ANTIOCH – Two projects connected to a developer involved in an alleged corruption scheme will be back before the Antioch City Council on Tuesday following a September meeting where some councilmembers voiced frustration over state housing laws and nearly rejected the proposals.

On Tuesday, the council is expected to revisit discussions on Slatten Ranch Townhomes and Wildflower Station Townhomes 2, multifamily residential projects proposed by DeNova Homes Inc.

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Councilmembers voiced frustration with the projects in September over state housing laws they felt forced urban cities like Antioch to accept projects that undermine long-term economic development goals.

Some councilmembers and residents also felt there weren’t enough affordable units and expressed concerns that DeNova Homes had been linked to corruption charges.

In April, federal prosecutors charged the former owner and vice president of Contra Costa homebuilding company DeNova Homes with corruption after the father-and-son duo allegedly offered cash in a coffee thermos to an unidentified Antioch councilmember in an effort to get a vote in favor of a different housing development, known as the Aviano project.

The unidentified councilmember reported the alleged request to the FBI.

Councilmember Donald Freitas previously proposed it would be better to hold off on a decision on the two projects so that staff had the opportunity to review the matter further.

“People elect us to make decisions that benefit the community. I don’t think these two projects benefit the community, as a matter of fact,” said Freitas. “I think it’s a detriment because we are losing very valuable property for economic development, and we have to look at long-term perspectives, not short-term perspectives.”

Mayor Ron Bernal said the City Council was getting a “taste of Senate Bill 330,” a law that prohibits local jurisdictions from delaying new housing through some barriers in land use and zoning laws.

“I think this is our first opportunity to actually see the effects of SB330 and AB 130 and the Housing Accountability Act and all these other legislations that’s been passed over time that now have us in a position where we are more or less mandated to approve projects, whether we like them or not,” said Bernal.

Denova Homes had submitted both projects under SB 330.

Dan Golub, a lawyer representing DeNova Homes, told the council in September that the city had no legal standing to reject the projects.

“It is an unambiguous violation of the Housing Accountability Act for the City Council to disapprove a residential development project, which this is, except on the basis of extremely narrow findings, and there is no basis on the record on which such findings could be made,” said Golub.

Golub said the project fully conforms to Antioch’s General Plan, zoning standards, and housing element requirements and that the city had already confirmed its compliance.

He also added that the projects are exempted from the California Environmental Quality Act.

According to a staff report, the planning commission recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the vesting tentative subdivision map and design reviews for both projects.

The report also touched on the consequences for local governments that reject housing projects in violation of the Housing Accountability Act, adding that it “can be severe.”

It also notes that, under the Housing Accountability Act, housing projects meeting all objective standards can be denied only if the local government provides written evidence of a specific public health or safety risk and no feasible mitigation is possible.

The Slatten Ranch project, located north of Wicklow Way and east of Slatten Ranch Road, would produce 129 townhome units on a 6.41-acre property.

According to the city, the project site is located within the East Lone Tree Specific Plan and is designated as the East Lone Tree Specific Plan Focus Area in Antioch’s General Plan.

The East Lone Tree Specific Plan, adopted by the Antioch City Council in 1996, is an area that allows for a mixed use of employment, residential uses, commercial, public uses, parks, and open spaces.

But in 2023, the East Lone Tree Specific Plan was amended, and the project site was rezoned to allow for more multifamily housing.

Wildflower Station Townhomes 2 is part of a larger 23-acre Wildflower Station project, which includes single-family homes, condominiums, and a planned commercial development entitled in 2018.

Although the single-family homes and townhomes have been constructed, the commercial land along Hillcrest Avenue, where the new project would be built, was left undeveloped.