LAFAYETTE — The environmental impact review of the city's draft downtown plan will proceed without an additional low-density alternative sought by homeowners groups.

That, however, doesn't mean parts of the alternative can't end up in the final plan, its formation guided largely by discussion of density and building heights.

The Planning Commission on Thursday opted not to include in the review either a blanket 25-foot downtown height limit or a separate downtown plan proposal by Lafayette residents Guy Atwood and Eliot Hudson.

While the city's study will include both a high-density proposal and a low-density alternative, staff felt the latter would still result in a higher density than leaving height limits as they are. They recommended adding an even lower-density option to ensure the review included the widest range of proposals possible.

But because an EIR measures impacts, proposals with a lower impact than those in the study can always be included later, said Planning Commissioner Jeanne Ateljevich.

Commissioner Mark Mitchell made the lone vote for including a fourth alternative.

Height and density limits have dominated the debate regarding Lafayette's proposed downtown plan. Homeowners groups worried about a "canyon effect" along Mt. Diablo Boulevard want the current height limited reduced from 35 feet to 25 feet in some areas to protect views of the hills.

Property owners and developers have said

The draft plan would indeed lower the height limit to 25 feet in some places, including along Mt. Diablo Boulevard. It also would allow buildings up to 42½ feet under certain conditions.

Under the Atwood/Hudson proposal, backed by the Lafayette Homeowners' Council, the conditions for building higher than 25 feet would be much more stringent than those in the draft plan.

Portions of that proposal still can make it into the final plan, Ateljevich said.

"What the Atwood plan proposed was just a subtraction from what we are studying, so its impacts will be less, and that's fine," she said. "The final project can have less impact than anything that we study — there's no problem with that."

But the community has expressed a desire for lower heights that seemingly has gone unheeded, Hudson said. The Planning Commission, he said, could have taken a big step to restore public trust by including his plan as an alternative. As it is, he believes it will be an "uphill battle" convincing the city to lower the height limit.

The Planning Commission is continuing to hold public hearings to discuss the draft downtown plan. For meeting times and locations, visit ci.lafayette.ca.us.

Reach Jonathan Morales at 925-943-8048.