Pleasant Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods, Inc., is an all volunteer nonprofit public benefit corporation that supports community initiatives in Pleasant Hill. Please join your neighbors in building the community of Pleasant Hill. We encourage those who are interested in advocating for better neighborhoods to contact PHAN.
Contact:
Pleasant Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods
25A Crescent Drive #245
Pleasant Hill, California, 94523
August
23, 2017: Concerned Pleasant Hill residents have launched a petition to
challenge the City’s ordinance approving the controversial CarMax
project at DVC Plaza. They also want the City to know that the community
supports new housing and neighborhood retail at the former Kmart site.
“We
call on the City and the property owner to work with us to develop
housing and neighborhood retail at DVC Plaza. Because that site is
surrounded by residential neighborhoods, schools, and a creek, we
believe it is not appropriate for a wholesale used car auction operation
like CarMax,” said Cathy Teegardin, a Pleasant Hill resident and
President of Pleasant Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods (PHAN).
“We are not NIMBYs. We are YIMBYs. We want housing at DVC Plaza. ” Teegardin said.
Dorothy
Englund, another Pleasant Hill resident, agrees: “The CarMax project is
not aligned with the community’s vision for DVC Plaza or the City’s
General Plan. We want to work with the City, developers, and community
stakeholders to develop better options for the property, with a priority
on housing,” Englund said.
DVC Plaza is a Priority
Development Area for meeting regional housing needs, but the City’s
approval of the CarMax project eliminates the opportunity to build
hundreds of new housing units on the 9+ acre site.
Ignoring
widespread opposition from the community, the City Council on August 7,
2017, approved the ordinance allowing the CarMax project to move
forward. The City’s action also sparked a grassroots movement to put the
ordinance on the ballot.
“An overwhelming majority of
people who attended the City hearings or submitted public comments
opposed the CarMax project at this site, but the City approved it
unanimously—that’s not right,” said Teegardin. “If the City Council is
confident that the CarMax project is the best option for the community,
then they should put it to a vote of the citizens,” Teegardin said.
Specific
concerns expressed by neighbors included: increased traffic and safety
issues with multiple auto-haulers daily; increased noise pollution
starting at 7:30 am 7 days a week; degradation of neighborhood quality
and infrastructure; impacts on the adjacent creek; inconsistency with
General Plan; and failure to address the City’s or the region’s housing
needs.
Pleasant Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods, Inc.,
is an all volunteer nonprofit public benefit corporation that supports
community initiatives in Pleasant Hill.
Join your Neighbors for Pizza and an Update on the
STOP CARMAX PETITION DRIVE
There are Better Alternatives for DVC Plaza Let the Voters Decide!
WHO: Pleasant Hill Voters and Friends WHAT: Referendum Petition Challenging the City's Ordinance Approving the CarMax Project WHERE: Mountain Mike's Pizza (30 Golf Club Rd) WHEN:SATURDAY, 8/26/17, 12 PM - 2 PM
Registered Pleasant Hill Voters Can Sign the Referendum Petition
Signatures Must Be In Person (Not Online)
WHY:
Give Pleasant Hill Voters the opportunity to vote on the
conroversial ordinace allowing CarMax to operate wholesale commercial
auto auctions near residences and schools.
Support more neighborhood-friendly alternatives such as housing and neighborhood-serving retail.
Please stop by to enjoy pizza, sign the referendum petition and support better alternatives for DVC Plaza!
We
need help at the signature gathering events and to walk the
neighborhoods. To help collect signatures and/or contribute to the
effort in some other way, stop by or contact the effort below:
Contact:
Pleasant Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods
25A Crescent Drive #245
Pleasant Hill, California, 94523
At the link below are agenda, meeting minutes, public documents, and public comments
as archived by the City of Pleasant Hill including correspondence and letters from those opposed to the proposed
Pleasant Hill CarMax facility. We thank the many volunteers and experts who have
tirelessly researched the technical side of the CarMax facility and appreciate their comments.
In addition, you can follow the referendum petition against the Pleasant Hill CarMax on facebook. Follow the link below or login to facebook and search for "Stop CarMax".
WHO: Pleasant Hill Voters WHAT: Referendum Petition Challenging the City's Ordinance Approving the CarMax Project WHERE: Mountain Mike's Pizza (30 Golf Club Rd) WHEN:EVERY DAY 6PM - 8PM Until Labor Day
Registered Pleasant Hill Voters Can Sign the Referendum Petition
Signatures Must Be In Person (Not Online)
WHY:
Give Pleasant Hill Voters the opportunity to vote on the conroversial ordinace allowing CarMax to operate wholesale commercial auto auctions near residences and schools.
Support more neighborhood-friendly alternatives such as housing and neighborhood-serving retail.
Please stop by to sign the referendum petition and support better alternatives for DVC Plaza!
We need help at the signature gathering events and to walk the neighborhoods. To help collect signatures and/or contribute to the effort in some other way, stop by or contact the effort at:
Contact:
Pleasant Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods
25A Crescent Drive #245
Pleasant Hill, California, 94523
We, the Citizens of Pleasant Hill, want the Pleasant Hill City Council to listen to its electorate and follow the City's own General Plan. We want a vibrant mix of housing and retail to build on the charm of a City of not more than 35,000 residents. Let's build more neighborhoods and expand our communities rather than build big corporate projects like CarMax. We can do better. If the City Council won't do it, we the voters will. Download a flyer in pdf version here. Please feel free to print, email, distribute, or post to your neighborhood or favorite social media platform.
As reported in the East Bay Times, http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/08/15/after-in-n-out-drama-pleasant-hill-property-remains-vacant/, The Pleasant Hill Planning Commision and The Pleasant Hill City Council have effectively killed the proposal to put in housing in favor of more commercial projects in the Pleasant Hill Oak Park Blvd area. As noted in previous posts, the Pleasant Hill City Council is laying the groundwork for big commercial projects to be located all over Pleasant Hill. We, the Citizens of Pleasant Hill, want more neighborhoods and more mixed use retail/housing, not more big corporate commercial projects. Help us Stop the CarMax to force the City Council to return to the original plans as described in the City's General Plan. A win with the CarMax project will further embolden the Council to ignore the concerns of the electorate in favor of big corporate interests.
Are you concerned that our elected Pleasant Hill City Council no longer listens to the voters who put them into office? Are you concerned that the CarMax Project was approved unanimously against overwhelming community opposition? Are you concerned that the City Council plans to transform a small, charming town like Pleasant Hill into a dense Corporate jungle with projects all over the City? Want to get involved with the campaign to repeal the CarMax Project or put it to a vote of the City's electorate, but are not sure how? Well, read on.
1. Sign the referendum petition. If you are a registered voter, sign the referendum petition at one of the signature gathering events or from one of our friendly neighborhood volunteers who will be going door to door to gather signatures.
Not able to come to one of the signature gathering events or a signature gatherer missed you at home? No problem. Just email us at alternatives2carmax@gmail.com and one of our volunteers will contact you to get your signature on the petition.
Not registered to vote? No problem. Register to vote online. It only takes a few minutes. Go to the State of California Online Voter Registration >> click here
2. Become a signature gatherer. If you are registered to vote in the State of California and are at least 18 years of age, you can help us gather signatures. Please contact us at alternatives2carmax@gmail.com and we'll give you all the information you need. On average, volunteer signature gatherers get 50-100 signatures, but you can get more or less depending on how much time you are able to volunteer.
3. Volunteer to support the cause. Even if you are not a signature gatherer, there is a lot of logistics that goes into a referendum petition drive. We are looking for people to help with graphic design, marketing, fund raising, social media, and administrative support. Contact us at alternatives2carmax@gmail.com if you are interested in helping.
4. Donate to the petition effort. Although we are grateful for the many volunteers who are donating their time in valuable sweat equity, running a referendum petition drive does take some funds. If you are interested in donating any amount, big or small, we would greatly appreciate it. We will be adding an online donation form soon, but for now, please email us at alternatives2carmax@gmail.com with your pledge and one of our friendly volunteers will contact you.
This is your last chance to preserve the character of Pleasant Hill by joining your neighbors in planning a referendum petition to repeal the City Council's approval of a CarMax facility. Other, more community-centric development options exist for DVC Plaza, but without this petition, the CarMax WILL BE BUILT. We need your help now! Email alternatives2carmax@gmail.com for more information. Download a meeting flyer in pdf version here. Please feel free to print, email, distribute or post to your neighborhood or favorite social media platform.
In adopting Ordinance 916 that essentially approves the CarMax Project, the Pleasant Hill City Council have continued a string of decisions to veer further away from City Goals that they set for themselves. As posted on the Pleasant Hill City Council's own Website:
City Goal #3: A City that is Attractive, Well Planned and Maintains a Small Town Atmosphere City Goal #4: A City that Provides a High Quality of Life for its Residents
The Pleasant Hill City Council have not made the compelling argument on how a CarMax contributes to either of those goals. Instead of balancing SMART development that is congruent with the character of Pleasant Hill, the City Council has decided to cater to corporate interests with the most money. The Residents recognize that development will occur with growth of the Bay Area in general, but we want the City Council to plan for and develop projects (such as mixed use housing/retail) that are consistent with the City's own General Plan.
Unfortunately, the CarMax approval follows a number of decisions that put corporate interests over neighborhood interests, and it will certainly not be the last decision. The Pleasant Hill City Council has already prepared to make similar decisions that will affect neighborhoods all over Pleasant Hill. We need to stop them now. Help us Build Our Neighborhoods and Stop CarMax! Download a flyer in pdf version here. Please feel free to print, email, distribute, or post to your neighborhood or favorite social media platform.
Recently, Ordinance No. 916 was formally adopted by the Pleasant Hill City
Council by unanimous vote on August 7, 2017, thusapproving the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax facility despite overwhelming opposition to the project by the Residents of Pleasant Hill.
** Despite the adoption of the Ordinance, the Residents of Pleasant Hill have one final chance to STOP the CARMAX! **
As Citizens, we
have the right to gather at least 2100 signatures from registered voters to challenge the City Council vote
through the Referendum Process.
It is recognized that everyone believes that DVC Plaza should be developed in some way and it is also understood that diffferent residents representing different groups have different reasons for opposing the CarMax and have different ideas on what can go into the DVC Plaza in its place, but before the step of reimagining a better, more community-centric solution for DVC Plaza can occur, the referendum petition needs to be successfully submitted and certified to stop the CarMax process from occurring any further.
** Without the Referendum Petition, the Ordinance as adopted by the City Council, will go into effect and the CarMax will be built! **
We are calling on all Residents of Pleasant Hill to support the effort to Stop CarMax by signing the referendum petition. If the CarMax is not stopped now, even if you don't live near the proposed facility, your neighborhood will be next. The Pleasant Hill City Council have decided to ignore the concerns of its electorate and over the last several years, have approved a string of Big Box, Corporate and High Density projects over the objection of many neighborhoods. Just because the CarMax proposal mainly affects the Northern part of Pleasant Hill, do not think that your neighborhood will be spared from the City Council. Another win with the CarMax will further embolden the City Council to continue their plans to bring in big development all over the City.
The North and East sections of Pleasant Hill have been recent recipients of the City Council's paternalism, but the South, West, and Central sections of Pleasant Hill are next with large development plans in the works. As summarized by the Mayor and several Council Members at recent Council
meetings, "We are doing what's best for you, so we are surprised that
you don't want this" and then voting to approve projects nonetheless. (Watch Council Member Tim Flaherty acknowledge the tremendous opposition to the CarMax at a Council Hearing and then go on to dismiss the concerns as "juvenile" > YouTube Clip)
As Residents, we all want development, but we want SMART development, not haphazard development that caters to corporate interests and tramples on the charm of a small town like Pleasant Hill. We are a City of only 35,000 residents. Help us stop CarMax to remind the City Council that they represent us, the Citizens, and not the corporate interests with the biggest pockets. If we don't stop the City Council now, prepare for other projects like CarMax to appear all over town.
Below is a synopsis of the >5 Hr long Pleasant Hill City Council Meeting on July 17, 2017 where over the objection of the vast majority of the >100 concerned citizens present and >30 speakers who spoke out against the CarMax, the Pleasant Hill City Council voted unanimously to approve the proposed CarMax facility. Please note that all City Council Meetings are filmed and made part of the Public Record. The entire Council meeting can be found here: http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/1132/Meeting-Videos. Below are short clips of the Public Hearing.
Members of the Pleasant Hill City Council that were present:
Michael Harris, Mayor
Tim Flaherty, Vice Mayor
Sue Noack, Council Member
Ken Carlson, Council Member
Matt Rinn, Council Member
1. After initial Public Comments were made regarding the lack of transparency regarding publishing the date and time of the proposed CarMax Public Hearing, Michael Harris, Pleasant Hill City Mayor, responds to the audience.
2. After the standard Pleasant Hill Staff Presentations to the City Council, CarMax representatives were allowed to do a presentation. Here, they describe the philantropic arm of CarMax called "CarMax Foundation". Although the Foundation has contributed approximately $5 million per year for a total of about $30 million in total grant funding since the inception of the charitable organization, per the Foundation's own website at foundation.carmax.com, the last big donation was in approximately 2015, with most of the total funds going to national organizations and to the community surrounding the CarMax headquarters in Virginia. Although much appreciated, donations to local communities surrounding CarMax dealerships cap out at $1000 with matching funds of $10 per hour. The CarMax team goes on to describe how wonderful the City of Pleasant Hill is.
3. A Pleasant Hill Resident who has 30 years in the automobile and car sales industry warns the Pleasant Hill City Council about putting a CarMax in a Residential Community.
4. The proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax will be placed amongst student housing, low income housing and disabled housing. Here, a mother of a Pleasant Hill Resident who resides at a facility for the Mobility Impaired and Disabled testifies on behalf of her son, who is nonverbal. The facility for the Disabled is located across from the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax. Given the proximity, she pleads with the City Council to consider alternative ideas.
5. Another Pleasant Hill Resident of the facility for the Mobility Impaired and Disabled located across the proposed CarMax also requests that the Pleasant Hill City Council consider their needs and to evaluate alternatives to the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax.
6. Pleasant Hill City Mayor, Michael Harris, poses a question of how a CarMax can be justified so close to student, low-income and disabled housing.
7. Pleasant Hill City Mayor, Michael Harris, poses a similar question of how a CarMax can preserve the character of the neighborhood.
8. Despite the Mayor's questions and The Pleasant Hill City Council questions to the CarMax team, including their lawyer, on basic operations and basic statistics on traffic and volume of business to gauge the impact on the surrounding neighborhood, the CarMax team refuses to answer these simple questions.
9. After all of the testimony was complete and after CarMax threatened to not come to Pleasant Hill if the project was not approved in its entirety with minimal conditions, Council Member Sue Noack responds by accepting the entire proposal and starting to suggest simpler conditions of approval.
10. Prior to the vote, Vice Mayor Tim Flaherty addresses the audience, the majority of which opposed the approval of the CarMax project, noting that this was the first time such a strong showing came to a Council meeting, and then calling the audience's actions and right to protest, "juvenile".
11. Despite hours of testimony and the overwhelming opposition to the proposed CarMax project, the Pleasant Hill City Council then unanimously voted for the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax, in which they:
ADOPTED the resolution of findings and CERTIFIED the EIR,
ADOPTED the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program,
APPROVED the PUD Rezoning and PUD Concept Plan Amendment, and
APPROVED the Development Plan Permit, Conditional Use Permit, Architectural Review Permit, and Sign Permit
The Draft EIR for the Proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax lists 5 potentially controversial issues, including:
Aesthetics, Light and Glare
Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Noise
Traffic and Transportation
Water Quality
The Draft EIR states the decision-makers must consider comments received concerning the adequacy of the Draft EIR and address any objections raised in these comments. However, the Draft EIR notes that decision-makers are not obligated to follow any directives, recommendations or suggestions presented in the comments and can certify the Final EIR without needing to resolve disagreements. In certifying the Draft EIR, the Pleasant Hill Architectural Review Commission and Pleasant Hill Planning Commission has accepted the findings of the Draft EIR, despite the inadequacies that were pointed out in many public comments and has thus, set Pleasant Hill on a path the accepts the potential consequences of having a CarMax facility at this particular location.
These are the potential impacts as listed in the Draft EIR. Those issues not listed were not considered impacts in the Draft EIR and are not listed below. Both the Pleasant Hill Architectural Review Commission and the Planning Commission have accepted these potential impacts.
The project may create a new source of substantial light or glare which would adversely affect day or nighttime views in the area.
The project may violate an air quality standard or contribute substantially to an existing or projected air quality violation.
The proposed project may have a substantial adverse effect, either directly or through habitat modifications, on any species identified as a candidate, sensitive, or special status species in local or regional plans, policies, or regulations, or by the California Department of Fish and Game or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The project may have a substantial adverse effect on any riparian habitat or other sensitive natural community identified in local or regional plans, policies, and regulations or by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Subsurface construction activities associated with the proposed project may damage or destroy previously undiscovered historic resources.
Subsurface construction activities associated with the proposed project may damage or destroy previously undiscovered archaeological resources.
Subsurface construction activities associated with the proposed project may damage or destroy previously undiscovered paleontological resources.
Subsurface construction activities associated with the proposed project may damage or destroy previously undiscovered human burial sites.
The project may expose people or structures to potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury or death involving:
i) Rupture of a known earthquake fault, as delineated
on the most recent Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault
Zoning Map issued by the State Geologist for the
area or based on other substantial evidence of a
known fault? Refer to Division of Mines and Geology
Special Publication 42.
ii) Strong seismic ground shaking.
iii) Seismic-related ground failure, including
liquefaction.
iv) Landslides.
The project may result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil.
The project may be located on a geologic unit or soil that is unstable, or that would become unstable as a result of the project, and potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction or collapse.
The project may be located on expansive soil, as defined in Table 18-1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994), creating substantial risks to life or property.
Construction and operational activities associated with the proposed project have the potential to degrade water quality in downstream water bodies.
The proposed project may alter the existing drainage pattern of the site and contribute runoff to downstream storm drainage facilities that would result in the potential for flooding or otherwise exceed the capacity of drainage systems.
The proposed project may locate structures within a 100-year flood hazard area.
Implementation of the project would result in exposure of persons to or generation of noise levels in excess of standards established in the local general plan or noise ordinance, or applicable standards of other agencies.
The project could cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a tribal cultural resource listed or eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources, or in a local register of historical resources as defined in Public Resources Code section 5020.1(k).
The project would cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a tribal cultural resource determined by the lead agency, in its discretion and supported by substantial evidence, to be significant pursuant to criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of Public Resources Code Section 5024.1.
Map of Proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax in Relation to Nearby Schools
This is a satellite map of the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax in relation to nearby schools. The Draft EIR expects further degradation of traffic patterns around the Contra Costa Blvd collidor and does not propose any mitigation for student movement patterns in Educational corridors for the nearby Valhalla Elementary School, Valley View Middle School, College Park High School, and Diablo Valley College despite increases in vehicular and truck hauler traffic attributed to the proposed CarMax. Hauler trucks will use Chilpancingo Pkway and Old Quarry Rd for ingress to and egress from the CarMax property, the same roads used by college students driving into or from campus or walking to or from nearby apartments, condos, and houses.
On June 29, 2017, at the Public Hearing for the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax, the Pleasant Hill Planning Commission by unanimous vote has approved the Development Plan Permit, Conditional Use Permit, Planned Unit Development District Rezoning and Associated Concept Plan and has certified the Draft Environmental Impact Report and Mitigation Monitoring Report Program with several conditions of approval. All residents in attendance at the Public Hearing voiced disapproval of the CarMax project, which was noted in the public record.
All Pleasant Hill Planning Commmission Agendas, Meeting Minutes, and Videos are matters of public record and are required to be accessible. Please feel free to browse the video on Pleasant Hill's online archive located here: http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/1132/Meeting-Videos
Also of note, here are the members of the Planning Commission, who by Pleasant Hill rules are required to be residents of Pleasant Hill:
On June 29, 2017, a Special Hearing of the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax project was held by the Planning Commission. After dozens of public comments were made against the proposed Pleasant Hill Carmax, the Commissioners took the unusual step to lecture the residents in atttendance. One of the long standing Commissioners who has served for over a decade stated to the audience that was filled with teachers, professors, attorneys, business owners, accountants, doctors, psychologists, nurses, engineers, parents, and retirees, that the issue was so complex and the financials were so great, that the audience could not begin to comprehend the intricacies of the project. Another younger Commissioner went on to state that although there were misgivings and strong concerns that the project did not fit the neighborhood and had its impacts, this Commissioner was being "compelled" to approve the project due to the finances.
All Pleasant Hill Planning Commmission Agendas, Meeting Minutes, and Videos are matters of public record and are required to be accessible. Please feel free to browse the video on Pleasant Hill's online archive located here: http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/1132/Meeting-Videos
Please note, given the number of residents who made public comments, the Special Hearing on June 29, 2017 is over 4 hrs long.
Also of note, here are the members of the Planning Commission, who by Pleasant Hill rules are required to be residents of Pleasant Hill:
On June 28, 2017, at the Public Hearing for the proposed Pleasant Hill CarMax, the Pleasant Hill Architectural Review Commission by unanimous vote has approved the Architectural Review Permit, Sign Permit, and has certified the Draft Environmental Impact Report with 6 conditions of approval. All residents in attendance at the Public Hearing voiced disapproval of the CarMax project, which was noted in the public record.
Pleasant Hill Architectural Review Commission Responsible for this Project:
Contact Information: For further information regarding this project, contact Troy Fujimoto, Project Planner, City of Pleasant Hill Planning Division, (925) 671-5224 tfujimoto@pleasanthillca.org
CarMax Auto Superstore Proposed for Pleasant Hill, CA
3D Rendering of Proposed Pleasant Hill, CA Carmax
Address: 65 and 71 Chilpancingo Pkwy, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Phase I Proposal:
A sales office with an approximate area of 10,030 square feet
A service center with an approximate area of 6,150 square feet
A private car wash with an approximate area of 936 square feet
A private belowground fuel tank with a capacity of 4,000 gallons
A presentation room building with an approximate area of 1,708 square feet
Car lifts with a capacity of 10,000 pounds and an assumed weight of 2,000 pounds
Asphalt and Portland Cement concrete paved parking and drives
Site masonry walls
Underground utilities
Landscaping
Customer/employee parking lot—159 parking spaces
Outdoor vehicle display area—2.27 acres
Drainage improvements
Phase II Proposal:
Reconditioning Service Building with an approximate area of 24,100 square feet
Final Quality Control (FQC)/Auctions—the Carwash building would be expanded by an approximate area of 1,429 square feet for a total of 2,365 square feet.
The vehicle staging area would be expanded in Phase II to include an additional approximately 15,681 square feet
Pleasant Hill Staff Responsible for Project:
Troy Fujimoto, Project Planner, City of Pleasant Hill Planning Division
(925) 671-5224, tfujimoto@pleasanthillca.org
Pleasant Hill Architectural Review Commission Responsible for Project:
Karla Moseley, Vice Chair
Richard Stanton
John Hart
Jill Bergman
Ken Craig
Pleasant Hill Planning Commission Responsible for Project (all Pleasant Hill residents):
