23 Altarinda Road
General Plan & Zoning Amendments
City Council Meeting – February 3, 2026
Agenda
Summary
Background
Proposed General Plan & Zoning
Amendments
Public Correspondence
Recommendation & Ladris Analysis
Next Steps
2/3/2026
2 Hearing Process
1. Item called by presiding officer (Mayor Brandyn Iverson).
2. Presiding officer reviews order of procedure for public hearing.
3. City Attorney reviews City’s ex parte rules.
4. Council members disclose any ex parte communications and site visits occurring outside the public hearing relating to the subject of the hearing.
5. Staff summarizes issues before the Council.
6. Questions from the Council to Staff.
7. Applicant presents arguments in favor of its position (15 minutes including rebuttal time).
8. Questions from Council to applicant.
9. Statements from persons other than the applicant (3 minutes per speaker).
10. Applicant offers rebuttal and concluding remarks (time remaining from the 15 minutes allotted).
11. Following the public testimony portion of the hearing, the presiding officer shall declare the public hearing closed and the matter is then before the Council. Each Councilmember shall be given the opportunity to speak on the subject. 2/3/2026 4
Summary
Executive Summary
1. Request for a proposed change to the
General Plan and Zoning for 23
Altarinda Road.
2. 23 Altarinda Road is a .60 acre1
(approximately 26,136 sq. ft.) site
located on the north side of Altarinda
Road.
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1 County record show site as .60 acres, while
a recent survey approximated the project site
at .73 acres
Executive Summary
3. Orinda is part of a regional cluster of
highest opportunity areas in the
County with public amenities and
transportation resources.
4. The site was included as part of Plan
Orinda and fully evaluated in the
Certified Revised Final EIR approved
March 18, 2025.
2/3/2026
7 Background
23 Altarinda Road
1. Located in the in the East Bay on
the north side of State Route 24.
2. Approximately ¾ of the way up
the hill from Camino Pablo.
3. The site is less than ½ mile of
the Orinda BART Station.
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23 Altarinda Road
• Existing 2-story office
building and associated
surface parking lot.
• Currently designated as
Business and Professional
Office in the General Plan
and zoned as
DO (Downtown Office).
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Image 1: Looking northeast uphill on Altarinda Rd at the entrance to the property on the left.
Image 2: Looking Northwest at the existing surface parking lot and the two-story office building.
Plan Orinda Certified
Revised Final EIR
1. Considered development of up to
2,383 new residential units across
multiple sites - including 23
Altarinda Road.
2. Included potential future
development applications,
including potential use of State
Density Bonus Law.
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LOCATION
CURRENT LAND USE
DESIGNATION
(PREVIOUS)
CURRENT ZONING
TOTAL
ACREAGE
(NEW)
CURRENT ZONING
9 Altarinda Road Business Professional
Office DO 1.04 DG
15 Altarinda Road Business Professional
Office DO 1.0 DG
23 Altarinda Road Business Professional
Office DO 0.6 Proposed DG
112 Camino Pablo Public and Semipublic DO 0.41 DG
89 Davis Road Business and
Professional Office DO 0.97 DG
5 Santa Maria Way Business and
Professional Office DO 0.36 DG
4 Orinda Way Business and
Professional Office DO 5.71 DG
23 Altarinda Road
1. Zoning and General Plan
designations as analyzed in the
certified revised Final EIR.
2. No environmental effects that
are not already fully examined in
the certified revised Final EIR.
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Proposed
General Plan & Zoning
Amendments
23 Altarinda Road 15
Evaluation of Consistency
● The Revised Final EIR was adopted by the
City Council on March 2025.
● Applicant request for General Plan and
Zoning Amendment of 23 Altarinda Road in
August 2025.
● An Evaluation of Consistency with the Plan
Orinda Certified Revised Final EIR was
completed in November 2025 (The Findings
of Fact and SOC was complete in November
2025 and updated in January 2026).
CEQA Determination
1. No further evaluation of environmental impacts is required for the proposed General Plan and Zoning Amendment (“Project”).
2. No subsequent or supplemental EIR or negative declaration is necessary pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 and 15163.
3. The consistency analysis completed is the appropriate level of environmental analysis and documentation for the proposed Project in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15168(c). 2/3/2026 16
See Attachment A: Resolution 02-26 CEQA with attached 23 Altarinda Road General Plan Amendment and Zoning Amendment: Findings of Fact and Statement of Overring Considerations, prepared by City of Orinda Planning Department with the assistance of Rincon Consultants, Inc., January 2026. 23 Altarinda Road 17
General Plan Amendments
If approved, 23 Altarinda would be designated under the following land use classifications in the Land Use Element of the General Plan:
Downtown – General
This designation reflects the uses and development currently allowed within the Business and Professional Offices land use category, while additionally allowing mixed-use and multifamily residential development.
General Plan Map
2/3/2026 18
The Planning Commission
recommended that the City Council
adopt a General Plan Map
Amendment and Zoning Map
Amendment
23 Altarinda Road 19
Zoning Amendments
If approved, 23 Altarinda would be designated in the following zoning district:
DG (Downtown General)
The DG district allows office uses and multifamily residential development.
Minimum and Maximum Density
This land use classification subcategory allows a minimum density of 20 units per acre and a maximum density of 25 units per acre.
Zoning Map
2/3/2026 20
The Planning Commission
recommended that the City Council
adopt a General Plan Map
Amendment and Zoning Map
Amendment
Public Correspondence
Project Referral Forms
1. Initial form sent out on August 6 opening a 2-
week comment period.
2. Second form sent out August 22 opening a
comment period that was extended for a 3-week
comment period.
3. Agencies responded to the current application
for a General Plan Amendment and Zoning
Amendment (“Project”). 2/3/2026 22
23 Altarinda Road 23
Public Correspondence ● Comments by Agencies for Proposed for Rezoning ○ California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) ○ East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) ○ Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) ○ Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ○ Moraga-Orinda Fire Department (MOFD) ● Public Correspondence ○ Orindawoods Homeowners Association (HOA) ○ Nick Waranoff (11/25/25; 12/4/25; 2/2/26) ○ Sandra Wells (for Neal and Janine Wells) of 15 Altarinda Road
○ Brian Griggs (Applicant Statement) ○ Michele Jacobson ○ Comments letters in support/against - 1/2
Agency Comments
1. Most comments focused on standard
project conditions for a proposed
development project.
2. Any proposed development project will
have to address topics of recommended
analysis as submitted by public
agencies.
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Public Comments
1. The proposed development project was withdrawn,
but initial comments opposed the height, massing,
setbacks, lot coverage, number of stories, and
potential impacts to traffic and views.
2. Opposition to the proposed redesignation because it
is currently unnecessary to meet State mandated
housing capacity targets; Concerns about evacuation
in event of a wildfire.
3. Concern about daily business flows, traffic and
parking on Altarinda Road.
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Recommendation & Ladris
Analysis
23 Altarinda Road 27
Planning Commission Recommendation
The City Council is being asked to take action to Adopt Planning Commission Resolution 25-07 recommending that the City Council:
1. Adopt a Resolution affirming the consistency of the Proposed Project with the certified Final EIR for Plan Orinda, adopting findings under CEQA, and adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations; Approve the modification to strike the sentence in attachment A (p. 70) as follows “This alternative would not allow any residential development on the Project site and therefore would not meet the DPP objectives of INSERT.”
2. Adopt a Resolution amending the General Plan Map to change the land use designation from “Business and Professional Offices” to “Downtown - General”; and
3. Adopt an Ordinance amending the Zoning Map to change the zoning designation from “DO (Downtown Office)” to “DG (Downtown General)”
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ANALYSIS TOTAL CLEARANCE TIME
(INCLUDES RESPONSE TIME)
APPROXIMATE
DURATION
ZONE - 60 Minute Response Time
Zone ORI-E010 Evacuation 1 hour, 26 minutes
1 hour, 24 minutes
1–1/2 hours
Zone ORI-E010 Evacuation
with 23 Altarinda
1 hour, 28 minutes
1 hour, 27 minutes
+1-4 min
(same)
AREA - 60 Minute Response Time
North Orinda Evacuation No Housing Element Sites 2 hours, 25 minutes 1 hour, 50 minutes
2-1/4 hours
North Orinda Evacuation No Housing Element Sites
with 23 Altarinda
2 hours, 14 minutes
1hour, 58 minutes
-27 or +24 min
(more variability)
North Orinda Evacuation
with Housing Element Sites
2 hours, 23 minutes
1 hour, 59 minutes
-26 or +33 min
(more variability)
23 Altarinda Project
PRELIMINARY - The overall changes in time shown by the Ladris model runs do not point to clear or meaningful changes in evacuation time (positive or negative). These scenarios include regional occupancy of 80% and provide residents with the same response times (leave the home).
Zone ORI-E101 Evacuation
with/without
23 Altarinda
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Zone ORI-E101 Evacuation
Baseline vs. with 23 Altarinda
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Zone ORI-E101 Evacuation
Baseline vs. with 23 Altarinda
2/3/2026 32
Zone ORI-E101 Evacuation
Baseline vs. with 23 Altarinda
North Orinda Evacuation
with/without
23 Altarinda
2/3/2026 34
North Orinda Evacuation
Baseline vs. with 23 Altarinda
2/3/2026 35
North Orinda Evacuation
Baseline vs. with 23 Altarinda
2/3/2026 36
North Orinda Evacuation
Baseline vs. with 23 Altarinda
North Orinda Evacuation
with/without
Housing Element
2/3/2026 38
North Orinda Evacuation
Baseline vs. with Housing Element
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North Orinda (No Housing Element) Evacuation
Baseline vs. with Housing Element
2/3/2026 40
North Orinda Evacuation (No Housing Element)
Evacuation Baseline vs. with Housing Element
23 Altarinda Road 41
Recommendation
If approving, take the following actions:
1. Waive the full reading and introduce Ordinance 26-01 Amending the Zoning Map to change the zoning designation for 23 Altarinda Road (APN 260-192-013) from “DO (Downtown Office)” to “DG (Downtown General).”
2. Direct staff to bring back for adoption Resolution 01-26 Amending the General Plan Map to change the land use designation from “Business and Professional Offices” to “Downtown – General” for 23 Altarinda Road (APN 260-192-013).
3. Direct staff to bring back for adoption Resolution 02-26 Affirming the Consistency of the 23 Altarinda Road Project with Plan Orinda and its certified revised Final EIR; Adopting Findings Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations for Those Impacts that were Found to be Significant and Unavoidable.
Next Steps
Following the rezoning, the parcel
would change designation effective
thirty (30) days after adoption.
2/3/2026 42
23 Altarinda Road
General Plan & Zoning Amendments
City Council Meeting – February 3, 2026