Moraga Planning Commission backs General Plan 2040 implementation report and 2025–26 work priorities

The Moraga Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Council accept the town’s annual General Plan 2040 and housing element implementation reports and to endorse the Planning Department’s proposed 2025–26 work program priorities.

The recommendation asks staff to submit the annual reports to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the State Department of Housing and Community Development and to return with any requested input on planning-program priorities. Commissioner Helber moved the resolution; a second was offered and the motion passed unanimously.

Commissioners and staff framed the vote as an administrative acceptance of the year’s progress and a directive to continue the implementation steps laid out in the new General Plan 2040. Planning staff reported department accomplishments for 2024 — including pavement and storm-drain projects, completion of Carmen Park restroom replacement, planting 22 trees, replacement of dead trees in parks, and completion of the Livable Moraga Road corridor planning work — and presented tables summarizing housing applications, building permits and program implementation status.

Commissioners raised specific data and program issues. One commissioner flagged a missing 2023 count in Table B and noted Table C had a blank that should list two accessory dwelling unit building permits; staff said those corrections will be made before the item goes to the Town Council. Staff described Table A2 as the detailed building-permit summary and said Table B tracks permitted units by affordability; staff noted a timing lag can separate planning approvals from building-permit issuance.

Commissioners also pressed staff to bring forward proposed zoning and code updates tied to the new general plan: possible amendments to on-site parking standards, small-lot and townhome standards, revised scenic-corridor standards, updates to greenhouse-gas baselines, adoption of the 2024–29 local hazard mitigation plan, and an updated noise ordinance. Staff said the 2025–26 work program includes zoning code amendments to implement specific housing-element programs (listed in the staff report), working with the CCTA and neighboring La Morinda jurisdictions on an evacuation plan, and exploring a mobile food-vendor ordinance.

Several commissioners commended staff for the year’s accomplishments. One commissioner said, “I would just like to compliment staff on the breadth of all the accomplishments,” and others praised recent visible park and facility upgrades.

The commission opened and closed public comment with no speakers. After brief calendar and administrative items (the commission approved a 2025 meeting calendar with several date cancellations and a request that agendas be included in Outlook invites), Commissioner Helber made the motion to approve the resolution; the motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will correct the noted table data, submit the annual reports to the state agencies identified in the report, and return to the commission and Town Council with zoning/code amendments and other items in the adopted 2025–26 planning work program.