Plans for Transit-Oriented Development with Homes, Stores, Parks a Hot Topic for City This Week

Plans for a walkable, transit-oriented community on 200 acres in west Newark will be a major topic at city meetings this week.

A draft of the Specific Plan for the Dumbarton Transit-Oriented Development, or Dumbarton TOD, will be presented at Tuesday's Planning Commission meeting and Thursday's City Council meeting.

The project calls for the area to include approximately 2,500 low- and high-density residential units, according to Terrence Grindall, community development director for the City of Newark.

According to the Specific Plan, parts of the development area west of Willow Street near Enterprise Drive  will also be designated for a transit station, a neighborhood center with retail and grocery stores and more than 16 acres of parks.

The area formerly housed industrial businesses, Grindall said. In 1999, it was labeled as a possible site for residential units, and a conceptual plan was drafted in 2008.

The specific plan was drafted by Pleasanton-based Dahlin Group, Architecture-Planning. Dahlin designed the 225-acre Rivermark neighborhood in nearby Santa Clara, according to the company's website.

Development of the area will occur at no cost to Newark residents, said Grindall. He added that 80 percent of the costs of the Specific Plan was paid for by a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The property owners—there are several, including Cargill Inc.—paid the remaining 20 percent.

"All of our dollar projects are paid by the property owners," Grindall said.

Last Wednesday, the City of Newark held a community meeting to discuss the project and let local residents ask questions.

Grindall said the meeting was well attended and that questions about traffic, environmental impacts and what will occupy open areas were among the popular topics addressed by community members. Among the ideas was a dog park for Newark, which does not have one.

An environmental impact report is being prepared and will be presented to city officials in late May, Grindall said. Upon approval from the Planning Commission and City Council, the project could begin as early as 2012.

For more information on the project or to see the Dumbarton Transit-Oriented Development Specific Plan, visit the city's website here.

The Planning Commission meets at 7  tonight on the sixth floor of the City Administration Building, 37101 Newark Blvd. To see the commission's agenda for tonight's meeting, click on the PDF at right. 

The City Council will also discuss the item at its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.