Supervisors approve higher density in 76/Olive Hill rezone

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a rezone and general plan amendment for a 45.76-acre site on the north side of Olive Hill Road approximately 700 feet west of State Route 76.

The supervisors’ December 6 vote changes the regional category from Estate Development Area to Country Town, revises the land use designation from Estate Residential (17) to Residential (2), changes the density designator from 0.5 to 1.0 dwelling units per acre, reduces the minimum lot size designator from 2 acres to 0.5 acres, and changes the setback designator from “W” to “H.”

(The “W” setback designator requires a 60-foot front yard setback, a 25-foot interior side yard setback, a 35-foot exterior side yard setback, and a 25-foot rear setback. The “H” designator requires a 50-foot front yard setback, 10-foot interior side yard and rear setbacks, and a 35-foot exterior side yard setback.)

The general plan amendment also approves a revised tentative map which would subdivide the parcel into 37 residential lots and three open space lots. The site is owned by Charterstone LLC.

In September 2001 the county’s Planning and Environmental Review Board voted to approve a tentative map for the project which subdivided the property into 17 lots ranging in size between 2.0 and 4.9 acres. The site is adjacent to Bonsall’s existing Country Town area, and at the request of the Bonsall Sponsor Group the ownership proposed a revised tentative map which will change the location of the project’s access point from State Route 76 to Olive Hill Road. That change will provide better access for other civic, commercial, and higher-density uses located adjacent to the east within the existing Country Town area, which in turn would allow Caltrans to close off the road portion which currently provides access to those uses from State Route 76 and improve the operation of Highway 76 at that location.

Although the density has been reduced from the previous designator’s allowance, the reduction in the minimum lot size allows for clustering on the valley floor portion of the site while the steep slope areas on the west and north would be retained as open space. The steep slope open space lots would separate the half-acre lots from the existing lots of two-acre minimum size which are adjacent to the west and still within the Estate Development Area. Since the project will be connected to areas within the existing Country Town and since the site’s topography is similar to other areas of the Bonsall Country Town, the change in regional category was considered appropriate. The Bonsall Community Plan states that the Country Town area shall be confined to an area generally centered around the Mission Road, Olive Hill, and Highway 76 intersection.

The Estate Residential (17) designation calls for a density of one dwelling unit per every two or four acres while the Residential (2) designation carries a density of one dwelling unit per acre. The change in designation will provide a transitional land use between the civic, commercial, and higher-density uses within the existing Country Town and the large-lot estate residential neighborhoods to the west. The smaller lots will also allow for the creation of the larger open-space lots for the riparian and steep slope areas. The existing residential area to the east has a density of three dwelling units per acre.

On September 22, 2006, the county’s Planning Commission discussed concerns including preserve design, traffic, and land use compatibility before voting 4-2 to recommend approval of the general plan amendment and rezone. Commissioners Leon Brooks, Adam Day, Read Miller, and John Riess voted for the project while Michael Beck and David Kreitzer cast votes in opposition and Bryan Woods was absent.

A Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project was filed in August 2006 which identifies significant biological and traffic impacts but includes proposed mitigation such as dedication of open space easements over sensitive areas and constructing specified road improvements.