Vallejo Planning and Economic Development Workshop Updates

During a special meeting held on Tuesday, staff from the City of Vallejo’s Economic Development and Planning and Development Services Divisions hosted a workshop with the Vallejo City Council, providing updates on a number of projects in the City.

To start off, councilmembers learned that the Vallejo Waterfront Planned Development Master Plan is currently still undergoing the entitlement process. The Northern Waterfront, entitled Mariner’s Cove, received many comments during a public hearing by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s Design Review Board on 8 June 2020. Because of this, the project still does not have a complete application, although a final application is expected soon.

The Central Waterfront also now has a conceptual application that includes Holliday Development’s mixed-use project around the Vallejo Station Phase B parking garage. However, it is unlikely that project entitlements will be completed by their expiration date in December of this year.

Further south, PG&E has started cleanup work on the Southern Waterfront site, so the City will soon be able to issue a Request for Proposals for the area.

Moving away from the waterfront, the Fairview at Northgate project is also continuing to move along as it now has some tenants. The project will be coming back to the Council for some changes as early as September, as a “very famous coffee company” wants to have a drive-thru as part of the retail component of the project, so some additional entitlements are needed.

For the Blue Rock Springs Golf Course project, work with county staff and negotiations with neighboring Syar Industries are continuing. However, progress has slowed due to the pandemic.

Staff then gave a brief update on Solano360, which is expected to return to the Solano360 Implementation Committee in October.

Over on Mare Island, Southern Land Company continues to build their team and conduct market research on what residents want to see on the island. A first look at a conceptual map of Mare Island was shown and can be seen in the picture above. Briefly mentioned were the recent investments in Factory_OS made by companies like AutoDesk, facilitating the modular home company’s expansion. SLC also continues work on North Mare Island, looking at the data of the land and the potential for liquefaction in the area.

Following SLC’s presentation, staff revealed their work on a new document called the VALUE list, or Vallejo Assets and Land Use Entitlements list, which will consolidate all new projects and property inquiries in the City. Staff hopes to make the document publicly available by next month.

Work on the updated development code continues with public outreach starting next month, with the finalized version to be heard by Council in November or December. Staff are actively looking for funding to fund Phase 2 of updates.

Some new projects that were mentioned during the meeting are listed below:

• Locust Drive Subdivision: informal inquiry, 46 new single-family homes on Locust Drive, east of Masonic Drive

• Redwood/Sonoma: multiple informal inquiries to establish industrial uses, including auto dealerships or warehousing/distribution

• Hillside Cemetery Residential: informal inquiry to redevelop 2201 Sacramento Street with new single-family homes

• Skyline Drive subdivision: informal inquiry to construct new single-family homes on 16 acres

• Marin Street Cohousing: informal inquiry to establish cohousing at 824 Marin Street

• El Dorado Multifamily Housing: informal inquiry to demolish existing duplex at 2313 El Dorado Street and to create 8 new multifamily units

• Former Walmart: informal inquiry to reuse old building and establish new commercial along SR-29, conceptual application expected soon

• New large winery facility: informal inquiry, seeking large 10-12+ acre sites

• La Quinta Inn: preliminary conceptual review application for a 96-room hotel at 5190 Sonoma Boulevard, currently searching for an environmental consultant

• Solano Ranch: preliminary review application for 206-300 multifamily units, 27,000 square feet of retail, a gas station, and a hotel north of Columbus Parkway and Admiral Callaghan Drive

• ???: 300-900 multifamily units located between Solano Ranch and I-80

• Hiddenbrooke Mixed-Use: informal inquiry for a mixed-use project on a hilltop in Hiddenbrooke, including low-income housing, retail, a hotel, high-income housing, and artists’ quarters (potential live/work units)

• 148 Lincoln: informal inquiry to create 21 townhomes and a drive-thru restaurant at the former bowling alley

• Vallejo Marine Terminal: collaboration with CSU Maritime at the Sperry-Mills site, conceptual application expected soon

Basically, there’s some exciting things happening in Vallejo when it comes to planning and economic development.

As always, you can watch the full City Council meeting here.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on any new developments en el futuro!

City of Vallejo - City Council Agenda 2020-07-21

San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission - Design Review Board Agenda 2020-06-08