Update as of May 19, 2026: The City of Claremont received a “CEQA Statement of Reasons” report on behalf of the developers. As such, the City has extended the deadline to submit public comments on the potential CEQA exemption to July 20, 2026.
Earlier this spring, developers proposed significant changes to the previously approved plans for the Village South Development and claimed the new proposal may be exempt from environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (More details can be found on the City of Claremont website.)
In unanimous agreement, the Sustainable Claremont Board of Directors opposes the proposed South Village revision and urges the City to defend the original Village South Vision. Read our entire statement below.
The city is accepting public comment on the proposed CEQA exemption through May 22, 2026, and we encourage any residents who share our concerns to submit public comments to:
Sustainable Claremont Opposes Proposed South Village Revisions and Urges the City to Defend the Village South Vision
The Board of Sustainable Claremont strongly opposes the proposed revisions to Blocks C, D, E, and F of the South Village/Village South development. We do so because the proposed revisions would substantially undermine the community-supported vision for Village South as a walkable, mixed-use, transit-oriented, sustainable extension of the Claremont Village. That vision was developed over several years of public planning and that supported a diversity of housing types, active mobility, high-quality design, public spaces, mixed uses, local economic vitality, and reduced automobile dependence.
The revised proposal would move the project in the wrong direction by eliminating apartments, eliminating flat-style condominiums, eliminating ground-floor retail in Blocks C-F, and removing structured parking. It would also reduce the number of homes, narrow the range of housing options, replace public-facing active streets with garage-dominated private alleys, and weaken the project’s relationship to transit, the Village, surrounding neighborhoods, and the public realm.
Let us be clear. Sustainable Claremont supports development at Village South.
We support housing at Village South. We support density at Village South. We support a walkable, transit-oriented district at Village South. We support new residents, new businesses, adaptive reuse, public gathering spaces, and a southern extension of the Village.
But that is exactly why we oppose the proposed revisions.
The issue is not whether Village South should be developed. It should. The issue is whether the City will defend the community vision that made this development worth supporting.
We urge the City to:
1. Reject the applicant’s claim that the proposed revisions are exempt from further public, discretionary, and environmental review.
2. Require further CEQA review, including an amended or subsequent EIR if legally appropriate.
3. Require public hearings before the Planning Commission, Architectural
Commission, and City Council before any major revision is approved.
4. Defend the adopted Village South Specific Plan and the previously approved South Village project.
5. Preserve the core elements of the community vision: mixed use, transit orientation, housing diversity, smaller units, apartments, ownership opportunities, active public streets, pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, public gathering spaces, adaptive reuse, and human-scaled design.
6. Evaluate the impacts of the proposed revisions on housing production, affordability, vehicle trips, parking, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, public health, public space, local-serving retail, economic vitality, RHNA compliance, and consistency with adopted City plans.
7. Use all available planning, legal, and negotiating tools to bring the developer back to the table.
8. Make clear that Claremont residents and community organizations continue to support the original sustainability-centered Village South vision.
Claremont has very few opportunities to create a district like Village South. Once this land is built out in a lower-density, less mixed-use, more automobile-oriented form, the opportunity will be gone for future generations of residents.
We urge the City to not to let that happen.
Sustainable Claremont stands ready to work with the City, community partners, residents, businesses, housing advocates, active transportation advocates, civic organizations, and the developers to preserve the vision of Village South as a walkable, mixed-use, transit-oriented, sustainable extension of the Claremont Village.
Sincerely,
Sorrel Stielstra and Julie Medero
Co-Chairs, Sustainable Claremont
On Behalf of the Board of Sustainable Claremont