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RESOLUTION NO. 565-2024
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF BARSTOW RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE APPROVING DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH LEWIS LAND DEVELOPERS. LLC., FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING ON 36.06 ACRES OF REAL PROPERTY
LOCATED ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF RIMROCK ROAD AND HIGGINS ROAD
WHEREAS, the Lewis Land Developers, LLC, a developer, requests Planning Commission consideration of a proposed Development Agreement for the development of a 146- lot single family residential project (‘Project”); and
WHEREAS, under its constitutional police power, the City has the authority to regulate use of land and to approve development agreements for the development of a residential projects; and
WHEREAS, the City’s procedures for approving and reviewing development agreements are set forth in Chapter 19.46 of the Barstow Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, the City desires to enter into a Development Agreement with Lewis Land Developers, LLC to allow for the construction of housing in the City at the Site.
WHEREAS, the California Legislature has found that “California has a housing supply and affordability crisis of historic proportions”; and
WHEREAS, the site subject to the proposed Development Agreement consists of the approximately 36.06 acres on the southwest corner of Rimrock Road and Higgins Road as set forth in the legal description of the property, attached to the Development Agreement as its Exhibit A; and;
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission recommends the City Council find the adoption of this ordinance is in the best interest of the health, welfare, and safety of the public because it enables a single-family residential housing development project and brings muchneeded new housing to the City by extending the life of a previously approved single-family residential development project to allow for a new, well-capitalized developer to complete the project given favorable market conditions, and adjusts certain roadway improvements conditions to match the City’s Circulation Element and updated traffic improvements planning.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Planning Commission of the City of Barstow does hereby recommend approval the proposed Development Agreement between the City of Barstow and Lewis Land Developers, LLC, attached as “Exhibit A”, based on the following findings:
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1. The Development Agreement is consistent with the objectives, goals, and policies of the City’s General Plan.
2. The Development Agreement is compatible with the zoning and land use district in which the real property is located.
3. The Development Agreement, if approved, is in the best interest of the public health, safety, and general welfare of the City and its residents and constitutes a present exercise of the City’s police power, because the project aids the unmet single-family residential housing needs in the City and helps the City meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation requirements by adding an addition 146 singlefamily residential units.
4. The Development Agreement is consistent with the actions, goals, objectives, and policies of the City's General Plan and Zoning Regulations because the site is zoned Diverse Use, which allows single-family residential development and is within the maximum density allowed in the Diverse Use zone. The proposed Development Agreement extends the life of the project’s existing Vesting Tentative Map approval, which approved a project of 146 single-family residential units on approximately 36.06 acres. This proposed density of approximately 4 units per acre is less than the maximum allowed density in the Diverse Use zone per Barstow Municipal Code section
19.12.020. The proposed lots are also consistent with the minimum lot sizes identified in Chapter 19.10.040 of the Barstow Municipal Code, applicable to the site given it is zoned Diverse Use, per Barstow Municipal Code section 19.12.020. The proposed development agreement extends the vesting tentative tract map for an additional ten year period, plus a further five-year option, and modifies certain roadway improvements conditions to be consistent with the City’s Circulation Element and updated traffic improvements planning.
5. The City’s approval of this Development Agreement is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the ordinance approving the Development Agreement extending the life and modifying certain conditions for the Project is consistent with an Initial Study and previously certified Mitigated Negative Declaration in 2006 for the Tentative Tract Map, and the related, later amended Mitigated Negative Declaration approved on March 11, 2013. The project’s current scope is the same as the project for which the Mitigated Negative Declaration was previously approved. The proposed Development Agreement and related Planning Commission Resolution and City Council Ordinance do not require further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) as the proposed vesting tentative tract map extension and project conditions modifications approved by the Development Agreement are consistent with the project’s previously adopted Negative Declaration and Initial Study, which satisfied CEQA’s requirements.
6. This project is a permitted use within the Diverse Use zone under the BMC Chapter
19.12 and in accordance with the General Plan, Housing Element, and Zoning Map.
The project proposes 146 single-family units, and two infrastructure lots, across an 382444.2
approximately 36.06 acre site and will not create any environmental impacts beyond those impacts already analyzed under the existing Mitigated Negative Declaration.
Having made these findings, and finding the proposed Development Agreement consistent with the Barstow General Plan, Housing Element, and Municipal Code, the Planning Commission hereby recommends that the City Council approve an Ordinance approving the proposed development agreement attached as Exhibit A.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 9th day of December 2024.
DATED: ____________, 2024
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Juan Antonio DeLucas, Chair
ATTEST:
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Andrea Flores, City Clerk
I, Andrea Flores, City Clerk of the City of Barstow, hereby certify that the foregoing Planning Commission Resolution was duly passed at a regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the City of Barstow held on the 9th day of December 2024 by the following vote on roll call:
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
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Andrea Flores, City Clerk