Planning commission approves Montalvo Apartments EIR and entitlements for 50-unit rental development

The Sonoma City Planning Commission unanimously approved the entitlements for the Montalvo Apartments project on Sept. 18, voting to certify the final environmental impact report (EIR), adopt a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and approve accompanying design review, a density bonus request, a demolition permit and a parcel merger for a 50-unit rental community at 19320 Sonoma Highway.

The project site would consolidate two parcels into a 2.15-acre development and remove an existing single-family house that staff determined eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources. The applicant, Denova Homes, proposed seven buildings with a mix of two- and three-story units and a total of 50 rental apartments; 25 percent of the units (13 apartments) would be deed-restricted affordable, distributed across income categories labeled by the applicant as extremely low, very low and low income.

Why it matters: the commission had to weigh unavoidable environmental effects tied to demolition of an eligible historic resource against the public benefits the city found the project would provide. Because the EIR found a significant, unavoidable impact to historic resources, the planning commission adopted a statement of overriding considerations to approve the project while also adopting the MMRP that lists mitigation measures the city will implement as conditions of approval.

Staff presentation and project details

City staff described the project timeline, environmental review triggers and the entitlements requested. According to staff, the project originated with a preliminary SB 330 housing application submitted in 2021 under the state Housing Crisis Act of 2019; that filing vested certain development fees and objective standards at the time the preliminary application was deemed complete. After supplemental studies and a CEQA process that included…