Planning Commission Staff Report
Report Prepared by: Francisco Mendoza-Gonzalez, Senior Planner, Development Services Department
Title
SUBJECT: Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1324 (“Bellevue Ranch North Village 29-A”) initiated by Benchmark Engineering, applicant for Bellevue Merced, LLC, property owner. This application involves the subdivision of approximately 27.35 acres into 140 single-family lots ranging in size generally between 5,000 square feet and 13,250 square feet. This property is generally located at the northwest corner of M Street (extension) and Conrad Street (future), within Planned Development (P-D) #42 with a Low Density Residential (LD) General Plan Designation; *PUBLIC HEARING*
ACTION: Approve/Disapprove/Modify
1) Environmental Review #22-41 (CEQA 15162 Findings and CEQA 15183 Exemption)
2) Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1324
SUMMARY
The subject site is located at the northwest corner of M Street (extension) and Conrad Street (future), as shown at Attachments B and C. The proposed subdivision would subdivide approximately 27.35 acres of land into 140 single-family lots (Attachment C). The lots would generally range in size between 5,000 square feet and 13,250 square feet. This site is part of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (northern portion as shown at Attachment D) and is commonly referred to as Village 29-A of Bellevue Ranch North.
RECOMMENDATION
Planning staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve Environmental Review #22-41 (CEQA Section 15162 Findings and 15183 Exemption) and Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1324 - “Bellevue Ranch North Village 29-A” (including the adoption of the Draft Resolution) subject to the conditions in Exhibit A and the findings/considerations in Exhibit B of Draft Resolution #4131 at Attachment A of Planning Commission Staff Report #24-254.
Body
DISCUSSION
Project Description
The subject site is located at the northwest corner of M Street (extension) and Conrad Street (future) as shown at Attachments B and C. The subdivision would have multiple vehicle access points including one from M Street, two from Conrad Street, and one from Denson Avenue. The single-family lots generally range in size between 5,000 square feet and 13,250 square feet. Frontage improvements would be required adjacent to the project site along roads such as Conrad Street, Denson Avenue, Farmland Avenue, and M Street.
The layout of the subdivision provides four interior east/west streets, two interior north/south streets that turn into cul-de-sacs on the northern portion of the subdivision. There would be a pocket park within Lot A between the proposed cul-de-sacs. There would be a masonry block wall around the perimeter of most of the subdivision on the back of the lots along M Street, Conrad Street, Denson Avenue, and Farmland Avenue. No lots would have direct driveway access along these streets.
A future bike path would be located within Lot “I” (not part of this project). This bike path would extend northwest out to several future pocket parks throughout neighborhood.
Additional single-family homes are planned in the area northwest of the subject site, shown on the northern portion of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan as Village 29-B (Attachment H). The same applicant submitted a vesting tentative subdivision map for Village 29-B. However, Village 29-B is not part of this project and is currently being processed as a separate vesting subdivision map (VTSM #1325).
Lot Details
The subject site is zoned Planned Development (P-D) #42 and has a General Plan designation of Low Density Residential (LD). The LD designation allows 2 to 6 dwelling units per acre. The proposed subdivision would have a density of approximately 5.09 dwelling units per acre, which is within the allowable range.
As mentioned above, the subdivision includes a mixture of lot sizes ranging from 5,000 square feet to 13,250 square feet (refer to the Tentative Map provided at Attachment C). The table below shows the mixture of lot sizes:
|
Number of Lots |
Lot Size (S.F) |
|
97 |
5,000 to 5,969 |
|
26 |
6,000 to 6,923 |
|
9 |
7,021 to 7,881 |
|
6 |
8,003 to 9,571 |
|
2 |
10,064 to 13,018 |
Surrounding uses as noted in Attachment B.
|
Surrounding Land |
Existing Use of Land |
City Zoning Designation |
City General Plan Land Use Designation |
|
North |
Undeveloped |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
Open Space - Park Recreation (OS-PK) |
|
South |
Residential/ Agriculture |
County |
High to Medium Density Residential (HMD) |
|
East |
Agriculture |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
Low/Medium Density Residential (LMD) |
|
West |
Agriculture |
County |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
Background
On May 15, 1995, the City Council approved the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (BRMDP) and certified the Bellevue Ranch Environmental Impact Report (SCH #92102055). The BRMDP provided a vision and standards for the development of a 1,385-acre area that would include commercial, transit, and low- and high-density residential uses (northern portion of plan shown at Attachment D). This master development plan was recently updated with General Plan Amendment #17-02, with approval from City Council in early 2024. This General Plan Amendment was requested in part due to several biological constraints that limited development throughout certain parts of the master plan area. Modifications were made to some land uses which impacted the off-site improvements that would be required throughout the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (BRMDP), such as street network and bridges. This amendment required updates to the City’s 2030 General Plan Environmental Impact Report which impacted the off-site requirements of the BRMDP.
Standards and Guiding Principles: As part of the approval of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan, Final Conditions of Approval and Final Guiding Principles were adopted that continue to apply to new developments within the Master Development Plan Area.
There are also a number of Mitigation Measures adopted as part of the Bellevue Ranch Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that would apply to all developments within the BRMDP area. This project would be required to comply with all previous approvals that are applicable to this project (Condition #5), including those that were altered due to General Plan Amendment #17-02 to the BRMDP.
Off-Site Infrastructure: The BRMDP includes a Minor Phasing Plan that lists off-site infrastructure (“Backbone Infrastructure”), such as bridges, roads and traffic signals to be installed with different phases. The BRMDP requires certain improvements to be done with each phase of development. The minor phasing plan is referred to as Table 6.1 (Attachment K). As mentioned above, this table was recently updated in January 2024 with the approval of General Plan Amendment #17-02 which changed some land use designations and circulation elements within the BRMDP. Table 6.1 defines which Village is responsible for certain “Backbone Infrastructure” improvements. Development of Village 29-A may require that certain Backbone Infrastructure that is not contiguous be installed.
Findings/Considerations
Please refer to Exhibit B of the Draft Planning Commission Resolution at Attachment A of Planning Commission Staff Report #24-254.
ATTACHMENTS
A) Draft Planning Commission Resolution
B) Location Map
C) Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map
D) Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (Northern Portion)
E) Proposed Development Standards (The City’s Low Density Residential (R-1-5) Standards
F) Section MMC 20.46.020 - Design Standards for Single-Family Dwellings and Mobile Homes
G) MMC 18.16.080 - Information Required (for Tentative Subdivision Maps)
H) TSM #1325 - Bellevue Ranch North Village 29-B (Pending Application to the Northeast)
I) Conceptual Utility Plan and Water Well Location
J) Comments from Utility Companies
K) BRMDP Table 6.1 (with Memo from General Plan Amendment #17-02)
L) Environmental Review - CEQA 15162 Findings
M) Environmental Review - CEQA 15183 Exemption
N) Presentation