Pleasant Hill BART

Specific Plan

SITE LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION

The Pleasant Hill BART Station Area contains approximately 125 acres of land including and surrounding the Pleasant Hill BART Station located in Contra Costa County. The area is located approximately 30 miles east of San Francisco along the Interstate 680 Corridor and the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line. (See Figures 1 and 2)

Most of the 125 acre area is unincorporated and within the jurisdiction of Contra Costa County. Figure 3 illustrates the parcelization and ownership pattern in the Station Area as of April 1, 1997.

BRIEF HISTORY

During the 1970's the Pleasant Hill BART Station Area was changing from a semi-rural agricultural/low density residential area to a suburban area dominated by the BART Station and its commuter traffic. The scattered remnants of the earlier rural pattern still existed in close proximity to the station intermixed with some early tract development on parcels ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet.

In the late 1970's the Station Area was converting from Single Family Detached Residential development to Higher Density Multiple Family Residential with proposed commercial and office development planned along the Treat Boulevard Corridor.

The 1975 Area Plan envisioned the development pressure that would be placed on the Station Area because of its highly accessible location, but also recognized the lack of coherence in the circulation pattern that resulted from the area's earlier subdivision and small parcel sizes. The 1975 Area Plan established a three acre minimum parcel size for office development in order to allow market mechanisms to begin restructuring the land use.

Pressure from the private sector for amendments to the 1975 Area Plan, uncertainty surrounding any emerging circulation patterns, and interest in the potential for joint development of BART property led in 1981 to an agreement between the County, BART, the City of Pleasant Hill, and the City of Walnut Creek. A steering committee composed of representatives from each of these jurisdictions and a member of the Walden District Improvement Association was established to oversee the development of a Specific Plan. The first public workshop to solicit community response was held on September 24, 1981. Subsequent additional public workshops were held to review alternative development options for the area.

The original 1983 Specific Plan represents recommendations following review and discussion by the Steering Committee of detailed assessments of alternative development patterns. This Amended and Restated Specific Plan incorporates the 1983 Plan and Amendments adopted on January 31, 1984, April 10, 1984, February 5, 1985, May 14, 1985, July 19, 1988, and October 6, 1998. The result is a balance between the constraints identified during the analysis and the opportunities implicit in the land resource. The main goal of the Plan is to create an employment and housing center at the BART Station, which is accessible via the BART system as well as I-680, and Treat Blvd./Geary Rd.

Major fiscal, economic, and other changes have occurred at both the national and local level since the Specific Plan was adopted in 1983. Real estate development throughout the United States has slowed in response to tax reform (1986), the collapse of a major part of the lending industry (1989), and a recession (1992-1995). Other less dramatic but still influential national trends such as corporate downsizing and the increasing use of temporary workers have also affected the real estate industry. More locally, public opposition to road projects has occurred. A key circulation feature of the 1983 Specific Plan - the SP Arterial - failed to gain the acceptance of the surrounding neighborhood. In addition, traffic congestion has occurred due to growth within the sub-region. Meanwhile, key regional transportation improvements such as the BART extension to Bay Point, the reconstruction of the I-680/Highway 24 intersection, and the passage of the Measure C Growth Management/Transportation funding program are substantially underway or have been completed since 1983.

The combination of macroeconomic forces and changes in the local transportation network provide a basis for reexamination of the Pleasant Hill BART Station Specific Plan. The goal of creating a center of high intensity use remains. The challenge is to tailor this goal to the realities of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.