Planning Commission Staff Report
Report Prepared by: Francisco Mendoza-Gonzalez, Senior Planner, Development Services Department
Title
SUBJECT: Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1330 (“Bellevue Ranch West Village 18-22”) initiated by Benchmark Engineering, applicant for Baxter Ranches, LLC, and Stonefield Home, Inc., property owners. This application involves a request to subdivide approximately 35 acres into 215 single-family lots ranging in size from approximately 2,200 square feet to approximately 13,000 square feet. The subject site is generally located at the southwest corner of M Street and Bellevue Road, within Planned Development (P-D) #42, with a General Plan designation of Low to Medium Density Residential (LMD); *PUBLIC HEARING*
ACTION: Approve/Disapprove/Modify
1) Environmental Review #24-08 (CEQA 15162 Findings and CEQA 15183 Exemption)
2) Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1330
SUMMARY
The subject site is located at the southwest corner of M Street and Bellevue Road, as shown at Attachments B and C. The proposed subdivision would subdivide 35 acres of land into 215 single-family lots (Attachment C). The lots would generally range in size between 2,250 square feet and 13,000 square feet. This site is part of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan and is commonly referred to as portions of Villages 18 B, 21-A&B, and 22-A of Bellevue Ranch West (Attachment D).
RECOMMENDATION
Planning staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve Environmental Review #24-08 (CEQA Section 15162 Findings and 15183 Exemption) and Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1330 - “Bellevue Ranch West Village 18-22 ” (including the adoption of the Draft Resolution) subject to the conditions in Exhibit A and the findings/considerations in Exhibit B of Draft Resolution #4134 at Attachment A of Planning Commission Staff Report #24-349.
Body
DISCUSSION
Project Description
The subject site is located at the southwest corner of M Street and Bellevue Road as shown at Attachments B and C. The subdivision would have multiple vehicle access points including two from Stephanie Drive, and two from Freemark Avenue. The single-family lots would generally range in size between 2,250 square feet and 13,000 square feet, with the majority of the lots being between 5,000 square feet and 6,200 square feet. 60 small lots (between 2,200 square feet and 4,255 square feet) would be located near the northwest portion of the subdivision and have a “quad-plex” like design with each unit being on its own lot. The development standards and elevations for these affordable units are shown at Attachment F. The remainder of the 155 lots would be larger in size and have “patio home” style development as defined by the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (BRMDP) shown at Attachment E.
Southwest of Stephanie Drive and “Street G” are single-family homes (Villages 18-A and 17-A), with a park and school planned for this area. The land southeast of Freemark Avenue and M Circle has a General Plan designation for High to Medium Density Residential (Village 22B), which would allow the development of multi-family housing projects such as an apartment complex. East of the subdivision (within M Circle) is the North Transit Hub which provides a large parking lot for residents to park their vehicles (or bicycle) to utilize The Bus or CatTracks bus systems.
Lot Details
The subject site is zoned Planned Development (P-D) #42 and has a General Plan designation of Low to Medium Density Residential (LMD). The LMD designation in the Bellevue Ranch Master Plan Development area allows a density of 5.5 to 12 dwelling units per acre. The proposed subdivision would have a density of approximately 6.14 dwelling units per acre, which is within the allowable range.
As mentioned above, the subdivision includes a mixture of lot sizes ranging from 2,250 square feet to 13,000 square feet, with the majority of the lots being between 5,000 square feet and 6,200 square feet (refer to the Tentative Map provided at Attachment C).
Surrounding uses as noted in Attachment B.
|
Surrounding Land |
Existing Use of Land |
City Zoning Designation |
City General Plan Land Use Designation |
|
North |
Single Family Homes (across Bellevue Road) |
Merced County Jurisdiction |
Commercial Office (CO) |
|
South |
Undeveloped Land (across Freemark Avenue) |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
High to Medium Density Residential (HMD) |
|
East |
North Transit Hub |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
Open Space - Park Recreation (OS-PK) |
|
West |
Undeveloped Land (across Fahrens Creek) |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
Open Space - Park Recreation (OS-PK) |
Background
On May 15, 1995, the City Council approved the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan 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 (western 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, 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 I). 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 18-22 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 #24-349.
ATTACHMENTS
A) Draft Planning Commission Resolution
B) Location Map
C) Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map
D) Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (Western Portion)
E) Patio Home Standards from BRMDP
F) Elevations and Development Standards for Small Lots
G) Section MMC 20.46.020 - Design Standards for Single-Family Dwellings and Mobile Homes
H) MMC 18.16.080 - Information Required (for Tentative Subdivision Maps)
I) BRMDP Table 6.1 (with Memo from General Plan Amendment #17-02)
J) Response from Utility Companies
K) Environmental Review - CEQA 15162 Findings
L) Environmental Review - CEQA 15183 Exemption
M) Presentation