Harmon Ranch Comments & Questions
Poway City Council Meeting
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Apr2,2024
• An NPR article today quoted Zillow per San Diego -"prospective households would have to earn more than $200,000 per year to afford a typical home". The expected price for HR -over $1M ■ California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) goals -"make affordable, safe, and stable housing more accessible"
Traffic-
• The Agenda Report concludes that Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) compared to the current regional VMTwill be an increase of 22%, and that this impact "would be significant and unavoidable". This is just not true -it's easily avoidable by building fewer homes. • Traffic increase will be primarily Poway Road & Pomerado Rd. (Direct access to the site.) Elevation, pad height, and grading -
• Flood plain (Southern area of development) -The Poway General Plan calls for lower density in a flood plain; what is the plan to protect new and current homes? • We need 3D models of the pad heights vs the streets and surrounding residential areas, and also the graded hillside by the Kumeyaay Interpretive Center
o These were BIG issues with the public at The Farm; let's learn from that error Design issues of smaller setbacks and little street parking - • This community will look closed in -large two-story houses only 10 feet apart, narrow roads, fewer sidewalks, lots of parked cars in driveways, and slopes rising up to the houses • How will ADUs and California Rooms be fit in and maintain space from neighbors? • The "community trail" leads to nowhere and is meaningless unless Poway City designs a connection to Poway Road.
Modifications -
• A key issue with The Farm Specific Plan implementation has been the reliance on the Director of Development Services to quietly approve plan modifications. Neighbors have reported they received no notice of setback or elevation changes.
• Poway City needs to either ensure the HRSP carefully identifies objective and quantitative criteria for approval, or includes notifications to affected residents before approval.
As noted in the Agenda Report, specific plans are a tool for density while still providing local land use control via the discretionary approval process. You, City Council members, have discretionary approval. Please review the public comments on Harmon Ranch and work to resolve the public issues.
Jana Johnson
Poway resident