects that conform to objective development standards and applicable law generally…