Vacant Kmart, Shopping Center Weighed As Sites For New Housing

CONCORD, CA — Concord is on the verge of being transformed by state demands for higher-density housing, as the city advances a plan aimed at meeting fair-housing requirements and expanding boundaries to fit all those new homes.

The City Council reviewed a proposal on Tuesday to rezone at least 20 acres of land that would make way for more than 1,000 new homes.

The effort follows similar zoning changes adopted in recent years by cities — from small towns like Healdsburg in the North Bay to San Francisco and Berkeley — California laws increasingly push municipalities to rethink how land is used.

The rezoning stems from a 2018 state law that requires cities to pursue fair housing by addressing segregation and expanding housing opportunities in moderate- and high-resource areas. Concord began the process in 2021 while developing its most recent blueprint for meeting the city's housing needs, according to reports prepared by the Building Department.

The Planning Commission voted 3–1 in November to recommend the zoning changes.

As part of that process, the city began looking five sites across the city, including a vacant Kmart on Clayton Road (part of the Clayton Faire Shopping Center), the Palm Lakes apartment complex, and two smaller properties near Kirker Pass Road. Together, the sites could accommodate roughly 1,000 housing units if fully built out.

Many of the locations are underused commercial properties where housing would fit with minimal risk of forcing out existing residents, according to staff reports. The Kmart side for example already allows for some residential development under existing zoning. The new rules would allow higher-density housing if property owners chose to pursue it. Buildings can remain as they are, and no demolition or displacement is required,

A city-commissioned fiscal analysis found that converting commercial land to housing would likely increase demand for city services, particularly police and public works, and could result in a drain on the city's general fund under current market conditions. Still, staff noted that fiscal impacts are only one consideration, pointing to the city’s obligation to meet state housing mandates to retain funding and local control over land-use decisions, according to staff reports.

Staff will present the necessary documents during the Feb. 24 Concord City Council meeting to execute the required zoning for five sites:

• Site 1, Kmart (471 potential housing units)
• Site 2, Clayton Faire (248 potential housing units)
• Site 8, Palm Lakes (165 potential housing units (reduced from the 300 recommended by staff and the Planning Commission))
• Site 16, 5390 Myrtle (60 potential housing units, estimated by staff based on existing onsite constraints)
• Site 18, 1539 Kirker Pass (56 potential housing units)