Plans by Seeno firms to build 300 homes in Brentwood hit traffic jam

A 20-year plan by Discovery Builders and West Coast Home Builders to build nearly 300 homes in Brentwood is now stalled in traffic.

The city’s Planning Commission kicked back plans by the Contra Costa County firms owned by Albert Seeno III to build housing at Highway 4 and Old Sand Creek Road, citing a potential logjam, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The commission shuttled the plan back to staff to ponder solutions to a potential traffic mess.

The problem was a second exit from the proposed Bridle Gate development in northwest Brentwood. The exit would have sent cars streaming in and out of the upscale Brentwood Hills and Shadow Lakes neighborhoods, congested with parents driving their kids to and from local schools.

“We need to make sure that we approve plans that are beneficial to the people that are already here,” Commissioner Rod Flohr said. “The hazards for the Shadow Lakes community and the Brentwood Hills community have been very clearly stated.”

The decision came after the developers sued the city for a second time for its approvals process, saying it has been “a victim of bias and political subterfuge.” Last month, a judge postponed the case until Nov. 7. Brentwood staff said the next hearing date would not impact a Planning Commission ruling on the project.

Nearly 20 years in the making, the Discovery Builders/West Coast Home Builders project has been updated numerous times, mainly to meet city requirements.

Residents have widely criticized the project, while a petition to block its construction drew 416 signatures in two days, according to the Mercury News

“You know, this has gone through many, many iterations of different planning processes,” Louis Parsons, Discovery Builders president, told the newspaper. “But we’re eager and excited to move forward with this project.”

Plans for the 68-acre site now call for 272 single family homes, including 29 set aside as affordable, ranging from 1,800 to 3,200 square feet.

Since the Seeno developers submitted a preliminary application in 2021 under Senate Bill 330, all city ordinances, including zoning and objective design standards, were locked in. The law bars cities from rezoning or imposing development standards that would hinder development.

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Commissioner Derek Zeigler said traffic was “already a disaster” and was going “to get worse.” But he warned what could happen if commissioners deny the project, noting that state laws favor the developer.

“If we deny the project … they could come back and press the nuclear button and then they can come back with a really large amount of more homes,” he said. “That’s exactly what we don’t want. What’s the lesser of two evils?”

In July, the Seeno-led West Coast Home Builders appealed a 155,000-square-foot Costco store in Brentwood, saying it should undergo further environmental review. The big-box retail store was approved, despite the pushback from Seeno.

— Dana Bartholomew