In Costa Contra County, California, a February charrette

In Costa Contra County, California, a February charrette produced a new vision for development around the Pleasant Hill BART commuter rail station. The design team included architects and town planners Lennertz Coyle & Associates, New Urbanism consultant Peter Katz, and transportation planners Fehr & Peers Associates. According to the San Francisco Chronicle controversy over what should be built near the station has long been so heated that some local politicians refer to the area as “Costra Contra’s Balkans.” The conceptual master plan from the charrette replaces part of the existing surface parking with structured parking lined on one side with four-story residential buildings. A tight massing of office buildings, residences, and mixed use buildings around a public plaza would complete the transformation of what is today an isolated platform in a landscape of parking lots, highrises, and freeways.