Danville Planning Commission receives updates on major housing projects, EIR schedules and fire station plans

David Crompton, Danville’s chief of planning, told the Planning Commission on March 24 that several large residential projects are advancing while other applications remain paused or legally complicated. “The 375 West El Potado, senior condominium project, that is 50 units. That is coming very near completion,” Crompton said, adding the developer expects to seek occupancy permits in the next few weeks and has already sold three or four units.

Why it matters: the projects discussed together represent tens to hundreds of homes in different stages of the local approval pipeline, and several require environmental review, infrastructure work or resolution of access and legal issues before construction can begin.

Crompton said remediation work at The Ivy (828 Diablo Road) appears to be wrapped up and that the developer has removed contaminated material for laboratory testing and installed required air monitors. He told the commission, “They’ve removed all the material. They’ve pulled some of the material out for laboratory testing just to make sure they’ve got it all,” and that grading and subsequent construction activities could start after results are cleared and permits are obtained.

On environmental review, Crompton reported two EIR tracks nearing public circulation: Evergreen Estates, which the applicant had paused while delaying EIR payment but now appears to be resuming, and Martin Hills Ranch/Elwood East, whose consultant has nearly finished final sections. Both projects will go to a 45‑day public review period once the draft EIRs are released; Crompton said the commission will hold a comment session during that review window.

Crompton also updated the commission on several other items: the Town and Country Village apartment approval had no appeal and is final but leasing constraints may delay physical work for about 14 months; the Derby Plaza (199 units) remains inactive pending sales; and a bowling alley demolition permit exists but interior asbestos work must be handled before full demolition. He noted a proposed three‑story townhouse project by Castle Construction on Danville Road is close to submitting final plans and that a previously approved storage‑unit project has demo completed but may be delayed by financing.

On public‑facility plans, Crompton said the Santa Maria Valley Fire District intends to tear down Station 31 on San Ramon Valley Boulevard and build a new station; because a communications tower on the site must be relocated, staff issued an appealable action letter for that permit, which can be handled ministerially. Regarding town‑owned land in Old Town (500 Le Gondway), Crompton described plans to reconfigure parking and solar infrastructure and said the site’s redesignation for multi‑family housing could yield roughly 70 units at about 35 units per acre, with staff exploring surplus‑lands procedures to favor nonprofit affordable‑housing builders.

Several items remain in legal or procedural limbo. Crompton described Sycamore Place (30 homes on open‑space designated land) as a developer submittal that invoked the builder’s‑remedy process; the project lacks legal access without acquisition of an HOA parcel and litigation has extended review. The commission also discussed permit duration rules — Crompton said typical approvals last 30 months and often include up to five one‑year extensions — and county hazardous‑materials permitting connected to an ARCO site tank removal in Old Town.

What’s next: multiple items discussed will return to the commission for formal review or comment sessions when draft EIRs and land‑use permits are ready; several projects are still subject to agency reviews, financing timelines or legal challenges that will affect schedules.