On October 26, the Contra Costa County Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend denial of the Spieker Development project to the Board of Supervisors, citing serious inadequacies in the environmental documents, the Commission’s inability to make findings for the General Plan Amendment and significant opposition from the site’s neighboring communities.

We have several valid, real-world concerns about this project that have not been meaningfully addressed in any way.

As Seven Hills School parents, our concerns include several residential villas towering over our children's classrooms and blocking sunlight (only one has been moved), the disruption of our children’s educations due to noise and air quality, and safety hazards caused by a four-year construction period.

As neighbors and residents of Contra Costa County, we have concerns surrounding the lack of any public benefit provided by this project, the lack of any affordable housing units on site, the lack of any public park space...

And Spieker Development has been unwilling to offer compromises to address our concerns. In fact, while they have spoken with us, their project design and proposal have remained almost completely unchanged. It is typical practice for applicants to engage with their neighbors in an effort to find common ground. We find it unacceptable and frankly shocking that they refuse to address our concerns, particularly the ones surrounding the health and safety of schoolchildren.

Evaluating this project and providing an official recommendation was the role of the Planning Commission. They evaluated this project, discussed the inadequacy of the environmental documents, heard hours of public comment, and made the appropriate decision, voting 5-1 to deny it. We are asking the Board of Supervisors to honor their Planning Commission’s direction and deny this project. We are urging them to have the developer come back with a new iteration of the project that is General Plan and zoning-compliant. At the very least, we are asking them to consider our children and not approve the plan as it is currently proposed.

Please join us in making your voice heard and submit a letter.