The City of Pleasant Hill, Contra Costa County and the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District have approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides a framework for proposed future development of two properties, currently owned by Contra Costa County, along Oak Park Blvd. and Monticello Avenue.

The Mt. Diablo Unified School District also owns a portion of one of the properties, and its interests are incorporated with the County’s via a joint powers agreement.  The combined 15 acres of land is proposed to be used for a new Pleasant Hill Community Library, new park & recreation uses, and a proposed housing development of single family homes.

The MOU also details anticipated cost sharing by the three agencies for public infrastructure improvements along Monticello Avenue and Oak Park Blvd, in the vicinity of the two properties.

The land parcels in question are the current library site, which is approximately five acres, and a large, vacant 10-acre site, bordered by Oak Park Blvd., Monticello Avenue, Pleasant Hill Middle School and Grayson Creek.

The 10-acre site is proposed to be subdivided into two approximately equal parcels for a new library and park uses. The library would be located at the southern end of the site along Oak Park Blvd. The park would run parallel to the Middle School track and field area at the north end of the site.

The County is proposing to use the site of the current library (approximately 4.8 acres) for a single family homes development. For more information on this proposed project, go to www.oakparkblvdresidential.com.

The new library is scheduled to begin construction in the fall of 2019 with anticipated completion in summer of 2021. For[1] more details on the library project, go to www.pleasanthillca.org/library.

The Recreation & Park District project will be designed in the coming months. For more information on this proposed project, go to www.pleasanthillrec.com.

The City, which the MOU designates as the Lead Agency for compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, is in the process of beginning environmental review for the three proposed uses. The environmental review provides decision-makers, public agencies, and the general public with an objective and informational document that fully discloses the potential environmental effects of the proposed projects. The cost of the review will be shared by the public agencies.

The MOU, which may be viewed in its entirety at www.pleasanthillca.org/MOU covers the following items:

• Upon completion of the environmental review, the County anticipates transferring ownership of a 5-acre property (4-acres from the County and one-acre from the School District) at no cost to the City for a new Community Library. The City will pay for the construction of the new library.
• The Recreation and Park District anticipates purchasing its 5-acre property from the County (4-acres from the County and one-acre from the School District, which will be transferred at no cost to the Park District) as stated in a prior option agreement with the County.
•  The City would oversee the design of and improvements to Monticello Avenue and the portion of Oak Park Blvd adjacent to the two parcels. This would include a new signal intersection at Oak Park Blvd and Monticello Avenue. The cost for these improvements would be shared by all three agencies.
• An outline of the land use application process the City would utilize in its consideration of the Park District and the County proposals.

Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, who represents the area on the County Board of Supervisors, said she was very appreciative of the partnership approach exhibited by the public agencies.  “This is a great example of four public agencies working together to find solutions where everybody wins.” 

Pleasant Hill Mayor Tim Flaherty said “This agreement is a win for the residents of Pleasant Hill. We now have the opportunity to get a dynamic, 21^st century community library with adjacent ballfields and high quality residential development.” 

Recreation and Park District Chair Bobby Glover said, “The District is excited to work with our community partners to deliver much needed park and recreation facilities that will serve our residents and complement the overall development of these two sites.”

 The City has also published a list of frequently asked questions with additional background information on the properties at www.pleasanthillca.org/faqs.