A proposed 182-unit apartment complex alongside Highway 4 in Martinez was generally well-received by planning commissioners and public commenters Monday, but concerns about parking remain.
At a Tuesday night workshop, the Martinez Planning Commission got a fresh look at the Amare Apartment Homes project, planned for a 6-acre parcel along Arnold Drive east of Glacier Drive.
It had first been proposed as 174 market-rate units in March 2016 but later revised by developer The Austin Group LLC. The revised project has 182 units, nine of them “below market rate.” It would consist of six three-story buildings and one four-story building.
While the buildings and designs themselves got generally good reviews from commissioners and Zoom meeting viewers, all commissioners and many spectators had concerns about the planned number of parking spaces — 265 — not being enough.
“I don’t know anyone without a car, and I don’t know any couples that don’t have two cars,” resident Danielle Napoleon told the planning commissioners.
Other speakers said they fear the streets of a nearby housing tract would become clogged with parked cars owned by apartment residents or visitors.
Several public commenters said parking is challenging at a commercial strip built several years ago by The Austin Group on Arnold Drive, and said they don’t want a repeat of that at the Amare site.
Planning Commissioner Susan Gustofson said using public transit doesn’t appear to be a practical option at that site.
The nearest County Connection bus stop is about a quarter-mile to the west of the project site, and there aren’t sidewalks stretching the entire way between the two points. “Just because it’s within (a quarter mile) of a bus stop doesn’t mean doesn’t mean it’s useful to the residents there,” Gustofson said.
Commissioners said they will continue to press the parking and transit issues, including access to BART, to increase the Amare project’s transit-friendliness. But they and others said they welcome the prospect of more housing units in Martinez, including the below-market-rate units.
“I have so many patients whose lives would be changed if I could provide them a home,” Dr. Adam Buck, a physician at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center hospital in Martinez, told the commissioners. “If you don’t like homelessness, the best way to fix that is to build homes.”
A.) It will be approved.
B.) Martinez loves street parking, they have issues at 740 Shell Ave which was built around 10 years ago and also Northpark Ct with cars all over the streets.
Let’s not forget about the Starbucks / Chipotle / Panda Express nightmare parking lot.
Anon
When I worked @ county HSD Finance some of us swore that the Starbucks/Dollar Tree parking lot Was designed by “J: Ward occupants
Due to Covid, nobody wants to use public transit. I don’t know why our elected officials don’t understand that. Also drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment are the way to fix homelessness, not building more houses.
Think this is a good idea? Take a drive near that massive apartment complex on Fig Tree and surrounding single family home neighborhoods and feast your eyes on the overflow of cars from the complex fighting to find street parking each day. To make matters even worse take inventory of all the fast food bags, coffee drink/ soda cups set on the ground outside their cars left with no regard.
I am also curious with only nine below market rate apartments in this large proposed complex how would that help the housing crisis for lower income families? Keep in mind that below market rates many times are still not very affordable.
How could I forget about the Fig tree nightmare.
The Apartment should be required to clean up the street.
I would bet more then a buck that the esteemed Dr. doesn’t live anywhere near the proposed, site. Virtue signaling never stops with some types. If he cares so much about the homeless, then let them move into his neighborhood, or better yet, into his house. The same goes for the planning commissioners Zoom meetings are government fig leafs, and mean nothing to me.
“Dr. Adam Buck, a physician at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center hospital in Martinez, told the commissioners:
If you don’t like homelessness, the best way to fix that is to build homes.”
That statement made me cringe. So scary. Logic? What logic?
I doubt, “Dr Adam Buck” even lives in Martinez……the City needs to listen to actual Residents and Stop listening to these tearjerkers.
BTW, who said Adam Buck’s patients are even financially equipped to move into those apartments???
Just pack ’em in. There will be no more open space in Martinez. One of the nicest things about living there will soon be gone.
rats commit more crimes and therefor are easier to control plus all the new tax money to spend on cell phones for the homeless!!
Get out of martinez in the next few years. Bay Area completely if you are able. Soon martinez will be another richmond or oakland, it is already well on its way with the transplants from oakland pushing for exactly what they left oakland for and getting their way.
It’s sad martinez is crumbling but that’s the story of the entire Bay Area. Good citizens need to get out..this area and now the state is not a place to raise a family
That looks awful. Why would anyone want that?
Dr. Adam Buck is so uninformed.
You don’t fix homelessness by building them a house. What a simplistic & naive spin on a dense topic. The best way to fix homelessness is to provide them psych meds. & monitor their daily intake. Most homeless are mentally ill so they are unable to manage a house unless they are mentally stabilized.
Psych meds treatment is complex since 1 med doesn’t work for all & it’s a trial & error process to see which med works & at which dosage. This doctor has ulterior plans. We need to know what they are.
I can’t believe people even consider a bus stop as a transit option right now in Contra Costa County. The County Connection buses, while I appreciate that they exist, are basically useless. Most CCCTA bus lines run LESS THAN HOURLY, and the buses are rarely within 10 minutes of their scheduled time at the stop. Having to plan a commute or any kind of trip around a bus that runs every 70 minutes is absolutely asinine.
182 units and most require 2 incomes so 2 cars, therefore 2 parking spaces for each unit.
That would be 364 parking spaces.
Then there are vistors so each unit needs 1 parking space dedicated for visitors. Granted not every household has a visitor so I’l reduce it down to 75% of the units get a visitor parking space.
That’s 501 parking spaces needed.
265 parking spaces is woefully inadequate.
@DVC Student~
You have shown excellent deductive reasoning! It’s a shame city councils and planning commissioners don’t see the big picture–developers grossly taking advantage of density bonus and parking concessions while only offering a meager amount of below market units…and, no CEQA requirements if it is an infill project–happening right now in Clayton with Olivia 3 tower, 3 story apartments, 81 units approved with only 117 parking spaces, right in down town!
Not every household (living in an apartment) has two vehicles. Some residents don’t own a vehicle. This is an apartment building in a middle class suburb. I’ve never seen an apartment building that has one visitor parking space per unit. Get real. 265 parking spaces for 182 units is enough parking. That’s 83 extra spaces. Most apartment buildings have ONE space per unit.
One visitor spot per apartment is insane. I live in a small 12 unit complex. We have 4 visitor spots that are never occupied for very long.
Martinez keeps sinking. Traffic, no parking, and over crowded schools. Downtown is a mess. It is such a shame. It has potential but if they keep building there is no turning back.
While most people are thoroughly distracted and preoccupied by the pandemic, it’s amazing the high-density housing all these entities are ushering through without opposition. These decisions should be put on hold until things return to “normal.” It really seems like they are taking unfair advantage of the situation to further an unpopular cause.
I see what they have done here: Created a list of all the cities priorities, and addressed the least important one first……….
Bad idea, bad location.
1. The local elementary school in this area is already impacted. Where will children who live here go to school?
2. Inadequate parking.
3. We are already being requested to cut back on water use. Where is the water coming from to service these residences?
4. We just endured rolling blackouts because our power grid could not keep up with demand. Where is this extra electricity coming from?
5. Arnold Road is already impacted during rush hour secondary to Highway 4 commuters who use this as a way to bypass this portion of 4. There is no way Arnold can support the added number of cars that will be added because of this apartment.
Martinez leadership, please listen to the residents who will be impacted by this project!
Developers = profit
The rest of us = screwed over
182 units and 9 “below market rate” ? Wow! The generosity of the developers! So a market rate for a one bedroom will be like 1900$
Freaking crooks.
These are the types of swindlers that should be highly taxed and frowned upon. They are like locust.
Monica,
Thank you for the information. Email sent!
Thank you Monica- I’m writing right now!
As has already been stated, interesting how they try to push all these things through while the City council meetings are online only and City hall is closed.
Wow, I really hoped Martinez wouldn’t become the next Antioch. Martinez already had enough of the government housing at their Sentinel dr and also Shell and Terrace way. Several apartment complexes have also been converted already.
Residents WHO PAY TAXES need to speak up, don’t let out of towners destroy your city.