RESOLUTION NO. 2025-11
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES RECOMMENDING APPROVING THE VISTA LUCIA BLOCKS 1-8 TENTATIVE MAP (TM 2023-01) OF 796 BUILDING LOTS ACCOMODATING 1,247 UNITS AND 49 COMMON LOTS ON A PROJECT SITE OF 236.5 ACRES LOCATED EAST OF FANOE ROAD (MONTEREY COUNTY ASSESSOR PARCEL NO. 223-031-027 AND -024) WHEREAS, the adopted City of Gonzales 2010 General Plan designates certain lands for urban growth and development within areas designated by the General Plan; and WHEREAS, the City of Gonzales and the County of Monterey developed, adopted, and signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in 2014, incorporated herein by reference, to cooperate on common planning, growth, and development issues; and
WHEREAS, the MOA established planning principles for both parties to promote logical and orderly development, direct development away from the best agricultural lands, stay within the urban growth boundary established by the City’s General Plan and the MOA, and provide compact urban form development through the use of specific plans; and
WHEREAS, the subject property is located in unincorporated Monterey County generally east of Fanoe Road east of the current City limits, and consists of Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 223-031-024, 223-031- 025 and 223-031-027; and
WHEREAS, the City of Gonzales Planning Commission and City Council members held a joint duly noticed public workshop on November 12, 2024, to review the plan area and project history, past actions, project description, available documentation on the project, proposed actions, and to hear public testimony; and WHEREAS, on March 10th, 2025, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public hearing to consider a recommendation to the City Council for considering the Vista Lucia Blocks 1-8 Tentative Map (TM 2023-01), and considered the Staff Report and presentation and oral report for this item and all public testimony; and
WHEREAS, on September 2nd, 2025, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public hearing to consider the Planning Commission recommendation and consider the Staff Report and presentation and all public testimony and correspondence; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has complied with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and considered of the Final Environmental Impact Report for the City of Gonzales 2010 General Plan, the 2014 General Plan EIR Sphere of Influence Expansion Addendum and the City Council has reviewed and certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Vista Lucia Project; and WHEREAS, the principal findingsfor the City Council to approve the Vista Lucia Blocks 1-8 Tentative Subdivision Map are as follows:
1. The City Council finds that it is appropriate to request LAFCo reorganize boundaries (including Annexation) for the whole 771-acre project, including the 236.5-acre tentative map area, and that this action is consistent with the MOA by directing growth within the Urban Growth Boundary and away from the best agricultural lands, meeting “City-Centered” growth principles, preparing a Specific Plan that includes residential densities that ensure a compact urban form helping to preserve and buffer agricultural uses from premature conversion, and provide a substantial public benefit in public parks, open space, and the preservation of natural resources; and
2. The City Council finds and recognizes that a LAFCo approval of annexation of the subject property to the City is a prerequisite to implementation of the Vista Lucia Specific Plan and the effective date of the Tentative Subdivision Map; and
3. The City Council finds that the amendment to the City’s General Plan and adoption of the Vista Lucia Specific Plan is consistent with and facilitates the fulfillment of the goals, policies and objectives set forth in the City of Gonzales General Plan, as the plan area and subject properties are proposed for future development in the 2010 Gonzales General Plan; and
4. The City Council finds that the 236.5-acre tentative map provides for a phased approach to development of the property in a logical and orderly manner, and complies with LAFCo’s recently adopted phased annexation policy; and
5. The City Council further finds that, as conditioned, the recommended approval of this Tentative Subdivision Map will promote the general health, safety and welfare of the community; and that none of the following findings for denial under California Government Code Section 66474 apply:
a. The proposed map, and/or subdivision design or improvements are not consistent with the general plan or any applicable specific plan;
b. The site is not physically suitable for the type or proposed density of development; c. The design of the subdivision or the proposed improvements are likely to cause substantial environmental damage or substantially and avoidably injure fish or wildlife or their habitat;
d. The design of the subdivision or type of improvements is likely to cause serious public health or safety problems;
e. The design of the subdivision or the type of improvements will conflict with easements, acquired by the public at large for access through or use of property within the proposed subdivision. This finding may not be made if the review authority finds that alternate easements for access or use will be provided, and that they will be substantially equivalent to ones previously acquired by the public. This finding shall apply only to easements of record, or to easements established by judgement of a court of competent jurisdiction, and no authority is granted to the review authority to determine that the public at large has acquired easements of access through or use of property within the proposed subdivision; or
f. The discharge of sewage from the proposed subdivision into the community sewer system would result in violation of existing requirements prescribed by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Gonzales approves the Vista Lucia Blocks 1-8 Tentative Map, subject to conditions and LAFCo action to Reorganize/Annex the subject properties into the City of Gonzales as follows:
1. All of the recitals set forth above are true and correct to the best of the Planning Commission’s knowledge, and are incorporated herein by reference and made part of this resolution by this reference; and
2. That the City Council finds that it has been provided with and reviewed all evidence available in the administrative record to support the findings of project consideration, as well as the Staff Report, presentation by staff, written and oral testimony (collectively, the “Record of Proceedings”), and hereby provides notification that the Record of Proceedings is on file with the clerk of the City of Gonzales; and
3. The City Council finds it has reviewed and considered the Vista Lucia Project FEIR, the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, the CEQA Findings of Fact, including the Statement of Overriding Considerations, and the Project Findings, all of which is incorporated herein by reference; and
4. Based upon the City Council’s review of the evidence in the record, it finds that the statement of Overriding Considerations provides substantial evidence that the environmental risks of approving the Vista Lucia Blocks 1-8 Tentative Subdivision Map have been balanced against the benefits to the community; and
5. The City Council finds that, after reviewing the Record of Proceedings, findings supported by evidence in the record provide cause for recommending approval of the Vista Lucia Blocks 1-8 Tentative Subdivision Map subject to conditions and LAFCo actions to Reorganize/Annex the territory into the City of Gonzales; and
6. The City Council finds by adoption of this Resolution that they have recommended approval of the Vista Lucia Blocks 1-8 Tentative Map for the subject properties, illustrated on the map in Exhibit A, incorporated herein by reference, subject to compliance with the conditions of approval contained in Exhibit B attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, and further subject to LAFCo actions to Reorganize/Annex the territory to the City of Gonzales.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 2nd day of September 2025, by the City Council of the City of Gonzales, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
______________________________
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk
Exhibit A: Tentative Map
Exhibit B: Conditions of Approval
See the following link: https://gonzalesca.gov/node/673