Update: Update: After 105 meetings over the course of a decade, the Terraces of Lafayette was approved by the Lafayette City Council at 12:45 a.m. on Monday, August 24. First proposed in 2011, this development will provide 315 homes with 63 allocated affordable for low-income residents. This project will make tremendous strides in furthering Lafayette’s progress on its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals.
Greenbelt Alliance is proud to endorse the “Terraces of Lafayette” project, a 315-unit residential development by O’Brien Land Company in Lafayette, CA.
Every city in the Bay Area must play their part to increase their housing stock to make sure the local workforce can live and work in their community — improving the social fabric of our communities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Terraces will provide 315 homes with 20% allocated affordable for low-income residents. This project will make tremendous strides in helping Lafayette make progress on its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals. The city has made almost no progress towards the low-income housing RHNA obligations but this project will provide 80% of Lafayettes RHNA requirement for low-income residents.
The Terraces project is located 1.7 miles (36 minutes by foot) from BART and the developer has proposed a host of transportation alternatives to the ‘last mile’ problem including providing a shuttle to and from the BART station, bike paths, bike shares, and scooter shares. The local high school is located across the street, with the elementary school located just half a mile away. The onsite amenities include community rooms, a gym, and a pool. The development plan includes green open spaces and a trail network that will be publically accessible.
This is the kind of climate-smart development that we need in the Bay Area to meet our housing goals, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and make sure that local residents are able to grow and thrive in their own communities as housing costs rise.
As a result of the careful planning and community benefits, Greenbelt Alliance was proud to give this project our endorsement.
This project has been met with opposition and has triggered more than 20 public meetings since its inception in 2011. On Jun 30, the Planning Commission approved the Terraces of Lafayette project with a 5-2 vote in a meeting that lasted over seven hours, but the decision was appealed by a City Council member and was then approved at the City Council meeting on Monday, August 24
Greenbelt Alliance’s “Grow Smart Bay Area” goals call for fully protecting the Bay Area’s greenbelt, directing growth into our existing communities, and accomplishing both in a way that equitably benefits all Bay Area residents. Greenbelt Alliance’s development endorsement program helps further our “Grow Smart Bay Area” goals by providing independent validation of smart infill housing (the development of vacant land within urban areas) and mixed-use projects (allowing for various uses like office, commercial and residential).
Learn more about sprawl threats in Contra Costa County and around the Bay Area by downloading our At Risk report today.
To find out more about our Endorsement Program, click here or contact our team with any questions you may have.
Photo: O’Brien Land Company
