Concord residents are invited to share their thoughts about the principles that should guide Concord’s rezoning project as part of the City’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) initiative.
This project is an inclusive public planning process that involves rezoning select properties in higher resource neighborhoods to allow multi-family development.
This new survey, which will remain open until May 24, is an opportunity to share your thoughts about the principles that should guide this project, ways to improve quality of life, and your hopes for the future. Your input will help inform the rezoning alternatives proposed for this area.
80 comments
“Higher resource neighborhoods”.
Just say “where the whites live” and stop pretending you value our opinion. They’ve long since made up their minds.
I wonder if any of the city council members live within the project boundary.
Do you think they will take are advice? Or is it a waste of time.
I have lived in contra costa county for (well for argument sakes let’s say over 50 years) ive always been proud to be a contra costa resident, my ancestors started Martinez my family was one of the biggest names in the 50’s every knew who my family was. We were well respected back then. They all have passed no one knows my family anymore. We always lived in rural contra costa until nearly 14 years ago when the last of my family passed I lived in a dream world until then. No crime in our areas that was somewhere else didnt relate to me. Now I get on nextdoor and have the crime app and see it for what it really is and scares me to death. Hell I live so close to a lot of crime now I might be able to throw a rock that far. What the heck happen to my county? Im so naive! I liked it better when I was in my little dream world.
I’VE BEEN LIVING IN A DREAM WORLD,
.
You’re only seeing reported crime, just imagine if all crime was actually reported.
This idea will turn the higher resource neighborhoods into less desirable ones. It will bring more crime, crowded streets, lower property values and lower school rankings. This is not a good plan. It will bring more property taxes to Concord, but, is it worth it? Look at the areas of Concord that have multiple family dwellings (Monument) vs single family developments (Crossings, Crystal Ranch). Notice a difference? Leave these areas alone and instead work to accelerate the building of affordable housing at the former naval weapons station.
FORMER CONCORD RESIDENT,
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It’s not the responsibility of the neighborhoods that border the former CNWS property to bear the brunt of having high-density housing on their doorsteps, just so the rest of the city doesn’t have to deal with it.
Absolutely, in agreement with you. Potential new housing at the former NWS, should be complimentary for the existing housing that borders it as well. Concord is not SF, so our housing should reflect that.
I agree, but it is hard to imagine we could get lower school ratings. The public school ratings throughout Concord are already quite low. Mountain View and Westwood elementary (within the so-called high resource boundary) score the same as Meadow Homes with a Great Schools 3/10 score. El Dorado is 2/10. Thankfully we have some decent private and charter schools.
No building will even begin at the CNWS for at least seven years because it will take that long to install the initial infrastructure required to build anything there. That infrastructure will cost $1B so then the developer will start by building market rate housing on the base (meaning not affordable or dense) because they need the taxes that will be imposed on new residents to fund additional building. Affordable housing is the last thing anyone is actually considering how to build there. Next, BART is going to ask for new property taxes to keep operating and says it has no plan B if people don’t vote for new taxes, making affordable and dense housing being built anywhere near it being pushed even farther in the distant future. So get ready for some density per state requirements in those areas of Concord who like to send everything they don’t like to North Concord. And the irony is the density will not be affordable (like the one council just approved with six dense units, only one affordable). And – you can’t blame it on North Concord residents – no one on council lives on the North Concord side of Willow Pass Road and council traditionally won’t appoint anyone from the North Concord side of Willow Pass Road to the Planning Commission. The favorite Councilmembers & Planning Commissioners of the residents of the non-dense areas and all those people who hit the thumbs up on the post above to screw North Concord are really the ones screwing you. (And you can hate me all you want – I was down there at the council meeting calling them out for lying to those residents and building density that wasn’t affordable even though those residents don’t so the same for my neighborhood. Where were the rest of you?)
I have lived in the “Crossings” since 1978. That I know of, we had one attempted break-in at my home years ago, one “successful” burglary a couple of years ago, and an attempted car break-in recently (doors locked) that I only know about because we have cameras since the “successful” burglary. Neighbors in the development have had mail stolen and cars broken into or catalytic converters stolen during the night. No neighborhood is immune from crime.
CONCORDREZ,
.
While no Concord neighborhood is immune from crime, the types of crime and the level of crime vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. I don’t know if this is still the case, but many years ago, the Concord neighborhoods closest to SR-4 and SR-242 saw more crime than the neighborhoods in east Concord. Then we have the crime rates released by the Concord Police Department, which are severly skewed because of the number of Concord residents who simply don’t report crime, due to their belief it’s a waste of time and they don’t believe anything would happen if they did report being a victim of crime.
What’s wrong with three story high density in what used to be zoned single family.
What a perfect way for DEMs to force down home values.
But YOU must have wanted this, YOU keep electing DEMs.
True folks! You’re voting for these people!
ORIGINAL G & BADGE1104,
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If you’re blaming all of us for voting all of these people into office when you don’t know who we’ve voted for, doesn’t that make the two of you just as much to blame when we don’t know who it is that you’ve voted for?
@The Black Knight
If the YOU fits……
Their minds are made up …. that’s what officials do…solicit input to make it look like they took consideration from the public ….
Leave the Ridge Park neighborhood OUT of this zone! We are the only neighborhood in Concord with individually-built/non-tract homes. I have paid thousands of dollars since I moved here in 1977 trying to keep our zoning at R-40. Don’t change the only unique neighborhood in the city.
Thos means they are doing this no matter what and also speed bumps on every street.
This is the beginning of communism/wealth distribution if they do this…civil war within cities.
LIBERAL DESTRUCTION
Masks,diapers and mariachi musica everywhereThe mutli families in one property are such good nieghbors as we all know
WHENWILLTHEYLEARN,
.
The City of Concord won’t install speed bumps on residential streets because they’re made of a harder material and are the cause of increased road noise in neighborhoods, Concord only installs speed humps made from softer materials on residential streets. The last time I asked about the cost of installing speed humps in Concord, I was told it costs about $10,000.00 per hump, but that was several years ago.
nice made up story with nothing to back it,and you contradict yourself they dont install/they do install.high density gets speed bumps
WHENWILLTHEYLEARN,
.
It’s not a made up story at all. I also didn’t contradict myself, the City of Concord installs speed HUMPS, which are about 3-feet in width and made of a softer and less noisy material, and not speed BUMPS, which are about 1-foot in width and made of a harder and more noisy material, although the city hasn’t been very good about hanging the proper signage. High-density housing may have speed BUMPS installed within the project property, but residential public roadways will get speed HUMPS, and not speed BUMPS.
That’s because they follow UN Project 2030 instead of taking it as “suggestions” as they did Agenda 21. They probably think they are doing something but they are really incapable of thinking on their own.
No way just look at the high density housing in Concord it’s a mess! This is the quickest way to destroy a neighborhood!
Ditto Preseason: the Former homeowner in concord . definite, no!
Omit pre season
Hmmmm, I wonder which billionaire developers from Concord are going to benefit from this. Maybe the ones spending 40 million on their private clubhouse on the hill? Our country is in trouble.
Tiz a rouse… we all know those 40s houses and cvs near BART are part of the original plan.
Tiz a political rouse. The old plan says the 40s houses and the commercial near the concord bart should be rezoned.
CONCORD RESIDENT NEAR CONCORD BART,
.
That plan is still in place. This is about other areas of Concord that have not yet undergone rezoning.
Time to move, let them have it. There is a price to pay for stupidity and it should be paid by the perpetrator not the good people around it. More crime, more violence, more degradation of society. And why do we need this??? isn’t our population declining? https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-projections.html. Oh yeah…it is for more state money and possibly another congressional seat so stupid can reign supreme. Everyone…. “They do not care about you or your ideas of proper family views or the peace in your lives!” all they care about is how can I look good today in the eyes of my peers. no different than the s#!t governor of ours.
ANGRY AMERICAN,
.
This is part of the Fair Housing Act, under federal law, as long as this aspect of the law stays in place it’ll only be a matter of time before all states, counties, and cities are doing the same.
enjoy the parking lot!
ANGRY AMERICAN,
.
I’ve had a parking lot for several decades already.
and why would you possibly put up with it? That’s why we moved to the suburbs “to escape that” Used to be called the “white flight” (stupid name because they did not know any better) Then the children grew up and moved back to the city’s (Hipsters) then it started all over again, now for some reason people want to bring what everyone was escaping back to us????? Un-friggen believable! “Love your hair, hope you win!”
ANGRY AMERICAN,
.
While I don’t like it, I’ve put up with it for matters related to family and because it’s generally something I haven’t had to deal with considering my work schedule.
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“White flight” was, and remains, a good and accurate name and description for the mass exodus of Americans of European ancestry from urban cities to suburban cities.
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The urbanization of suburban cities is due to:
-Federal immigration policy.
-California policy regarding illegal immigration and Governor Newsom’s open recruitment of a portion of our illegal immigrant population from other states and countries.
-Federal, state, and regional (ABAG, MTC) government housing policy.
-County and city governments lack of self control and their inability to say “NO” to the grant money and conditions that come with them, that are being waved at them by federal, state, and regional government agencies.
-The lower costs of obtaining land in suburban cities.
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As an example, a decade ago the Concord City Council went along with the “One Bay Area” plan, also known as “Plan Bay Area,” from our unelected and unaccountable regional government agencies, ABAG, and the MTC, to build enough apartments in downtown Concord to house a population of 22,000 individuals.
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I won a long time ago. Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t have any hair.
Do any of you realize they want to rezone only 20 acres of property which is roughly the size of De La Salle’s campus, or half the size of Clayton Valley’s campus. You sound so dense
Then why is the project boundary so huge, and mostly built out?
DUMMIES,
.
Then the City of Concord shouldn’t have shown us a map of the entire area, but instead shown us a map the specific parcels to be rezoned.
So what? 20 acres of high-density housing can easily bring in an additional 1000-2000 people. Which will increase the population in this area by 10-15% (a guesstimate based on the total population of 94521 zip code).
Guess what it will do to an already congested Ygnacio and no less congested Treat?
I am 100% against this plan. I would suggest the council work with developers to incorporate high density housing into existing under performing shopping centers such as Park and Shop or Sun Valley. There are so many under used parcels in town. Please do not kill our traditional neighborhoods.
@John
You sure wouldn’t know Park n Shop is under performing, when looking at the well filled parking.
15 minute cities
Careful with that survey. You better agree having your property value drop is just dandy as it’s for “the greater good”. And if you disagree, there is a tax audit in your future.
Once projects are completed, a majority of the homes will suddenly be reserved for “Newcomers”. As Gomer Pyle would say. “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise”.
THE FEARLESS SPECTATOR,
.
According to Concord Mayor Edi Birsan, infill housing will make surrounding property values increase in value.
Would be nice if we had a council member who understood real estate and economics. Laura Hoffmeister ( based on her vote against rent and occupancy control) may be the only one who has a clue.
MIKE MCDERMOTT,
.
Mayor Birsan especially likes to use an infill development on Olive Drive that took place several years ago as an example. He says existing residents were against the infill development, until the development was finished, which then caused the preexisting homes to increase in value and they were then happy the development occurred.
Use the housing across from Pixie Playland for god sake! The buildings are already there just get them into shape!
ITS ME,
.
The former USCG housing property has been privately owned for several years now. They have to be brought up to code before they can be occupied, which we’ve been told will be more expensive than building new housing.
Heard a rumor that owners of the USCG property are using one of the by right state laws to be allowed to refurbish some of the existing housing. No idea of the accuracy.
This article from last year explains how the new owners, Eddie Haddad and Georges Maalouf, are using a loophole in California law to refurbish the property.
.
https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2023/08/21/q-village-cites-builders-remedy-to-revamp-military-housing/
ITS ME,
.
The former USCG housing property has been privately owned for several years now. They have to be brought up to code before they can be occupied, which we’ve been told will be more expensive than building new housing.
“In the future all housing will be high density. Just think of the old Eastern Bloc. What a future we all have to look forward to.”– Who Zed
DEI is giving us b.s. again!
Spend the $$$ on the border wall, clean up the ‘Monument Corrider’, get rid of the crime & drugs first, then MAYBE.
Stupid is as stupid does.
V,
.
The City of Concord is doing this because they’re being forced to by the State of California, and the members of the Concord City Council lack the will to fight the State of California on this issue. The City of Huntington Beach has attempted to fight back against the State of California when in comes to building “affordable housing.” It’d be nice to see at least one Concord City Councilmember make an effort to fight back on this issue, or any issue forced on cities by the state.
The City of Concord has added how many apartments to downtown in recent years and yet Concord’s population continues to decline.
We have a lot of homes sitting empty, and there will be a lot more as homeowners come to understand the new costs and restrictions imposed on them with the new occupancy control ordinance.
Use the land that was formerly Coastguard housing to build 300 (300 sq ft each) low rent senior ans disabled housing all with electric kitchens, individual ac/heat, disability rails, 1 parking spot per unit. Have round the clock nurse with a couple of assistants. Hourly shuttles to grocery, and local medical appointments. Other low cost housing should be on the port chicago property.
LAUREN STYLES,
.
The former USCG housing property is supposed to have 800+ housing units built on it. So, you’re demanding what private land owners are to build on their property and what services they need to supply to residents. Maybe you should’ve put up your own $58.4 million to purchase the property and the additional funding to build, maintain, and operate your vision for the property.
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The “Port Chicago property” where you want additional low cost housing to be built is part of the US Army base known as MOTCO.
Just think about this … Concord starts building these concrete jungle apartments near your nice neighborhoods and the property value goes down. Then the big developer starts buying the homes and is then able to build more apartments. Here’s a nice tidbit from the gov:
Developers can apply for federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to help them build affordable housing projects. The amount of credit depends largely on project costs. However, project costs vary widely, and federal oversight of costs is limited. The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury should use data on variables that affect cost—such as square footage and building type—to better monitor this tax credit.
…”ways to improve quality of life,” I have a way, don’t build a multi-story building next to my house. I will sue the city as I bought the property because it was zoned a certain way. See you in court!
WC—CREEKER,
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Good luck with that lawsuit!
Fair housing, my backside. Life is not fair. If you work hard, you earn good things. Giving things to those unwilling or unable to earn them does not make them a stronger person. Ruining quiet, peaceful neighborhoods where you know who’s supposed to be there is wrong. Increasing the density of housing decreases the quality of life. Concord, the state and the feds have it all wrong: we don’t need more housing; we need fewer people. Change the tax code to reward those who don’t reproduce. Kids cost lots of money and I’m tired of subsidizing the weakness of others. We raised one good one and bore the burden without assistance. Nobody gave us anything and it made us stronger.
I wouldn’t worry about anything getting built yet, the city has been working on the weapons depot for 20 years and has done nothing but throw away 40 million dollars on studies and paper work, and still has not put a shovel in the dirt !
MIKET,
.
The Navy hasn’t finished cleaning the property yet and isn’t ready to turn over any of the property over to the City of Concord.
THE BLACK KNIGHT,
That is not correct. There are two areas ready to turn over to the City.
KAD,
.
Yet, it hasn’t been turned over and won’t be turned over for several years.
Technically the parcels were only recently “ready” to be transferred and one still has a site contaminated with TCE which contaminates air, soil, and water that will be roped off when the land surrounding it is transferred. I would not live near that. TCE travels in gas and water which is not as “containable” as those who seek to profit from sale of the property would have you believe. No parcels will transfer until that digging is done down near Olivera to clean up metal. Meaning, even though some parts of the land are “clean” you can’t start building with dirt blowing around.
They want to ruin the American dream of owning a single family home with a backyard to BBQ in and the dog enough space to run around and make us live like sardines packed in a can so they can tax more people per land to get more money… no thanks! There’s enough traffic and people as it is.
It seems like ever since Laura Nakamura got elected they keep pushing hard for all this DEI woke crap!
Careful who you vote for people! Devils in the details!
I’ve lived in Concord for 25+ years and my quality of life has diminished exponentially. I have contacted City Staff and Councilmembers on various issues, with limited to no success. If what is going on in my neighborhood was occurring where a Councilmember lives, I am fairly certain it would be dealt with expediently. The bigger problem is that in California, it is par for the course in most cities within the State. A large part of what cities are dealing with are mandates handed down by our Sacramento politicians. Fair housing, rent controls, subsidies and on and on. Until we the voters begin to act, things will continue to remain as they are.
Greatest motivators of politicians is public ridicule and negative media coverage.
Well sure, I’ll “take this opportunity” to “share my thoughts”: If you can’t afford to buy an existing house in Concord… then get the hell out of Concord. The city didn’t customize my house for me. We worked damn hard to buy it and still work damn hard to maintain it. We don’t want high density housing. The Council’s stupid plans have made Monument look like skid row. The Todos Santos area is fast becoming the same way. They’ve ruined enough of Concord already. No more! Side note – do the mayor and council members ever notice that NO ONE applauds them when they step onstage to make some stupid remarks during Music & Market nights? The crowd is always very welcoming to all the musical acts. Why the deep freeze when Council members speak 🤔. Ever consider that the residents don’t want our town turned into the Tenderloin?
Need local long time residents that can deliver on quality life projects not these greedy hacks trying to overpopulate every inch so they can tax us more to death. Enough of these charlatans maybe do what the Irish are doing if they build anything unwanted by the locals
I’ve been following the events in Ireland also. Gotta hand it to them. They’re not taking this lying down. Some of their methods may be extreme but, they’ve been driven to that point. After years of being lied to and pushed aside, maybe it is time for long time residents to stand up. Why should those of us who’ve been here for years and years be forced to give up our standard of living for “newcomers” ? I have no problem with people moving to Concord and joining our existing community life. But why should we be expected to change our community for them? Just so our local government can keep getting donations from developers??
The city needs to focus their resources on developing the areas of the city which are marginalized. If the area in blue is considered to have Higher Resources, it is implied the rest of the city is Lower Resourced. The city needs to invest in the Lower Resourced region and develop those areas from an economic development standpoint.
Rezoning so an area a lot that currently has a single family home will be redeveloped to have at minimum a duplex is not a solution. It in fact will greatly impact the area. There “higher resources” will then become lowered due to demand.
If each family household on average has two cars, that will multiply to at least 2-6 more cars based on a duplex or fourplex.
I understand this will exponentially increase the revenue generated by the county and city through property taxes, ballot measures that are voted on. It will also multiply the amount of PG&E meters on that lot, water meters, garbage customers, construction permit fees to the city etc.
This type of approach is not sustainable.
One area of the city has a pound of corn and another area has half a pound. It would make sense to provide the resources to increase that half pound to a full pound. Not double or triple the amount of people who will now share that pound of corn.
Mathematics is absolute, it does not lie and does not change. If you rezone, you will continue to drain this city of resources.
There needs to be cuts in areas that will benefit our grandchildren and great grandchildren. Not make them pay even higher taxes, be overpopulated and have less resources.
DONTE,
.
The “higher resource” areas haven’t yet been rezoned, but rezoning has already occurred in some other parts of the city, that you refer to as “lower resource” areas.
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It would’ve been nice if “higher resource” was defined. “Higher resource” meaning higher property value and high income areas, or “higher resource” meaning near public transportation (County Connection) and near existing businesses needed for work and shopping for those living in high-density dwellings, or “higher resource” meaning the number and size of parcels that can be rezoned, or all of the above?
Large swaths of apartments and condos comprise much of central Lafayette, downtown Danville and large segments Moraga (e.g., Ascot Drive). Each of those communities remain safe, affluent and boast top public schools.
The type of house residents in a community choose matter far less than the type of residents that choose the community.
So I go to most of the city council meetings and the city staff has spoken about this, it only applies to neighborhoods that are primarily white per the state criteria to get the grant. They also have a goal of putting 60 units per acre.
These are just a few awful and divisive bullet point from this ordinance.
I wouldn’t encourage all Concord residents to come to the city council meetings and get educated on the tyrannical policies of this council and city staff. The meetings are held the first second and fourth Tuesday of every month and sometimes on the Third Tuesday if they call a special meeting. So come join me and let’s get these guys under control.
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