FARIA DEVELOPMENT IN PITTSBURG ADVANCES DESPITE NIMBY CEQA ABUSE

Discovery Builders, labor, and business reps reaffirm support

PITTSBURG, Calif., April 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery Builders, community members, trade representatives and business leaders today all reaffirmed their commitment and support to the Faria/Southwest Hills project, an undertaking that will provide 1,500 much-needed homes to the region, facilitate activity at new and existing commercial retail centers, create good-paying union jobs, increase open space in the Pittsburg General Plan, and do so in a manner supported by the local community.

Unanimously approved by the Pittsburg City Council last year, the project was made possible after local voters approved inclusion of the site within the City's Urban Limit Line for development when they approved Measure P, a 2005 ballot measure. It was supported more recently by the Planning Commission and unanimously approved by the City Council.

Once completed, the project is expected to generate about $2.75 million a year in property taxes for the City as well as $1.1 million a year for public safety, $122,000 for the fire district, $153,000 for landscape and lighting improvements, and $133,00 for park maintenance. It will also create thousands of jobs during construction, many of which are unionized

The master plan was specially crafted so the project will not impact the ridges between the Concord and Pittsburg boundaries. The East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) worked with Discovery on an arrangement to implement a staging area and connect trails to the future regional park, as well as measures to reduce visual impacts. Discovery has agreed to numerous environmental improvement measures requested by EBRPD in order to address the concerns of the District.

It is also important to note that there is an agreement between the resource agencies and the Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy on the mitigation measures and land to be preserved to allow for development of this project. Despite the abundance of environmental mitigation measures incorporated into this project it is still being contested by Save Mount Diablo, an organization that has been manipulating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for years to challenge quality and much-needed projects in Contra Costa County.

The organization sued the City of Pittsburg over the project's Environmental Impact Report (EIR), despite the planned work taking place far away from Mount Diablo. Over the years, Save Mount Diablo has threatened to sue and challenge CEQA documents for desperately needed regional transportation initiatives and numerous other housing projects. As a result, countless families have been deprived of essential housing needed in the East Bay.

While a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge supported the vast majority of the work and analysis included in the EIR, minor technical details need to be readdressed before the project can move forward. For instance, Save Mount Diablo questioned 46 items in the EIR, and the Court only agreed with them on four items, all of which can be remedied through simple clarifications.

Discovery is committed to making any City-required edits to the project or its environmental review and following through on implementing the City's vision in the General Plan for development of residential homes in this area.

"We are very pleased and encouraged that this ruling supported the vast majority of the work and analysis included in the City's Environmental Impact Report," said Louis Parsons, president of Discovery Builders. "City staff and the environmental consultants did an incredible job analyzing this project. The Pittsburg City Council, local residents, businesses, and labor organizations have repeatedly expressed their support for these homes and this project in the past—and we will do everything in our power to deliver on our promise to develop this project."

"We have seen organizations like Save Mount Diablo resort to this tactic time and again," said Daniel Torres, business representative at Sprinkler Fitters Local 483. "They say they're protecting the environment, but in reality, they are just no-growth groups, and they don't understand the concerns of residents. This isn't about the environment at all. The ridges are being protected between Concord and Pittsburg—and 40% of the site is going to be open space. What they are really trying to do is stop housing from being built, and that's having a direct impact on the livelihoods of working men and women who need these jobs and housing to survive and stay in the region. The impact of delaying projects like this is the hurt caused to the people who actually live in places like Pittsburg and the workers that will benefit from a project like this. This kind of obstruction is negatively impacting cities and communities as they struggle to provide desperately needed housing."

Discovery will assist the City of Pittsburg in any way to move the project forward, and to provide desperately needed housing for Pittsburg residents and the community for generations to come.

Discovery Builders Inc. and its predecessor companies have been building quality homes in the Bay Area since 1938. Discovery was founded with strong family roots, and the company continues to bring the same dedication, commitment, and quality workmanship to each new home that is built. With more 50,000 homes built, Discovery continues to strive to build the perfect home that meets the needs of all types of families.

SOURCE Discovery Builders, Inc.