Planning commission approves 5-unit Holcomb Court condominium project with variance for stormwater planter and ADA parking

The Walnut Creek Planning Commission approved design review, a tentative subdivision map and a variance for a five-unit condominium project proposed for a vacant 23,000-square-foot lot at 15 Holcomb Court.

The application, presented by applicant Ray Dormay of Master Craft Residential and Holcomb Partners LLC, includes a two-story, five-unit condominium development with two-car garages for each unit, three- and four-bedroom floor plans ranging from about 2,137 to 2,350 square feet, private rear decks, permeable pavers and new landscaping. The project net buildable area after accounting for a 30-foot access easement is 18,097 square feet.

Ray Dormay said the applicant kept the development to five units after evaluating higher-density layouts that proved too dense for the site’s slope and parking constraints. He described changes made after a Design Review Commission study session, including stepped elevations, privacy walls between rear decks, window alignment, refined colors and a reduced planter massing.

Staff reported the project provides 29% landscaped area (the city standard requires 20%) and proposes 18 new trees. A flow-through bioretention planter (described by the applicant and the project civil engineer as a C3 stormwater-quality feature) will capture roof and driveway runoff and include storage soils and an underdrain; a trench drain across the shared driveway will convey water into the planter. Easton Callister of Bolt Civil Engineering explained the planter’s two levels of storage (water-quality storage and additional detention) and said the design detains post-construction runoff so peak flows are not increased relative to pre‑construction conditions.

A variance was requested because the flow-through planter wall and the uncovered ADA parking stall serving the accessible unit would encroach about 3 feet 6 inches into the 15-foot front-yard setback. Staff said the encroachment is driven by site-specific constraints: lot shape, topography, the location of the shared access easement and building orientation; moving the building back, staff and the applicant said, would prevent reasonable access to the garage for Unit 3.

Staff determined the project is exempt from CEQA under the Class 32 infill exemption and recommended approval subject to conditions in the draft resolution. The staff report recorded three written letters of concern from neighbors; those letters were included in the agenda packet for the commission. In discussion, commissioners pressed for clarity on the ADA arrangement (the accessible unit has an accessible bedroom and bathroom on the main floor, while primary bedrooms remain upstairs) and the proposed fence materials; the applicant said an existing chain-link fence along the rear property line will remain and the proposed perimeter fence is a wood-look vinyl product (the applicant noted vinyl melts in extreme fire conditions but said it can be more durable than wood in other respects).

The applicant also told the commission he plans to patch potholes on Holcomb Court shortly after approval and to schedule a more extensive pavement repair or slurry seal after construction when heavy construction traffic has concluded.

Commissioner Kount moved to approve the draft resolution determining the project exempt from CEQA and approving the tentative subdivision map, design review and variance subject to conditions; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll call vote. The resolution requires payment of the inclusionary in-lieu fee (stated in the staff materials as a per-square-foot calculation, approximately $26 per square foot in the draft materials) and other standard conditions listed in Attachment 1 of the draft resolution.

The commission’s action approves the project with conditions; staff will implement the conditions of approval and monitor permit compliance as described in the resolution.