[0:58] Okay, we'll call the meeting to order 5.30, right? All right. And Kelly, can you call roll please?

[1:06] Yes. Commissioner Debra Polly.

[1:08] Good evening.

[1:10] Commissioner Fershet.

[1:11] Here.

[1:12] Commissioner Hewne.

[1:13] Here.

[1:14] Commissioner Rae Mon.

[1:16] Here.

[1:16] Commissioner Stoffes.

[1:17] Here.

[1:18] Vice Chair Stevenson.

[1:20] Here.

[1:20] And Chair Mulden.

[1:21] Here.

[1:22] Thank you, Kelly. Can you announce the meeting's video recording, please?

[1:25] Tonight's meeting will be recorded via Zoom and can be viewed on the city's

[1:29] website within 48 hours of adjournment of this meeting.

[1:33] Thank you.

[1:34] And Commissioner DeFraud is going to lead us in the pledge tonight.

[1:37] All

[2:00] right.

[2:00] Thank you.

[2:02] Members of the public wishing to address the Planning Commission for any

[2:04] matter not on the agenda may do so at this time by completing and

[2:07] submitting a speaker card to the Planning Commission clerk.

[2:10] For items on the agenda speakers will be called by the chair at the

[2:12] point on the agenda when the item will be heard.

[2:14] Speakers are encouraged to keep comments to three minutes or less

[2:16] and to state name and community of residence.

[2:19] Under the provisions of the California government code, the planning commission is prohibited

[2:21] from discussing or taking immediate action on any item not on the agenda unless it can

[2:26] be demonstrated to be of an emergency nature, or the need to take immediate action arose

[2:29] after the posting of the agenda.

[2:32] And Kelly, can you announce public comment?

[2:34] Yes.

[2:34] I have one speaker card, William Bernal.

[2:38] You may go to the podium.

[2:40] Good.

[2:53] Can I pass these out to each one of your flying gentlemen and flying ladies here

[2:57] tonight. I'm a candidate for Los Rios. How many copies do you have, sir? How many copies, sir,

[3:06] do you have? Okay, we'll take some and we'll have to put some at the back of the room so whenever

[3:11] you bring something that has to be accessible to the public as well. So we can help you do that.

[3:15] Yep. Right now, I'll take them back there. I admire Rancho Cordova. They basically carved

[3:24] themselves out of Sacramento once they realized they had a financial base and taxes that was

[3:29] going to support a city. I always just happened to be two blocks away when that petition came by

[3:36] our house so we are now in unincorporated Sacramento. Today as a candidate for the Los

[3:45] Rios Community College Board of Trustees, Area 6, I'm inspired by the same pioneering spirit

[3:52] the shape Rancho Cordova. Rancho Cordova was built by dreamers and doers who believed in

[4:01] the power of community. The city's recent transportation improvements are just one area

[4:08] that reflects the power of community action. I'm committed to ensure that our local colleges

[4:14] reflect the diversity of our communities so that through the concerted effort of community

[4:22] action. We create opportunities for and provide services to everyone across the

[4:30] board.

[4:32] In the Rancho Cordova spirit of community, I want to listen and

[4:36] collaborate creatively to build the future of our local colleges. I'm committed

[4:43] to bring a detail-orientated, transparent leadership, incorporating my

[4:50] experience in both the field, the field of building commercial structures with the tightest

[4:57] budgets, and the boardroom finding waste and misapplication in multi-million dollar projects.

[5:05] My goal is to ensure that Los Rios Community College Board of Trustees is dedicated to serving

[5:12] the best interests of the students who attend colleges, parents who find their children and

[5:17] teachers who dedicate their lives to instruction.

[5:22] It's time for us to put our heads together to come up with creative solutions that will

[5:27] move our colleges toward higher levels of achievements, more open doors for our students

[5:36] and address the social, economic, and fiscal issues students are increasingly facing.

[5:44] Only then can we empower future leaders to navigate tomorrow's obstacles.

[5:51] My whole focus is that we can't be planning for this year's fiscal budget.

[5:57] We need to be planning for 2003 and 2004 educational needs.

[6:04] As you can see, AI and advanced technologies are multiplying by the day, and we're seeing

[6:13] the horrors and the realities of it.

[6:16] So I'm putting my hat in the ring, and I have two seconds left, I guess.

[6:22] Thank you very much for listening to me, considering me as a candidate, and helping

[6:27] support me to win because my opponent is an incumbent so it's tough for a new

[6:37] runner to come up and win. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you.

[6:53] And any

[6:54] additional further public comment? No, I have no additional speaker cards. Okay,

[6:58] thank you. We'll move on to item four. Consent calendar items, consistent

[7:04] matter is deemed routine and non-controversial by staff, unless a member of the Planning Commission wishes to pull an item for individual consideration, all items will be approved by one motion.

[7:12] Are there any items Planning Commission wishes to pull from the Consent Calendar?

[7:19] And Kelly, do we have any public comment related to the Consent Calendar?

[7:25] I have no speaker cards for our Consent Calendar.

[7:28] Okay, thank you. We'll go ahead and close public comment.

[7:30] May I have a motion to approve the Consent Calendar?

[7:32] So moved.

[7:33] I second that.

[7:34] Thank you.

[7:38] Commissioner Debra Pauley?

[7:40] Yes.

[7:40] Commissioner Forchette.

[7:41] Aye.

[7:42] Commissioner Hewne.

[7:43] Aye.

[7:44] Commissioner Ramon.

[7:45] Aye.

[7:45] Commissioner Stoss.

[7:47] Aye.

[7:47] Vice Chair Stevenson.

[7:49] Aye.

[7:49] And Chair Molden.

[7:50] Yes.

[7:51] Motion passes with a 7-0 vote.

[7:53] Thank you.

[7:54] And we have no consent public hearing items, so we'll move on to item 6.1.

[8:01] And Kelly, will you announce the subject, please?

[8:03] Yes.

[8:03] Item 6.1, Subject Douglas 103, Major Design Review, Project Number PLND-0426-0158, Exempt

[8:17] Pursuant to Section 15182, Residential Projects Pursuant to a Specific Plan of the California

[8:25] Environmental Quality Act CEQA Guidelines, Located south of Douglas Road, west of Cypress

[8:32] Grove Drive in approximately 145 feet east of Borderlands Drive, APN, a portion of 067-0040-026-0000.

[8:48] Thank you. And Chance, do you have a staff report for us?

[8:52] I do.

[9:02] Thank you, Kelly. Good evening, Chair and Commissioners. Glad to see you for the second

[9:07] time this month. Yeah, Chance Finley with the city's planning division. I'll be presenting the

[9:14] Douglas 103 major designer view for single-family detached lots. All right, let's hop into it.

[9:23] So, yeah, the applicant is requesting a major designer view for 998 single-family detached

[9:33] homes. The project is divided into three different collections including

[9:39] chartreuse, sage, and clover. Across those three collections there are ten floor

[9:45] plans ranging from approximately 1,700 to 3,200 square feet. The project

[9:52] includes both one and two-story homes and four architectural styles including

[9:56] including Spanish, Ranch, Prairie, and Farmer House.

[10:02] For the project location, as shown in the green areas up here, Douglas 103 is located

[10:09] south of Douglas Road, west of Cypress Grove Drive, and east of Borderlands Drive.

[10:14] The project is part of the larger residential development occurring within and around the

[10:20] Sunridge Pacific Plan and is located to the north of Grant Line 208 and Grant Line

[10:26] 220 and south of the preserve, which are also Linnar communities that have recently been

[10:33] built or are in the process of getting built.

[10:37] The site will also be divided by the future of Air Conos Boulevard.

[10:41] You can see it going through the mill there.

[10:47] For general plan and zoning consistency, the project is located within the Sunridge

[10:51] specific plan and is designated for RD5 and RD10 residential developments, which

[10:58] which is consistent with the type of development contemplated by the specific plan.

[11:03] The subdivision and associated development standards were previously established through

[11:08] the applicable approvals, including the tentative map.

[11:12] And tonight's measure design review is focused primarily on the design of the homes that

[11:16] are going to be going there.

[11:21] So as I mentioned, this site is organized into three product collections that are

[11:25] shown here.

[11:26] We have chartreuse on the right there in blue that includes four plans on approximately 40

[11:38] by 90 foot lots with homes ranging from approximately 1,700 to 2,400 square feet.

[11:45] Sage includes three plans on approximately 45 by 90 foot lots ranging from approximately

[11:53] 2,000 to 2,400 square feet, that's going to be the one green down there to the south.

[12:00] And Clover is the largest of the lots and that's going to be 65 by 110 foot lots.

[12:07] And it includes three plans ranging from approximately 2,500 to 3,200 square feet.

[12:14] This is one that also includes a single story or plan.

[12:18] So, getting into the design of the homes, staff focus much of our view and worked with

[12:26] the applicant on architectural variety and ensuring that the publicly visible elevations

[12:33] have plenty of articulation.

[12:36] The project provides multiple styles, colors, and materials, and we've also added requirements

[12:41] for material returns and limitations on adjacent three car garages as you see in

[12:47] the Clover community.

[12:51] Overall, staff believes that the combination

[12:54] of these elements provides an appropriate level

[12:56] of architectural variety and streetscape interest.

[13:02] There was also a preliminary landscape plan

[13:04] that was submitted for the three product collections,

[13:08] which include a variety of trees and shrubs

[13:11] and ground cover intended to complement the homes

[13:14] and provide additional visual interest

[13:15] along the street frontage.

[13:17] Staff also reviewed the proposed landscaping in relation to the relatively small lot sizes in Sage and Chartreuse

[13:25] to make sure that the proposed plantings are appropriate for the available space.

[13:35] For environmental review, the project would be exempt pursuant to Section 15182.

[13:41] That's going to be for your residential projects pursuant to a specific plan.

[13:45] Again, the Sunridge specific plan was previously evaluated through the environmental impact report that was previously certified.

[13:54] And Douglas 103 is consistent with the residential development that was contemplated during this EIR review. So therefore, it complies with 15182 and a sequel review is not required.

[14:11] So with that, staff is recommending that the planning commission determine the project exempt from CEQA per 15182 and adopt the resolution approving the major designer view for Douglas 103.

[14:23] Project number PLND-04266-0158 approval would be subject to the findings, project plans, and conditions of approval attached to this.

[14:36] And that concludes my presentation. I'm available and Afghan is also here from one hour.

[14:42] Great. Thank you chance.

[14:44] We'll go ahead and open the public hearing period and Kelly is there any public comment.

[14:49] I have no public or speaker cards for this item.

[14:52] Okay. Public hearing is now closed.

[14:56] Commission comments and questions.

[14:57] questions.

[15:04] I don't have anything.

[15:08] I had just one question, but I think going through the presentation I've

[15:12] figured it out, but I'm just going to read it because I wrote it down. With the TIDER

[15:17] side yard setbacks and short truce and sage, how did staff evaluate how those lots will

[15:22] function for residents, particularly for like access, utility, just because I was reading

[15:27] that there's like six feet between the two homes? Yeah, yes, good question. So just

[15:32] I just wanted to get a better understanding it wasn't as clear.

[15:36] Yeah, so these setbacks were approved about, I don't want to say like a decade ago, in the tentative map for this.

[15:46] So when we get a major design review like this where they're just going to be building a structure on top of these lots that already have standards approved for them.

[15:53] We're really just looking to make sure that they are going to be meeting the setbacks that were approved.

[15:59] I mean, they have already kind of inherited those setbacks that were approved a while ago.

[16:06] We do typically require a fit list, which is what the applicant has provided us, and

[16:12] it shows that at least one plan type can fit on each of those lots with enough access to

[16:18] go from the front to the back, which is where most of your open space activities

[16:22] can be happening.

[16:23] And I think it just wasn't, when I was going through, it wasn't as clear, so

[16:27] thank you.

[16:28] Yeah, I appreciate that of course

[16:31] No questions or comments here

[16:36] well

[16:37] there's always been the

[16:38] The one comment that keeps coming up and I noticed that hasn't really been addressed on this one is the length of the driveways

[16:46] I wasn't gonna say it. I know but it's a valid point

[16:50] And I just wonder why we don't push the house back two feet to get that little extra driveway that can support a work

[16:58] vehicle event a work van service truck, etc

[17:03] Regardless, that's a minor thing in the big picture.

[17:06] I reviewed everything and I don't see a problem with it.

[17:11] Just to add to that, there will be options.

[17:14] I mean, not every single house is going to be at exactly 19-foot driveways.

[17:18] I think I typically have a similar response.

[17:21] So hopefully you can bear with the similar response.

[17:24] But not every house is going to have a 19-foot driveway.

[17:27] There's going to be options for different size driveways.

[17:30] there's going to be different size lots. So if someone's got like a big truck and they want to buy

[17:35] one of the homes, typically they're going to have a selection that isn't just the 19 foot. So

[17:41] the buyer has the option to push it back, move things around a little bit?

[17:45] Well, they can buy a lot that has a home that's going to be set in a specific spot.

[17:49] Okay.

[17:50] So it's not always going to be at 19 foot exactly. That's just the minimum that the

[17:53] developer needs to meet for our standards. Thank you.

[18:06] Public comment period is closed, I apologize.

[18:11] Okay. It's my turn. I have a couple of small suggestions.

[18:18] Regarding the roof, I see they're not using tiles anymore.

[18:25] Is it because of cost-effective thing or is it?

[18:31] Basically, I see tiles have better quality and look also, tiles looks good.

[18:37] But it seems like Lennard decided to go with shingles.

[18:45] Is there a reason?

[18:46] I mean, can we ask?

[18:47] Oh, sure.

[18:48] Did you want to ask both questions at once, or – and I can call the applicant up.

[18:52] That's more of an applicant question.

[18:54] Okay.

[18:54] Yeah.

[18:56] If you – someone from Lennard can come up and answer that question.

[18:59] Good

[19:06] evening, Pierre Martinez with Linnar.

[19:09] It is a cost savings for Linnar as a builder.

[19:14] We transition to comp roofs.

[19:18] I think at the Preserver Project we had more historically gone with tile roofs, but we're

[19:25] trying to keep homes at a price point that buyers can get into, especially in this community

[19:31] with the majority of the home sites being in the sage and chartreuse smaller size, it's

[19:39] even more important to try to keep that cost level where entry level buyers and people looking

[19:44] for smaller homes can get in.

[19:47] Okay.

[19:48] Is it, how long is going to stay?

[19:50] I mean, tiles, I heard it's a life expectancy that on 50 years, something like that.

[19:56] I believe the comp roofs have a 30 year warranty.

[20:02] Okay.

[20:02] And

[20:06] one more thing I identified is the ceiling height within the home, first floor has nine

[20:13] feet and second floor has eight feet.

[20:17] That is typically what we've been doing.

[20:19] I don't recall off the top of my head what we're doing here, but on two-story homes that's

[20:25] typically what we do.

[20:26] Yeah, last four years I'm noticing it, Leonard building like that.

[20:30] Previously, I saw homes having 10 feet height for the floor, second floor as nine, nine and a half.

[20:37] Yeah, and that's typically reserved for kind of the higher end, larger homes.

[20:43] Again, it is part of cost savings.

[20:47] I don't recall specifically off the top of my head what these particular homes are, but 10 foot is not very common.

[20:55] and it's kind of a luxury in type home once you get over nine.

[21:02] Yeah, these ones are generally a nine foot

[21:04] on the bottom and eight foot on the top.

[21:06] Yeah, I saw one of the home, I mean,

[21:09] I feel like the cluster four week,

[21:13] I mean, somewhere I boxed it out in that home

[21:17] and it's eight feet.

[21:20] Yeah, I mean, I don't disagree,

[21:22] it can feel a little bit smaller when you get in,

[21:26] but I always truly believe there's a home for everybody, and so we try to, you know,

[21:32] design something for, you know, the buyer that we're expecting to be able to afford

[21:37] a particular home, you know, in a community, and so we're very cost-conscious with that.

[21:45] And we also have to be competitive with our competitors, so it's not,

[21:50] you know, really much different than our competitors.

[21:55] Okay, and while designing it, do you guys look for how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms

[22:01] you guys design?

[22:02] Is there a ratio you guys follow or do you guys have any?

[22:05] I mean, just generally when you look at a product line, let's say of four plans, we

[22:12] do think about, okay, this is going to be 1,500 to 2,200 square feet.

[22:19] And so we might start with three bedroom two bath and maybe then it's three bedroom two and a half bath

[22:24] And maybe four or three bedroom with an office. So, you know, you're trying to give the buyer a

[22:31] little something extra for the extra square footage that they're getting so yeah, there's a

[22:35] Thought process that we go through to make sure that you know, there's value for the buyer as they step up

[22:42] In home size. Yeah, because one of the home you guys have planned six bedroom three bath

[22:47] I mean, is that sufficient because five bedrooms in the second floor first floor has one bedroom and bath

[22:57] I don't know whether that is sufficient for five bedrooms to bath, right? Well, it's our job to sell them

[23:03] So when when our sales team says, you know, we have a market for something like this, you know, then we try to

[23:12] accommodate as we as we can, you know, and if it doesn't sell well, then we may not use that plan again.

[23:20] Interesting.

[23:24] Yeah, that's okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay, thank you. Thank you.

[23:32] You could ask him later.

[23:35] Do we have a motion on this item?

[23:41] I move to read it out.

[23:42] Oh gosh, I have to read it.

[23:44] Oh, gosh. Okay. Hold on. Okay.

[23:49] Just so you make the staff recommendation.

[23:51] Thank you. I move to, I make a motion to move for the staff recommendation.

[23:59] Determine that project. I'm going to read it. Determine the project exempt per section 15182 residential projects pursuant to a specific plan of the SEACA guidelines and adopt the resolution

[24:11] approving the major design review for Douglas 103.

[24:15] I'll second.

[24:18] Thank you.

[24:20] Commissioner Debra Pauley.

[24:25] Yes.

[24:26] Commissioner Forchette.

[24:27] Aye.

[24:28] Commissioner Hewne.

[24:29] Aye.

[24:30] Commissioner Ramon.

[24:31] Aye.

[24:32] Commissioner Stas.

[24:33] Aye.

[24:34] Vice Chair Stevenson.

[24:35] Aye.

[24:36] And Chair Maldon.

[24:37] Yes.

[24:37] Motion passes with a 7-0 vote.

[24:39] Thank you, Karen.

[24:42] All right. Item 7, Planning Commission comments, ideas, questions.

[24:47] Started this end?

[24:50] I don't have any.

[24:52] Well,

[24:59] I got to get staff credit for trying to make this September 30th meeting work,

[25:04] and I apologize that I'm just not going to be able to make it to that one.

[25:08] I'm a stickler for making meetings, but I apologize for that one.

[25:19] Well, back to school, so happy that that's going down.

[25:24] My daughter is at senior year in Cordova and then my son is in the seventh grade at Mitchell, so they are busy during the day now.

[25:34] So thank God for that and everything else is good.

[25:39] Hey, cheers to that. I also have a seventh grader and a freshman and a senior.

[25:42] So, yes, I'll just mention, I don't know if anyone saw the council meeting last night,

[25:48] but the city is looking to purchase two empty office buildings to put a community center

[25:55] in.

[25:56] So, if you get a chance to review that, that's an exciting thing that's coming.

[26:00] So, that's it for you.

[26:04] Nothing from me?

[26:08] I'd like to thank Commissioner Hewn for picking up the torch on the short drive

[26:14] Hopefully someday we will figure out a way to solve that problem.

[26:18] You drive down the street in my neighborhood, you see what an impact it really does have.

[26:24] Other than that, it's, I don't know what to do, two meetings in one month.

[26:29] That's kind of,

[26:34] oh, we now have 150 screaming kids

[26:40] active out at the mine shaft as we're getting ready for this year's rendition

[26:45] of Heartstoppers. Tickets will go on sale next month. Come on out and scream for a

[26:53] cause. It's quite a operation out there with all those kids.

[27:03] Well I'd like to be

[27:04] one to say I'm really happy all your kids are back to school because now I'm

[27:07] stuck in that traffic again. But no that's great it's always good to see

[27:12] the kids back. I would like to congratulate Elliot on his candidacy so it doesn't sound

[27:18] like he's going to run opposed. The main thing I want to say is this weekend was kind of

[27:23] an eye-opener for me. My son was in the hawkfire evacuation zone up in Reno and it just triggered

[27:30] for me that we all need to be prepared. So have your go boxes ready. Think about

[27:35] now what you really need to take in the event of an emergency. Luckily he's kind

[27:39] a young in his life and he didn't have a whole lot of stuff that was critical, but I know

[27:43] I have a lot. So just it really brought that to the forefront for me and I living here haven't

[27:48] been through the app going off like you're in the go and you're no go evacuate don't

[27:53] evacuate was a little stressful Saturday and Sunday for me, but all is well and everybody's

[27:58] healthy and safe. So just think about fire preparedness as we enter into the fall.

[28:03] That's all I have.

[28:04] Love it.

[28:05] Great safety tip.

[28:07] And Arlene, do you have your planning manager report for us?

[28:11] Yes.

[28:11] Nothing too major.

[28:12] Just a reminder, there's a Good Neighbor Day happening next month on the 17th at Countryside

[28:17] Park and also in October, October 14th in Gold Rush Park.

[28:22] So that'll be kind of, you'll see a community engagement out there along with city staff

[28:26] and other partner agencies.

[28:28] It's always a fun time.

[28:29] I enjoy doing it, especially the Halloween one is my favorite one.

[28:33] So, yeah, so hopefully we'll see some of the planning commissioners there.

[28:37] And then also we will be getting busy.

[28:39] So it just heads up to everybody.

[28:42] I know things are picking up on the development side.

[28:44] And so we will be, you know, getting busy.

[28:47] So yeah, again, if you have any questions, just please reach out.

[28:50] I am always accessible via text.

[28:52] I'm a massive texture as you've already figured out.

[28:56] But it's the best way to get ahold of me because I'm always in a meeting when we are another so so that's all here

[29:02] Thank you. Great. Thank you so much. All right with that. We'll adjourn at 5.58 tonight

[29:08] 14

August 26, 2026 Planning Commission Regular Meeting 5:30 PM

Transcript