HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.1 YIMBY LAW EMAIL 022326
YIMBY Law
2261 Market Street STE 10416
San Francisco, CA 94114
hello@yimbylaw.org
February 24, 2026
City of Danville
Planning Commission
201 Front St
Danville, CA 94526
Re: 107 Town & Country Drive, Item 5.1
Dear Planning Commissioners
We are pleased to submit this letter of support of the proposed project at Town &
Country Drive. YIMBY L aw is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, whose mission is to
increase the accessibility and affordability of housing in California. When complete, this
project will consist of a 200-unit mixed use development at the former Danville
Shopping Center.
We concur with staff ’s assessment that it is appropriate to approve the requested Tree
Removal Permit. The project is making use of State Density Bonus waivers and
incentives, while remaining compliant with the G eneral Plan. Moreover, City’s approved
Housing Element identifies the project as a Housing Inventory Site. By designating the
site as a Housing Inventory Site, the City selected the site for residential use and
determined that residential development of the site would assist the City in meeting its
Regional Housing Needs Allocation.
Under the State Density Bonus Law, a developer may propose unlimited waivers of
development standards that would have the effect of physically precluding construction
of a qualifying project at the densities or with the concessions or incentives p ermitted by
the Density Bonus Law. The applicant is entitled to the waivers it has requested, all of
which will provide relief from development standards that would physically preclude
construction of the project at the density proposed.
Once a project qualifies for a density b onus, State law provides that the City may deny a
requested waiver only if it would have a specific, adverse impact up on health or safety,
would have an adverse impact on a historic resource, or would be contrary to State or
YIMBY Law
2261 Market Street STE 10416
San Francisco, CA 94114
hello@yimbylaw.org
Federal law. In this context, specific adverse impact “means a significant, quantifiable,
direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or
safety standards, p olicies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was
deemed complete.”1
The Housing Accountability Act, in Section 65589.5(j)(1)(A)-(B), limits a municipality’s
ability to deny or condition on lower density a housing development project that
complies with objective standards. The City may only disapprove the project or impose
conditions on the project that would reduce density if necessary to avoid a “significant,
quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public
health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the
application was deemed complete” and there is no feasible method to mitigate or avoid
those impacts other than disapproval or development at a lower density.
AB 130 further exempts all prop osed developments from CEQA where they are on sites
under 5 acres, dedicate at least ⅔ of their square footage to residential use and comply
with all applicable general plan and zoning ordinances.2 Accepting Density Bonus
Waivers does not render the project noncompliant with those lo cal plans This project
qualifies as an urban infill site and does not fall into the definition of an environmentally
sensitive area or require the destruction of historic structures. As such the project is
exempt from CEQA review. The applicants have submitted an analysis detailing its
qualification under AB 130’s exemptions. Given the applicable CEQA exemptions.
The Legislature has made numerous amendments to California Housing L aw in an effort
to provide increased clarity and certainty for both municipalities and housing providers.
Based on these laws, the project is subject only to the objective standards that were in
effect on the date of the Preliminary Application; the project is entitled to the requested
waivers under D ensity Bonus law; with those waivers the project is consistent with
applicable objective standards; and the evidence in the record would not justify the City’s
denial of the project or imposition of approval that would reduce density. Disapproval of
the project or approval with conditions that would render the project infeasible at the
density proposed would contravene State law.
2 Pub. Res. Code § 21080.66.
1 Gov. Code, §§ 65915, subd. (e)(1), 65589.5, subd. (d)(2).
YIMBY Law
2261 Market Street STE 10416
San Francisco, CA 94114
hello@yimbylaw.org
I am signing this letter both in my capacity as the Executive Director of YIMBY L aw, and
as a resident of California who is affected by the shortage of housing in our state. I look
forward to seeing this project approved and brought to realization to help change the
tides of the housing crisis in the Bay Area.
Sincerely,
Sonja Trauss
Executive Director
YIMBY Law