SummerHill Project Opponents Gearing Up For a Fight

Opponents of the proposed SummerHill Homes development on the 410-acre Magee Ranch property are making it clear they aren’t going to back down without a fight.

Save Our Creek, a community group opposed to the development southwest of Diablo and Green Valley/McCauley roads, hosted a meeting Tuesday night at the Diablo Country Club to hear from an environmental attorney about how they could fight the project.

The group, formed by concerned residents in fall 2010, is trying to stop the development by San Ramon based SummerHill Homes.

The plan calls for 78 cluster and custom homes on 120 acres, the majority of which will average 3,000 to 4,000 square feet on 0.2-acre lots.

Twenty-five percent of the lots would include “casitas,” or in-law units, that could be rented, to satisfy affordable housing requirements.

Under plans filed with the Town, the remaining 290 acres would be dedicated open space.

A petition to stop the project started by Save Our Creek has 539 signatures.

The group says higher density development would negatively impact home values and community character; exacerbate already overcrowded roads and schools; and create a negative environmental impact, including flooding from nearby Green Valley Creek and loss of native animal habitat.

At the meeting, attended by more than 91 people, the group voted to establish a fund to hire San Francisco-based environmental law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, and other experts to represent their interests as the proposal moves through the planning process.

The draft environmental impact report is set to be completed in September, after which a series of public hearings will be held to allow Town decision makers and the community to consider and comment on the project.

Group organizers hope that members of the larger community, whom they say also will feel the negative effects of the development, should share their opposition to the project.

They are encouraging people to “do their due diligence” to learn about the proposal, and are asking for contributions to the fund to finance their opposition.

“Now is the time for Danville and Diablo residents to take action,” said Maryann Cella, a Save Our Creek spokesperson. 

“We encourage any and all Danville and Diablo residents who are opposed to this development to dig into their pockets to help us fight a development that will negatively impact the quality of our everyday lives as well as the beauty that surrounds us.”

For more information about Save our Creek, visit its website.

Information about the proposed project also can be found on SummerHill’s website and the Town of Danville’s project webpage.