Planning Commission approves proposed Citro map revisions

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The county’s Planning Commission approved revisions to the tentative subdivision map for the Citro development.

The Planning Commission voted 5-1 Dec. 10, with Thomas Hough in opposition and Yolanda Calvo absent, to approve the revised vesting tentative map along with an addendum to the project’s Environmental Impact Report.

“The scope of this revised map doesn’t have any expanded development footprint and would actually result in the removal of the requirement to build Pala Mesa Road as well as removal of improvements at Pankey Drive and Pankey Lane,” said county Department of Planning and Development Services project planning division chief Ashley Smith. “There would be no additional impacts related to this revised map.”

Citro was called Meadowood in January 2012 when the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the vesting tentative map, general plan and specific plan amendments, rezone, Major Use Permit, site plans, and Environmental Impact Report for the 384-acre development. The original approved map included 397 single-family homes, 447 multi-family homes, 13 acres for an elementary school which will be built by the Bonsall Unified School District, four acres of park land, 128 acres of biological open space, 47 acres of agricultural open space, 5.9 miles of trails, and a wastewater treatment plant.

In order to avoid impacts to sensitive environmental resources, a public park was relocated and the residential component is now expected to consist of 473 single-family and 352 multi-family homes while the public park size has increased to 9.1 acres with the trail length reduced to 5.6 acres. The Board of Supervisors must approve any zoning, general plan, or specific plan changes, but the PDS director may approve minor modifications to a tentative map and the Planning Commission has the authority to approve or modify a tentative map.

The original vesting tentative map required off-site road improvements and right of way dedication for Pankey Road, Pankey Place, and Pala Mesa Drive. Those road improvements would provide for emergency vehicle access and allow the North County Fire Protection District to meet the five-minute response time stipulated in the public safety element of the county's general plan. Pala Mesa Drive runs through the planned Campus Park West project, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2014.

Tri Pointe Homes is now the owner of the Meadowood/Citro land and Tri Pointe Homes and the North County Fire Protection District approved an updated agreement Aug. 10. The construction of Pala Mesa Drive was deleted while an interim design of Pankey Road and Pankey Place will connect to Pala Mesa Drive. An interim traffic signal will be installed at Old Highway 395 and Pala Mesa Drive near NCFPD Station 4, and signalized intersections along Old Highway 395 and State Route 76 will be upgraded.

Horse Ranch Creek Road will be upgraded to standards for a public boulevard with a raised median, and the new agreement calls for those to be constructed fully within 18 months. Tri Pointe Homes provided a focused traffic analysis showing that removing Pala Mesa Drive and the interim road designs for Pankey Place and Pankey Road will not result in a significant traffic impact.

A preliminary decision approving the changes had been issued Oct. 19 by Kathleen Flannery, who had been the acting PDS director until Dahvia Lynch was named as the PDS director. The approval was included as an informational item at the Oct. 29 Planning Commission meeting. Had no Planning Commission member or member of the public requested a hearing, Flannery's decision would have become final, but the Campus Park West ownership expressed concerns and the request for a hearing gave Pappas Investments time to review the details and to work with PDS staff to address the concerns.