Time extension granted for Fallbrook Oaks

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The County of San Diego has granted a time extension for the Fallbrook Oaks subdivision tentative map.

The time extension now allows until Dec. 7, 2022, to record a final map. A preliminary decision granting the time extension was approved Nov. 30 by county Department of Planning and Development services director Dahvia Lynch. The time extension was docketed for the Dec. 10 meeting of the county’s Planning Commission and, when no commissioner or member of the public requested a hearing, Lynch’s decision became final and immediate.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the Fallbrook Oaks subdivision in December 2011. Although the Planning Commission has the authority to approve a tentative map and a site plan, a portion of the 27.2-acre property at the northwest corner of Ranger Road and Reche Road had C36 general commercial zoning and any rezone must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. That C36 portion was changed to the A70 limited agricultural zoning which covers the rest of the property. The Planning Commission had voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the tentative map and site plan in October 2011.

The original tentative map subdivided the parcel into 18 lots ranging in gross size from 1.0 to 3.3 acres and having one-story and two-story residences. An administrative permit, which was also approved, allows for lot area averaging easements reducing the smallest lot size to 0.9 net acres. The map approved in 2011 also included 5.6 acres of permanent open space. The semi-rural residential land use designation allows for up to 24 dwelling units.

The environmental Mitigated Negative Declaration was circulated for public comment in fall 2009. The MND was circulated during a Level 2 drought, under which the Rainbow Municipal Water District will not provide new water service or turn on existing services which have been locked for more than a year, but the water district noted that a service letter would be provided if the drought response condition was decreased to Level 1 or lower or if substantial evidence was provided of an enforceable binding commitment that water demands would be offset prior to new water meters being provided.

The Rainbow Municipal Water District subsequently provided a service letter for both water and sanitation while service letters were also received from the North County Fire Protection District, the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, and the Fallbrook Union High School District.

A tentative map becomes a final map after all conditions of the tentative map, other than those for which permits cannot be issued until a final map is recorded, are fulfilled and all fees and deposits have been paid. The tentative map initially expired Dec. 7, 2012, although state legislation provided two automatic two-year extensions.

The actual building and grading permits must comply with current stormwater, drainage, and other environmental requirements, and changes to state stormwater standards led to an application for a revised tentative map in November 2015 and a request for a time extension was submitted in November 2016. If an application for a time extension is filed prior to the expiration the project is not in default if the extension is granted after the expiration date.

The revised tentative map converts one of the residential lots on the site’s eastern boundary into a remainder lot, reducing the number of residential lots from 18 to 17. Improvements to Ranger Road along that frontage which were part of the original approval will not be included in the revised requirements. The revisions also modify a lot line so that the driveway for one of the lots will not bisect another lot.

Other changes reflect updates to current requirements. The revised tentative map was provided to the Fallbrook Community Planning Group, although in January 2020 the planning group informed county staff that the change was not significant enough to warrant further review.