To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Appeal of the Carnelian Elderly Residential Care Facility Expansion Project (County File #CDLP23-02046
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. OPEN the public hearing on an appeal of the County Planning Commission’s decision to approve a land use permit and variances to allow an approximately 2,665-square-foot addition to an existing residential care facility and an increase in the number of residents from 6 up to 18 elderly persons, located at 2374 Warren Road in the unincorporated Walnut Creek area (County File #CDLP23-02046); RECEIVE testimony and CLOSE the public hearing.
2. DENY the appeal of Joshua Eckhaus and Jennifer Ostrander.
3. DETERMINE that the proposed project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(e)(2).
4. APPROVE variances to allow a reduced driveway aisle width of 14’ - 6” and a reduce driveway aisle intersection of 7’-2” for the project.
5. APPROVE the land use permit to allow the operation of residential care facility for the elderly for up to 18 residents. (CDLP23-02046).
6. APPROVE the attached findings in support of the project.
7. APPROVE the project conditions of approval.
8. APPROVE the Carnelian Elderly Residential Care Facility Expansion Project.
9. DIRECT the Director of Conservation and Development to file a Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant has paid the necessary application deposit and is obligated to pay supplemental fees to cover all additional costs associated with the application process.
BACKGROUND:
This hearing is an appeal of the County Planning Commission’s April 23, 2025 decision to approve the Carnelian Elderly Residential Care Facility Expansion Project, including variances and a land use permit to allow a residential care facility for the elderly for up to 18 residents. The project includes the construction of a two-story, approximately 2,665-square-foot addition to an existing residential care facility located at 2374 Warren Road in the unincorporated Walnut Creek, (County File #CDLP23-02046). The project would be required to obtain and maintain all required state licenses and approvals.
The existing residential care facility was established under CDLP75-2155 which was approved by the Board of Adjustments on November 13, 1975, and allowed up to 6 residents. The facility has been operating since the approval date in 1975, with all required state licenses and approvals. The current property owners submitted an application to expand the facility as County File #CDLP23-02046 on October 2, 2023. The land use permit application was initially heard by the County Zoning Administrator on May 20, 2024. The Zoning Administrator continued the hearing to July 1, 2024. At the July 1, 2024 public hearing, the Zoning Administrator continued the public hearing indefinitely at the request of the applicant in order to allow the applicant and neighbors to discuss the project and for the applicant to make changes to the project to address neighborhood concerns.
After making some changes to the project design, including reducing the height and increasing the side yard setback of the second story, the project was scheduled for a public hearing on January 22, 2025. At that hearing the Zoning Administrator opened the public hearing, accepted testimony, both in opposition and support, and then closed the public hearing and continued the hearing to February 3, 2025 for a decision. On February 3, 2025, the Zoning Administrator approved the land use permit for the project. One letter of appeal was filed by Joshua Eckhaus and Jennifer Ostrander on February 6, 2025.
The appeal was heard by the County Planning Commission on April 23, 2025. After receiving public testimony, the County Planning Commission voted (3-2) to approve the project with modifications to the conditions of approval and denied the appeal. The modifications that the County Planning Commission added in their approval is discussed in the section “County Planning Commission Hearing” below. One letter of appeal was filed by Joshua Eckhaus and Jennifer Ostrander on April 29, 2025.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The applicant requests approval of a land use permit to allow for a residential care facility for the elderly for up to 18 people. The project also includes the construction of a two-story, approximately 2,665-square-foot addition to the existing residential care facility. The project also includes variances to the off-street parking requirements for a driveway aisle width of 14’-6” (where 25’ is the required for two-way travel) and to the parking driveway aisle intersection requirement of 7’-2” (where 18’ is the required intersection).
The project consists of the following aspects:
• Construction of a two-story, approximately 2,665-square-foot addition to the existing residential care facility.
• Establishment of six (6) off-street parking spaces.
• 67.6 cubic yards of cut and 33.8 cubic yards of fill.
• The new two-story, approximately 2,665-square-foot addition will consist of an elevator and staircase and the following rooms:
Floor 1:
- Bedroom 7, 9 - 144 Square feet (SF) with private bathroom
- Bedroom 8 - 156 SF with private bathroom
- Bedroom 10, 11 - 145 SF with private bathroom
- One (1) walk in shower (57 SF)
- One (1) lounge room (450 SF)
- One (1) elevator machine room (49 SF)
- One (1) Janitor Closet (26 SF)
- One (1) lobby (89 SF)
- One (1) laundry room with medicine storage room (101 SF)
- One (1) corridor connecting all rooms (705 SF)
Floor 2:
- Bedroom 12 - 168 SF with private bathroom
- Bedroom 13 - 164 SF with private bathroom
- Bedroom 14 - 165 SF with private bathroom
- Bedroom 15 - 138 SF with private bathroom
- Bedroom 16, 17 - 137 SF with private bathroom
- Bedroom 18 - 153 SF with private bathroom
- One (1) walk in shower (61SF)
- One (1) Family Room (248 SF)
- One (1) corridor connecting all rooms (358 SF)
The applicant would increase the current bed count from six (6) beds to eighteen (18) beds. The residential care facility would provide care for the elderly including assistance with daily living. The operation will provide a 24-hour nonmedical care and supervisory care to elderly clients who need assistance. The operation will include two (2) full-time caretaker staff in the morning and one (1) full-time caretaker staff at night. Additionally, there will be an administrator staff present at the facility Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 8:00 PM. Visitation hours will be daily from 8:00 AM through 7:00 PM. Deliveries for the operation include food deliveries twice a week on Monday and Thursday and medical supplies on Tuesday or Wednesday. Residents will not be allowed to have their private vehicles on site. Transportation services will be provided by the facility at the request of the resident. Additionally, all meals will be catered daily, limiting the use of cooking and food preparation to only authorized individuals only.
COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING:
An appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s decision to approve the project was heard by the County Planning Commission on April 23, 2025. After receiving public testimony, the County Planning Commission closed the public hearing and voted (3-2) to approve the project and deny the appeal per staff’s recommendation, with modifications to the conditions of approval. The County Planning Commission modified condition of approval 11 to reduce the height of any portion of the building to be 24’ from grade except for the elevator shaft, modified condition of approval 14 to require the applicant to submit an exterior lighting plan that provides all exterior lighting be downward facing with shading devices on all lighting along the eastern property line, modified condition of approval 16 to require preservation or replacement of trees to provide screening along the eastern property line and to require all landscaping to be maintained consistent with approved landscaping plan at all times and added a new condition of approval 18 that requires stucco façade and a two- color scheme. The precise terms of the new and modified conditions can be found in (Attachment A - CDLP23-02046 Findings and Conditions of Approval).
PROJECT REVISIONS AFTER COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
During the County Planning Commission meeting, neighbors and commissioners had questions regarding the variance request and the off-street parking layout of the site. County Staff reviewed the proposed parking layout and confirmed that another variance to County Code Section 82-16.404(2) was required to be added to the project to allow for a reduced driveway aisle intersection distance of 7’-2” (where 18’ is the required intersection) for parking space number 1. The variance findings in support for this variance can be found in Attachment A - Findings and Conditions of Approval. The applicant also revised the parking layout to remove all compact parking spaces and replaced them with standard spaces that meet the dimensional requirements of the Off-Street Parking Ordinance and added two (2) short-term bicycle parking and two (2) long-term bicycle parking spaces which comply with the Off-Street Parking Ordinance. (see below table).
|
Angle of Space |
Dimensions |
Project |
|
Zero Degrees (1 Space) |
Width 8’6” Length 21’6” Depth 8’6” |
Width 8’6” Length 21’6” Depth 8’6” |
|
Ninety Degrees (5 Spaces) |
Width 8’6” Length 8’6” Depth 18’ |
Width 8’6” Length 8’6” Depth 18’ |
|
Bicycle Parking Long Term Short Term |
Requirement Two-Spaces Two-Spaces |
Project Two-Spaces Two-Spaces |
APPEAL ON THE COUNTY PLANNING COMMSSIONS DECISION:
On April 29, 2025, Joshua Eckhaus and Jennifer Ostrander, filed one appeal of the County Planning Commission’s decision to approve the land use permit. A summary of the appeal and staff responses are provided below. A copy of the appeal letter is attached to this report (Attachment C - CDLP23-02046 BOS Appeal Letter).
Appeal Point #1: The application is deceptive and misleading because County Staff should have considered the other two Carnelian buildings during the land use permit process because they are all under common ownership and this is not a single parcel issue.
Staff Response #1: County Code section 26-2.2002 - Conditional Use Permits requires the submittal of a plot plan indicating the dimensions of the subject property and proposed improvements on the subject property. The applicant submitted an application for a land use permit for the subject property, Assessor’s Parcel Number: 184-120-071 and the plans demonstrated that all proposed development is limited to the subject property. During review of a land use permit, County Staff analyzed what is shown on the plans and reviewed what is being proposed on the plans. The land use permit application does not require an applicant to also include other adjacent parcels commonly owned. All three Carnelian Residential Care Facilities have been granted their own separate land use permits and have been issued separate State of California, Department of Social Services licenses pertaining to their separate parcel numbers (see table below). Each is reviewed as its own separate, independent facility regardless of common ownership by the State. Consistent with the State licensing and the County’s Ordinance Code, staff has reviewed the current project and land use permit application as an individual project.
|
Site |
Approval |
# Approved |
State License # |
|
APN: 184-120-073 170 Flora Ave |
LUP 59-73 |
Up to 6 |
075601537 |
|
APN: 184-120-077 2380 Warren Road |
LUP 2024-80 and LUP 2129-82 |
25 initial and amended to allow up to 27 |
075601536 |
|
APN: 184-120-071 2374 Warren Road |
LUP 2155-75 |
Up to 6 |
075601538 |
Therefore, due to the presence of three separate entitlements issued by the County and three separate State Licenses, County Staff appropriately evaluated the project.
Appeal Point #2: The proposed residential care facility is not complementary to the existing neighborhood and zoning district and is not located in a neighborhood that is considered transitional.
Staff Response #2: The project is located in the R-10 Single-Family Residential Zoning District. County Code Section 84-4.402(4) allows by right a residential care facility where no more than six persons reside. Additionally, County Code section 84-4.404(12) allows, upon the issuance of a land use permit, a supportive housing facility for seven or more persons operated by a person with all required state and local agency approvals and licenses.
The County Ordinance Code and Government Code Section 65582 define supportive housing to mean housing with no limit on length of stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that is linked to an onsite or offsite service that assists the supportive housing resident in retaining the housing, improving their health status, and maximizing their ability to live and, when possible, work in the community. Government Code Section 65583 further states in relevant part: “Supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone.”
Therefore, both the County Ordinance Code and the California Government Code determined that assisted living facilities which provide supportive housing are to be considered a residential use and appropriate for operation in residential zoning districts. Accordingly, the proposed use of the project site for a residential care facility for the elderly for up to 18 residents is compatible with the Contra Costa County R-10 Single-Family Residential zoning district and may be established and operated upon the issuance of a land use permit.
The land use permit findings require the project to not encourage marginal development within the neighborhood and require the project to not adversely affect the orderly development within the County or the community. The project accomplishes this with the architectural design of the project. The applicant has designed the scale of the building to be compatible with the R-10 zoning standards; the addition exceeds all required setbacks, proposes a height that is well below the maximum height of thirty-five feet (35’) for a building and provides adequate amount of parking as required by the Off-Street Parking Ordinance. Staff has reviewed the neighborhood around the proposed project and has identified numerous parcels with similar scale per the table below:
|
Address |
Size |
Distance from project |
|
Proposed Project 2374 Warren Road (total SF) |
4,737 SF |
N/A |
|
2501 Waren Road |
3,128 SF |
Approx. 1,400 feet |
|
2460 Warren Road |
4,743 SF |
Approx. 980 feet |
|
2346 Warren Road |
3,221 SF |
Approx. 400 feet |
|
1407 Boulevard Way |
4,187 SF |
Approx. 1,500 feet |
|
3338 Freeman Road |
4,534 SF |
Approx 2,800 feet |
Moreover, this area of the County exhibits a transitional development pattern, transitioning from single-family uses in the south large condominium complexes, apartment complexes, churches, religious institutions, and small park and shop/commercial establishments in the north. Reviewing the zoning of the area, parcels to the east, south and west are zoned R-10 while parcels north are zoned M-29 and R-B. The zoning pattern of this area of Walnut Creek is designed to allow non-single family uses that are compatible with traditional single-family uses to be intertwined. This is evident in the development patten going north from the Flora Ave and Warren Road intersection. Condominium buildings are directly adjacent to the project site and within 800 feet of the project are apartments, restaurants, retail/commercial and a church. Therefore, the proposed project is consistent with the overall “transitional” development pattern of the neighborhood.
Appeal Point #3: The proposed project should be designed as a single-story addition or the two-story addition should be relocated further away from the neighbor’s property line, within the Carnelian’s property.
Staff Response #3: As stated in appeal point #2, the project is subject to the R-10 zoning district standards in terms of height and setback requirements that dictate location of the building. The applicant is not prohibited from requesting a two-story building. In addition, the applicant has redesigned the project to be less obtrusive by reducing the addition’s height from that originally proposed. The maximum height limit in the R-10 zoning district is two and one-half stores or thirty-five feet in height. The proposed project is well below the maximum height. The project proposes a two-story building with a maximum height of 27’-6” at the elevator shaft (highest measured height) and condition of approval #11 requires that any portion of the residential care facility besides the elevator shaft shall not exceed 24 feet in height, 11 feet below the maximum allowed height. Furthermore, the location of the addition meets or exceeds all front, rear and side setback requirements. As such, the location of the building meets the R-10 zoning standards. Therefore, as designed, the project height is consistent with the R-10 zoning district and the neighborhood development pattern, and there is no provision in the County Code that prohibits a two-story development.
Appeal Point #4: The appellants state that land use permit findings #1, 2, 5, 6 cannot be made and are not supported by substantial evidence.
Staff Response #4: In order to grant a land use permit, a project is evaluated with the use permit findings listed in Section 26-2.2008 of the County Ordinance Code. In this case, Staff believes that the required findings for approval of a Land Use Permit are supported by substantial evidence in the record which includes evidence that the facility maintains a State license, has been established since 1975 at the same location and is a use identified in the Zoning Code and County General Plan as being consistent with the neighborhood. The Zoning Administrator and the County Planning Commission approved the project based on similar findings. The land use permit findings and staff’s analysis can be found in Attachment A - CDLP23-02046 Findings and Conditions of Approval.
Appeal Point #5: The appellant states that there is a lack of legal basis for the granting of a variance.
Staff Response #5: In order to grant a variance, a project is evaluated with the three Variance findings listed in Section 26-2.2006 of the County Ordinance Code. In this case, the variances requested are for a reduced driveway aisle width and reduced driveway aisle intersection distance. Staff believes the required findings for approval of the variances are supported by substantial evidence in the record. The subject property presents unique conditions that justify the variances, including the fact that the site was established 50 years ago with the existing parking site constraints, the project will enhance a parking area that is not functional and will make the site safer by providing adequate parking. Furthermore, the variance does not grant special privileges inconsistent with other properties under similar circumstances, nor does it conflict with the intent and purpose of the zoning code as the variance allows the project to enhance an existing hardscape area to allow for off-street parking. The variance findings and staff’s analysis can be found in Attachment A - CDLP23-02046 Findings and Conditions of Approval.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA):
The project is categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 which identifies alteration of an existing private structure involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination and 15301(e)(2), which pertains to additions to existing structures of 10,000 SF or less. The project is in an area where all public services and facilities are available and the area is not environmentally sensitive. The use of a residential care facility was first established under CDLP75-2155, approved by the Contra Costa County Board of Adjustments on November 13, 1975. The project is to continue the use of the residential care facility and involves no or negligible expansion of the use beyond what is existing. The project will not introduce new uses or impacts and residents will not be permitted to park a car at the facility. Additionally, the proposed project is to build an addition of approximately 2,665-square feet to expand an existing residential care facility for the elderly. The project is located in an area where all the public services and facilities are available including water, sanitation and fire protection services and is not located in an area that is environmentally sensitive. The site has been established with a residential care facility and is in a developed area of Walnut Creek. The environment is already disturbed and thus, not environmentally sensitive. Therefore, construction of an approximately 2,665-square-foot addition is consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.
CONCLUSION AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff has determined that the proposed project is consistent with applicable goals and policies of the General Plan, and also with the intent of the SH General Plan Designation and the R-10 Zoning District. The project is consistent with the established area as residential care facilities are considered compatible uses within residential neighborhoods and are a common occurrence within this area of unincorporated Walnut Creek. Furthermore, this use has been established on this property since 1975, and the use will continue to remain the same. The applicant has also revised the project numerous times to address the concerns of the neighborhood. Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors deny the appeal and approve County File #CDLP23-02046, based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the Board were to deny the project, the applicant/property owner would not be allowed to increase the capacity of an existing residential care facility for the elderly to allow for up to 18 persons and construct the 2,665-square-foot addition.