The City of Pleasant Hill is releasing a Notice of Preparation for the preparation of an EIR for a proposed project that includes an approximately 15 acre project site is located at 1700 Oak Park Boulevard at the intersection of Monticello Avenue, Pleasant Hill, CA on property owned by Contra Costa County and the Mount Diablo Unified School District.  The proposed project includes the following: a) demolition of the existing library and administrative offices; b) construction of a new approximately 23,500 square-foot public library with approximately 100 on-site surface parking spaces; c) a 34-unit single family detached residential development with 7 accessory dwelling units; d) a public park including two sports fields which may be lighted for evening use; e) associated public and private infrastructure improvements needed to serve the project (e.g. roadway, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, utilities, flood control and drainage facilities, pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Grayson Creek, and related improvements); and f) the conveyance of properties from Contra Costa County and the Mount Diablo Unified School District to the City, the Recreation & Park District, and to a private party in order to implement the project.  

The residential component would extend along the western boundary of the project site and include 17 surface parking spaces, with 68 garage spaces and 68 driveway spaces. The library component would be located on the southeastern portion of the project site at the intersection of Monticello Avenue and Santa Barbara Road. The park component would be located in the northeastern portion of the project site, adjacent to the new library, and consisting of approximately 42,500 square-feet for two baseball fields, approximately 54,000 square-feet for a soccer field overlapping the ballfields, grass areas between the diamonds, four restrooms stalls, bleachers to accommodate approximately 240 spectators and 40 on-site surface parking spaces. 

The overall project would also provide public improvements along Monticello Avenue and portions of Oak Park Boulevard with the addition of sidewalks, curbs, bike paths, drainage facilities and street trees. Oak Park Boulevard is proposed to be widened by approximately 10 to 20 feet along the southern frontage of the project site. A pedestrian/bicycle bridge is tentatively being considered to cross over Grayson Creek and connect the project site to the existing multi-purpose trail just east of Grayson Creek. 

An EIR will be prepared to analyze the effects associated with the proposed project, as well as to explore alternatives to the plan and possible mitigation measures to avoid or lessen identified effects.  A Notice of Preparation (NOP) is being distributed to applicable responsible agencies, trustee agencies, and interested parties as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and can be viewed HERE.  Interested parties are requested to comment on the project’s scope and on the content of the descriptions of the significant environmental issues, reasonable alternatives, and mitigation measures to be explored in the EIR.  The project is anticipated to include the following discretionary land use and related actions by the Lead Agency (City of Pleasant Hill):

·        General Plan Amendment

·        Planned Unit District Rezoning with Specific Plan

·        Vesting Tentative Parcel Map and Subdivision Map

·        Development Plan

·        Conditional Use Permit

·        Architectural Review Permit

NOP Comment Period and Deadline: Due to the time limits mandated by State law, responses must be received at the earliest possible date but not later than 30 days after receipt of this notice. Please send your written comments (including name, affiliation, telephone number, and contact information) on or before December 17, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. to the Lead Agency contact listed below. Comments can also be sent via email to tfujimoto@pleasanthillca.org.  

City of Pleasant Hill

Planning Division

100 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Attn: Troy Fujimoto, Senior Planner

Public Scoping Meeting: Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15082, the Lead Agency will conduct a public scoping meeting to solicit written and oral comments regarding the scope and content of the EIR from public agencies and interested parties or persons. The public scoping meeting will be held by the Planning Commission on December 11, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. at the following location 

City of Pleasant Hill

City Council Chambers

100 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

More information can be found at the City of Pleasant Hill Interactive Planning Map Website.