FCPG endorses Minor Use Permit for Gum Tree Lane preschool

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

An application for a Minor Use Permit has been filed with the county’s Department of Planning and Development Services to convert a single-family home in the 2100 block of Gum Tree Lane into a preschool. The Fallbrook Community Planning Group recommended approval of that permit during the planning group’s May 16 meeting.

The planning group vote was 11-0 with four members absent. The property totals 20.25 acres, although only approximately 3.7 acres would be used for the preschool. The school would be limited to 30 students.

Glenn Smith was 3 years old when his family moved to Gum Tree Lane in 1951. He left Fallbrook after graduating from Fallbrook High School in 1966 but returned to his childhood home in 2008.

“It’s important for me and my family to maintain it as a Fallbrook rural area,” Smith said.

When the adjacent 20.25-acre parcel was offered for sale, Smith purchased that property. “We are determined to keep our neighborhood as rural and park-like as possible,” he said.

A single-family home totaling approximately 3,000 square feet is on that 20.25-acre parcel, which has A70 Limited Agriculture zoning and the SR-1 (Semi-Rural - one unit per 1, 2, or 4 gross acres) land use designation. The preschool would have four full-time teachers and one administrator. The preschool would operate from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Minor Use Permit process includes a public hearing conducted by the county’s Zoning Administrator. The Zoning Administrator’s decision may be appealed to the county’s Planning Commission.