Home Brentwood Tonight: Brentwood to Discuss Ferro-Ronconi Project at 7:00 pm

Tonight: Brentwood to Discuss Ferro-Ronconi Project at 7:00 pm

by ECT

Tonight, a special public hearing for the Ferro-Ronconi project will be held at 7:00 pm which is a continuation of the June 11 Brentwood City Council meeting.  The project as proposed would be 160 lots on 42-acres.

An appeal was filed over concerns of additional noise, traffic, and density of the project after conditions that were originally in the project are now being potentially removed. Those near the project claim the conditions were in place to ensure safety and quality of life in the neighborhood.

Ferro-Ronconi Project

Here is the staff report which provides the project details. I have also provided a link to the staff report so you may view the conditions which have been removed.

On August 28, 2007, the City Council approved an allocation for the project site in accordance with the RGMP. The applicant was awarded points based on certain criteria in the program, each of which contributed to the approval of the RGMP allocation. These criteria were addressed in the conditions of approval placed upon both the Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map and the Design Review in order to ensure that the project would be completed in accordance with the RGMP allocation.

On October 22, 2007, KB Home submitted an application for the Ferro-Ronconi project, whichincluded a Rezone, Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map, and Design Review. On November 4, 2008, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the Rezone to the City Council, and approved the Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map and the Design Review. The City Council approved the Rezone at its January 13, 2009 meeting.

On April 27, 2010, the City Council directed staff – as part of the overall City Council Goals and Strategic Plan – to conduct a comprehensive review of the RGMP, including a possible focus on infrastructure development for attracting and supporting economic growth. On May 10, 2011 the City Council approved the suspension of the RGMP (see attached staff report and resolution). As noted in the City Council staff report, any project that has been approved but does not have a recorded final map would be able to submit an application to amend conditions related to the RGMP.

Land Use and Development Committee At the April 15, 2013 meeting, staff presented the Committee with a quarterly review of active projects. In the course of that review, the Ferro-Ronconi project was briefly discussed, including the request by Duc Development to remove certain conditions of approval related to the RGMP.

Given the nature of the request and the potential for other similar requests in the future, the Committee asked for the opportunity to review and discuss any project that includes a revision to conditions of approval related to the RGMP. So as not to delay the applicant, a special Committee meeting was held on April 30, 2013, to review and discuss the requested changes.

While the Committee did not make a formal recommendation, it did indicate general support for the applicant’s request.

 Surrounding Land Uses

  • North: Single Family Residential across McClarren Road
  • South: Single Family Residential across Balfour Road
  • East: Single Family Residential
  • West: Brentwood Elementary School and the City’s skate park and aquatics complex across  Griffith Lane

Detailed Project Description

The approved subdivision includes 160 lots on 42.34 acres resulting in an overall density of 3.78 units per acre. The lot sizes range from a minimum of 6,600 square feet to over 14,000 square feet, with the average being 7,430 square feet. The subdivision was designed to provide lot sizes that are comparable to the existing surrounding lots on the north and east boundaries.

The approved map also includes a 0.92-acre park. The project site is located at the northeast corner of Balfour Road and Griffith Lane, and is bounded on the north by McClarren Road. The subdivision will be accessed from three points, including a connection with McClarren Road, aligned with Nottingham Drive, an entrance along Balfour Road, and one from Griffith Lane. The Balfour Road access point will be right-in/right-out only.

On March 12, 2013, Duc Development submitted a request to remove specific RGMP-related conditions of approval that were included in the resolutions approving VTSM 9173 and DR 07-14. The Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider the request on May 7, 2013. After presentation of the staff report and public comments, and discussion by the Commission, a  motion was made to deny the request, which failed on a 2-3 vote. A second motion was then made to approve the request, which passed on a 3-2 vote.

At this time, the project site remains vacant. The final map has not yet been recorded and grading and improvement plans have not been submitted for the City’s review. As a result of recent actions taken by the State to extend approved tentative subdivision maps, VTSM 9173 will expire on November 4, 2014, unless a final map is recorded prior to that date.

ANALYSIS

General Plan Consistency

The General Plan designates this 42.34-acre project site for Low Density Residential development, with a range of 1.1-5.0 dwelling units per acre. This project was approved with a density slightly above the mid-range, at 3.78 dwelling units per acre in accordance with the General Plan. This slightly higher density was not attributable to the previously approved RGMP allocation for the project, as there is no direct correlation between the density of a project and its RGMP allocation.

Zoning Consistency

As part of the approval of Rezone No. 07-08, Planned Development No. 33 was established in order to create the necessary standards for development of the 160 lot residential subdivision making the project consistent with the zoning classification.

Developer’s Request

On May 10, 2011, the City Council adopted a two-phase strategy for the RGMP. The first phase was to temporarily suspend the RGMP until the completion of a comprehensive General Plan update. The second phase was to consider developing a revised RGMP, which would replace the existing point-allocation system with a nexus study-based flat fee. The RGMP evaluated housing projects using 12 categories. When the Council voted to suspend the RGMP, 11 of these categories were determined to be otherwise regulated by various government policies and programs that had been established or updated since the original adoption of the RGMP. The remaining category, Jobs, was the one goal which was not covered by an existing policy or program and which the nexus study-based fee was intended to achieve with any revised RGMP.

The Council action also entailed considering any revised RGMP subsequent to adoption of the updated General Plan. Based upon this action, any new development application would not be subject to the existing RGMP and would be able to submit an application without receiving an RGMP allocation. All completed projects, as well as all existing projects with a recorded final map that have already complied with their development conditions, would not be affected. Any project that is currentlyin the review process or has not recorded its first final map would be able to submit an application to amend its RGMP development conditions. The Ferro-Ronconi project falls into this last category.

Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map No. 9173

Duc Development’s application and the Planning Commission’s approval modified conditions for both the VTSM and the DR for the Ferro Ronconi project. Specifically, the following map conditions were eliminated or modified, as follows: Item D1 Staff Report

Conclusion

The removal of the RGMP conditions is consistent with prior City actions and is based on the suspension of the RGMP by the City Council. Staff recommends that the appeal not be upheld, as there is no connection to the removal of these conditions and the granting of any increased density, particularly since the developer intends to build off-site improvements in excess of the RGMP conditions (i.e., the wall on the south side of Balfour Road), which is in accordance with the City’s General Plan for granting of increased density over the mid-range.

FISCAL IMPACT

The applicant paid the required $306 appeal fee. In addition, removal of the RGMP conditions would result in a loss of non-reimbursable improvements totaling $1,914,000.

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