Latest Developments

Rancho Laguna Development to go before the Moraga Planning Commission on Monday, FEBRUARY 4, 2008

On Monday Feb. 4, the Moraga Planning Commission will hold a “Study Session” at which it will hear presentations from the developer and take public comment on the proposed Rancho Laguna development. The hearing will take place at 7:30 pm in the La Sala Building at the Hacienda de las Flores, 2100 Donald Dr., Moraga.

This proposal consists of 35 lots on a 180-acre property east of Rheem Blvd. between St. Mary’s Rd. and Moraga Rd. Twenty-one lots are proposed for the southern portion of the ridgeline and 14 for the valley east of Rheem Blvd. The Town is also asking the developer to stabilize landslides undermining Rheem Blvd. adjacent to the project as a condition of approval. The developer proposes to do so by dumping soil excavated from the ridgeline lots into the creek next to Rheem Blvd. Sixty-four mature native trees would be cut in the process and most of the natural creek would be eliminated. According to the developer, 225,000 cubic yards of soil would be moved and 28 acres of land graded.

The land is designated open space under Moraga’s General Plan. The DEIR states that these open space lands may be developed at 1 home per 20, 10, or 5 acres, to be decided based on “high risk” factors such as unstable or eroding soils, landslides, natural drainages, and intermittent springs. Open space lands identified as “high risk” are limited to only 1 home per 20 acres. Despite the site’s 44 mapped landslides, expansive soils, seeps, springs, and drainages, the developer is still seeking approval for 35 lots, 26 lots beyond the 9 homes corresponding to 1 home per 20 acres.

The Town is now completing the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the project, which will respond to the large volume of comments submitted on the Draft EIR in July of 2006. These comments included a detailed legal and technical analysis submitted by Preserve Lamorinda Open Space outlining the project’s visual, geotechnical, water quality, and wildlife impacts, as well as its inconsistencies with Moraga’s General Plan. The Final EIR is expected to be released next month with public hearings to follow.

The DEIR is available for public review at the Moraga Planning Department (329 Rheem), the Hacienda (2100 Donald Dr.) and the Moraga Library, and is posted on the web at: http://www.ci.moraga.ca.us/moraga_planning_department.php

New Development Proposed for Bollinger Canyon, Moraga

The Town of Moraga is preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed “Bollinger Valley” residential development. The proposal includes 126 homes plus an unspecified number of second units on 186 acres. Access to the project would be via St. Mary’s Rd. to Bollinger Canyon Rd. to Valley Hill Dr. Valley Hill Dr. is currently a one-lane country road and would require widening, re-engineering, and significant tree cutting to accommodate the traffic. A prominent ridgeline which traverses the property would become lined with homes.

This parcel is at the outer limit of the Town and borders unincorporated agricultural lands. The site is of high habitat value and includes scrub, grassland, significant areas of oak woodland, and a large undisturbed tributary to Las Trampas Creek. It falls entirely within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s designated “Critical Habitat” for the threatened Alameda whipsnake.

The project area is part of the “Bollinger Study Area” in Moraga’s General Plan, and has no density classification at present. The project would therefore require a General Plan Amendment to allow residential densities in addition to the usual project plan approvals.

The DEIR is expected to be circulated for public comment sometime this year.

Palos Colorados Final Map to be Heard by Moraga Planning Commission in April

The Vesting Tentative Map for the 123-home Palos Colorados project was approved by the Town of Moraga last May. The developer has since submitted an application for the Final Map, which is expected to go before the Planning Commission in April.

Meanwhile, the project still seeks permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and CA Department of Fish and Game. While the developer is expected to have less difficulty obtaining these permits now that the golf course has been cut and the project footprint and impacts to natural resources have been vastly reduced, it may be months before all these approvals are received. Construction might begin as early as this summer, but may roll over to spring 2009, depending the rate at which the state and federal agencies and Town of Moraga process these remaining approvals.

More information on Palos Colorados: