Lafayette design panel approves motion finding Oak Hill Place project CEQA-exempt, recommends council approval

The Lafayette Design Review Commission voted to find the Oak Hill Place subdivision project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act and to accept a resolution recommending City Council approval, the commission decided at its June 9 meeting.

Senior planner Stephanie Cervantes told the commission the project (TR9707) proposes a major subdivision, a hillside development permit, grading and tree permits for 17 new single‑family lots plus three attached accessory dwelling units at about 3600 Deerhill Road, on the corner of Deerhill and Oak Hill roads. "My name is Stephanie Cervantes, a senior planner with the planning division, and I will be presenting IMTR9707 tonight," she said.

The project team says the 3.19‑acre site has about 2.3 acres of developable area after preserving the Lafayette Hillside Memorial and a community park that will keep an existing Valley Oak. The plans show five parcel designations, five housing types (two‑ to four‑bedroom units, with enclosed garages and at least one assigned parking space each), a central park under a large oak, new pedestrian connections and bioretention features. Staff told the commission the application was reviewed under the city's new tree preservation ordinance and the project proposes replacement trees for protected trees that would be removed.

Why it matters: the proposal uses the city density‑bonus process and requests multiple waivers and one concession that together alter height, parking design and lot dimensions; it would add new housing near…