Council Clears 422-Unit Townhome Project After Marathon Hearing, Lone Dissent

Walnut Creek's City Council spent nearly four hours debating the biggest housing project the city has seen in decades — a 422-unit townhome development that will replace vacant office buildings in Shadelands Business Park — before denying two appeals and approving the project 4-1. The hearing drew passionate testimony from housing advocates, labor unions, senior residents worried about construction dust, and a mayor who broke with his colleagues over traffic and the loss of business-zoned land.

• 422-unit Mitchell Townhomes approved 4-1 after Council denies both appeals; Mayor Wilk casts lone dissent over traffic concerns
• Seniors at neighboring Viamonte plead for air quality protections as Council adds green screen fencing and construction notification conditions
• Housing advocates, labor and business groups turn out in force to support the project, warning of fines up to $60,000 per month per unit if the city denied it
• Federal CDL crackdown sidelines bus and garbage truck drivers, threatening transit and waste collection in the Walnut Creek area
• MCE announces 14% electricity rate cut effective April 1 for 90% of Walnut Creek customers

The Walnut Creek City Council voted 4-1 to deny two appeals and approve the Mitchell Townhomes, a 422-unit for-sale development proposed by Signature Development Group on a 22-acre site in the Shadelands Business Park. The project replaces 11 vacant office buildings with three-story townhomes, including 55 affordable units — nearly double the required 7% — along with 542 new trees, a roundabout, raised crosswalks, extended bike lanes, and monetary contributions for traffic improvements.