Planning commission hears 92‑acre Orchards master plan; continues hearing to Jan. 20 for conditions and follow‑up

SAN RAMON — The Planning Commission on Dec. 16 received an extended presentation on the Orchards master plan, a 92‑acre redevelopment of the former Chevron Park that would remake a private office campus into a mixed‑use, multi‑phase neighborhood with housing, retail and parks.

Staff framed the item as a deemed‑complete application and explained that tonight’s meeting begins the SB 330 five‑meeting count for preliminary housing development review. City staff said the master plan establishes a 20‑year framework and that the commission is being asked to consider the master plan and entitlement for the neighborhood district (368 units + 58 optional ADUs); future development plans for the mixed‑use and multifamily districts will come back for detailed review.

Maddie Dolan of First Carbon Solutions summarized the CEQA consistency checklist and told commissioners the project is consistent with the certified 2040 General Plan FEIR. “All impacts were previously analyzed and mitigated under that general plan FEIR, and there were no project‑specific impacts peculiar to the site that would require additional CEQA review,” she said.

Applicant Stephanie Hill of Sunset Development described the Orchards vision: roughly 2,500 residential…