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Vol. 28, No. 34
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August 21, 2026
‘A complete contempt for the city of Brentwood’ Planning Commission derides East County Service Center By Jake Menez Staff Writer
In what they referred to as a largely symbolic vote, the Brentwood Planning Commission voted 4-1 during their Aug. 18 meeting to direct city staff to look more closely at the ways the county-built East County Service Center does and does not align with the city’s General Plan. Commissioner Gerald Johnson was the dissenting vote. “We’re airing our grievances,” Chairperson Kristopher Brand said. “I’m not aware of any action that can take place about all this…I’m kind of hanging my head here going, ‘well this is where we’re at now.’” Although the project is located in Brentwood, city staff noted in discussions
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Planning Commission Vice Chairperson Rod Flohr called the county-funded East County Service Center being built off Technology Way an example of the county’s lack of care for its residents. earlier this year that the city has limited authority over the project because it is located on parcels owned by the county. According to the agenda packet for a Feb. 10 City Council meeting, government codes exempt
counties from all city planning and zoning requirements on county-owned land within a city. Counties developing their own property within a city are still subject to state standards, such as the Building Standards
How local schools are tackling A.I. usage by kids
Panel also rezones business park, hold zoning code work session
Correspondent
By Connor Robles Correspondent
Photo by Adobe Stock
Local schools are teaching students how to use artificial intelligence. to churn out résumés and cover letters, while employers in turn use A.I. to sift through job applications, according to a New York Times story. The Times article also dis-
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The Oakley Planning Commission unanimously denied an appeal from Martin Barajas, represented by Realtor Henry Catalan, to allow the expansion of Barajas’ home. It is located in a light industrial district at 5279 Neroly Road and currently in violation of Oakley Municipal Code section 9.1.1502(d)(2), which states that legal nonconforming residences in industrial areas like the house could not be enlarged or remod-
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see A.I. page 22
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cusses a high school student asking an A.I. chatbot to write an essay that the student eventually submits to a teacher, who then uses A.I. to
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Serving East County
see Brentwood page 22
Oakley planners deny appeal to modify house
By Sean Tongson About 77 percent of companies either use or have explored the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in their businesses whose workers are using a technology that allows machines and computers to do tasks that normally need human thinking and simulate human learning. These tasks include comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy. An estimated 56 percent of customer service companies use A.I. These figures from National University and Forbes magazine highlight the increased use of A.I. as exemplified with the increase of job seekers using A.I. chatbots, a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users through text or voice,
Law, compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and the Subdivision Map Act, if the county project is acting in a proprietary capacity. The East County Service Center is located on county-owned land off Technology Way near the intersection of Sand Creek Road and Brentwood Boulevard. Construction began on the project with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 31 and is expected to be completed by December 2027. The service center is intended to house County departments and provide a centralized service center for East County residents with 441 county employees, including about 150 relocated from other county facilities, according to the agenda packet for the Feb. 10 meeting. “When these doors open, the center will bring services closer to home and improve lives everywhere, every day,” District 3 Su-
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eled. The commission also rezoned a trio of properties – 6001, 6113, and 6115 Bridgehead Road – to light industrial from business park low zoning, in order to allow more businesses to take up residence in them. The panel also held a work session on updates to Oakley’s technical zoning code. Bridgehead Business Park rezone The three properties on Bridgehead Road were formerly a 1.3-acre island of business park low zoning in a sea of light industrial, according to Associate Planner Evan Gorman. 6001 Bridgehead Road is home to GM Marble and Granite in one tenant space, and the owner hopes to bring in an auto repair business for the other space on the property. 6113 see Oakley page 22
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