PROJ
ECT DESCRIPTION and DENSITY BONUS COST REDUCTION STATEMENT December 3, 2025
1. Proje
ct Title: Lago Fresco Apartments
2. Proje
ct Address: 4744 Hoen Avenue, (New Project Address)
1.31 acre site (57,064 sf)
3. Lead Age
ncy City of Santa Rosa
Department of Planning and Economic
Development
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Rm. 3
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
4. Cont
act Person Monet Sheikhali, City Planner
[email protected]
5. Project Location 4744 Hoen Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95405 APN: 014-361-029 and 014-361-028
6. Project Applicant Auxon Lago Fresca, LLC
Janver Holly
[email protected]
707-239-0157
73 St. James Drive
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
7. General Plan/Specific Plan Office, Medium-High Density Res. 30DU/ac
8. Zoning CO
9. Allowab
le Site Coverage 65% max. allowed
40% proposed, 22,439 sf
1 Attachment 3
10. Allowable Building Height 35’
Waiver to increase height to 45’ maximum
12. Setbacks Front Yard = 15’
Waiver to reduce front yard setback at Hoen
Avenue to 10’
Waiver to reduce front yard setback at
Summerfield Road to 7’
Side Yard = 5’ required and provided
Rear Yard = 10’ required and provided
13. Unit Mix 16 One Bedroom Flats
21 Two Bedroom Flats
4 Two Bedroom Townhome Apartments
4 Three Bedroom Townhome Apartments
5 Four Bedroom Flats
50 Units
14. Parking 109 stalls required Santa Rosa Zoning Code
72 stalls required State Density Bonus Law
Waiver to reduce parking to:
38 Covered Stalls
25 Surface Stalls
63 Total Stalls Provided
Existing Setting and Neighboring Land Uses:
Lago Fresco Apartments (“the Project”) is located on the south side of Hoen Avenue and the west side of Summerfield Road, situated near the intersection of Hoen Avenue and Summerfield Road (see Figure 1). The 1.31-acre site is currently undeveloped and not within a Priority Development Area. A Conditional Use permit is required to allow change the use of the site from office to multi-family within a CO zoning district. (See Fig. 1, below) 2 Figure 1 – Existing Uses and Site Constraints
As depicted in Figures 2 and 3 below, the site is adjacent to office/commercial uses and to a low-to-medium density residential area. The Project is across Summerfield Road from an R- 1-6 zoned single family residential neighborhood, within ¼ mile of four bus stops, an elementary school and Annadel and Howarth Parks, and within ½ mile of neighborhood retail and services and a middle school.
3 Figure 2 – Neighborhood Context
4 Figure 3 – Area Context Map
Project Description
Lago Fresco Apartments proposes to develop this underutilized infill site into a medium- high-density multi-family of 50 units, with 4 of the units offered as affordable to Very Low income qualified residents. The Project will provide residents with a range of family apartment types in a neighborhood with pedestrian and bicycle access to bus transportation, job centers, retail, entertainment, educational, recreational and community services.
The Project aims to deliver critically needed dwelling units to an impacted community.
Santa Rosa, like the rest of California, continues to experience a housing shortage caused in part by ongoing under-building of dwelling units. The lack of supply has also exacerbated a crisis in housing affordability.
5 Lago Fresco will add a measurably significant number of family sized apartments in an area with established infrastructure to support the development of higher density housing. A mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 -bedroom flat and townhome type units offers both market rate and affordable housing options. One 1- bedroom and three 4 -bedroom large family units are set aside as affordable units for Very Low Income qualified residents.
The Project includes a Community Room with a kitchenette, lounge and rest room. Site amenities for common use by the residents include a play structure, fire pit and outdoor seating, barbecues, outdoor dining area, and low water use landscaping. Most units are provided with semi-private outdoor spaces. Storage space for most units is provided in a closet on the semi-private balcony/patio. In-unit laundry facilities are provided in each unit.
The project is all electric.
A total of 72,535 square feet of construction is proposed. The proposed maximum building height is 45 feet or less from grade to top of highest roof at Building D, with a maximum of 30’ in height from grade to top of structural plate at Buildings A, B and C. Access for emergency vehicles and automobiles is from a single driveway located on Hoen Avenue.
Pedestrian and bicycle access is provided from Hoen Avenue and Summerfield Roads.
Inclusionary Housing and the State Density Bonus Law; Incentives/Concessions and Waivers of Development Standards
The applicant proposes to construct 50 apartment units on two parcels totaling 1.31-acres.
The existing Commercial Office land use designation permits a density of 30 housing units per acre with a use permit.
The base density permitted at this site is 30 DU/acre x 1.31 acre = 39.3 round up to 40 units.
In exchange for designating 4 of the 40 base density units as Very Low Income set aside units, the project requests a density bonus of 10 units in addition to base density of 40 units for a total of 50 units.
Four base density units are proposed as affordable, Very Low Income units.
Base Density and Proposed Density Bonus Calculations:
1.31 acre x 30 DU/acre = 39.3, round up to 40 Base Density units 57,064 sf / 1,450 sf/unit Med High Density = 39.3, round up to 40 base density units Density Bonus units = 10 additional units desired
40 Base Density Units + 10 Density Bonus Units = 50 units proposed
Market Rate Base Density = 36 units
Base Density Project Set Aside Low Income = 4 units
Market Rate Density Bonus = 10 units
Total: 50 units
6 Per City of Santa Rosa Zoning Code, Sec. 20-31.060, Table 3.1:
10% Low Income Base Project Set Aside (.1 x 40 = 4) 4 Very Low Income units
32.5% Density Bonus Units (.325 x 40 = 13 density bonus units for 4 VLI units.
13 density bonus units allowed, 10 density bonus units requested
The unit mix proposed is:
3 Four Bedroom Very Low Income Units
1 One Bedroom Very Low Income Unit
15 One Bedroom Market Rate Units
25 Two Bedroom Market Rate Units
4 Three Bedroom Market Rate Units
2 Four Bedroom Market Rate Units
50 Total Units
Incentives and Concessions
California Government Code Section 65915 allows developers to request waivers and incentives/concessions to increase density and develop affordable housing. These incentives and waivers are intended to make it economically feasible to build affordable housing.
Incentives or Concessions include, but are not limited to, the reduction of site development standards or Zoning Code requirements or any other regulatory Incentives or Concessions proposed by the Applicant that result in identifiable and actual cost reductions to provide for affordable housing costs or without which the project would not be financially feasible.
Two incentives are allowed for Lago Fresco to develop 50 units, four of which are Very Low Income Set Aside units.
Waivers or reduction of development standards are permitted when applying those standards would have the effect of physically precluding the construction of a proposed Housing Development at the densities or with the Incentives permitted by this chapter. The State’s Density Bonus Law permits an unlimited number of waivers from development standards.
Per City of Santa Rosa Zoning Code, Sec. 20--31.090, Table 3.5:
2 incentives are allowed for 10% Affordable Housing Set Aside, Very Low Income.
The Applicant requests 1 incentive/concession of development standards for:
1. Relief from dispersion requirements - Per City’s Municipal Code Sec. 20-31.100, H, relief from the dispersion requirements may be permitted by the Planning Director with evidence demonstrating that the provisions of this subsection reduce the financing feasibility of the project.
The Applicant requests a second incentive/concession of development standards for:
2. Reduction of parking from 72 stalls, (Sec. 20-31.100, F, Table 3.6) to 63 stalls.
Applicant requests a separate parking reduction incentive, as allowed by Section 20-31.100, F, 1. The state’s Density Bonus Law considers an incentive to reduce parking a separate benefit from other density bonus incentives. The law entitles a 7 developer who qualifies for a density bonus to parking reductions as a separate entitlement, in addition to the others to which they are allowed, as determined from the percentage of set aside units and their tenure of affordability. Under the Density Bonus Law, the parking reduction incentive is a distinct benefit, and a developer can request even lower parking ratios than provided by Gov. Code 65915, as a separate concession or waiver. Including a parking reduction incentive in their project neither reduces nor increases the number of Incentives or Concessions to which the applicant is otherwise entitled.
Statement of how the requested Concessions/Incentives will result in identifiable and actual cost reductions to provide affordable housing costs-
The Applicant requests one Concession/Incentive to allow locating all the affordable units in one building, Building C, and relief from the dispersion requirement. Depending on the source, funds obtained to build the affordable units may be required to be monitored separately from the resources used to build the market rate components of inclusionary projects. Locating the affordable units in one building makes it possible to track expenditure of affordable housing funding obtained to construct the set aside units.
Clustering affordable units in a non-elevator serviced building will also result in lower construction costs to build the units. Locating the affordable units in Building C, near the transit stop on Summerfield Road, best serves the operational structure of the affordable housing sponsor’s program, which is to provide sober-living based housing where members have demonstrated good outcomes through mutual support provided by residing together in four-bedroom family apartments. Grouping the affordable units results in management efficiencies and lower operational costs, making the construction of the units economically feasible for the project.
Precedent was established by case law in Schreiber v. City of Los Angeles which holds that density bonus applicants need not prove that incentives such as clustering affordable units will result in actual cost reductions. Requested incentives are presumed to result in cost reductions, and local governments may either accept this presumption or make a showing with substantial evidence to the contrary.
The Project requests a second Incentive/Concession to reduce the number of parking stalls from both the City and Density Bonus Law standards. 109 stalls are required per Municipal Code Section 20-36.040, Table 3-4.
The Applicant requests a parking Incentive beyond that required by Section 20-31.100, F, Table 3-6, from 72 stalls to 63 stalls. Per Section 20-31.100, F, 1, a request for reduced parking requirements pursuant to this subsection shall neither reduce nor increase the number of Incentives or Concessions to which the applicant is entitled. 8 The cost of building 9 additional parking stalls, or a total of 72 stalls, covered and uncovered, makes it economically unfeasible to construct 4 affordable units. The land area of the project site is its most valuable asset and the current property value of each surface parking stall is at least 10,000.00, without accounting for the additional cost of planning, permitting, construction and maintenance of the parking stall. The project requires a yield of 50 units to be economically feasible to build the affordable units. An incentive/concession to reduce the number of parking stalls is required to fund the construction of the affordable dwelling units in this inclusionary project.
Precedent was established by case law in Schreiber v. City of Los Angeles which holds that density bonus applicants need not prove that incentives such as reduction of parking will result in actual cost reductions. Requested incentives are presumed to result in cost reductions, and local governments may either accept this presumption or make a showing with substantial evidence to the contrary.
Waivers of Standards
Per Sec. 20-31.100, G, the Applicant may propose requests for waivers or reductions of development standards the application of which would preclude the construction of the project as designed. The Applicant requests 5 waivers of zoning standards for:
1. Increase in maximum allowable Building Height from 35’ to 45’ proposed.
2. Decrease in Front Yard Setback at Summerfield Road from 15’ minimum allowed to between 7’ proposed.
3. Decrease in Front Yard Setback at Hoen Avenue from 15’ minimum allowed to 10’ proposed
4. Decrease of standard for required covered parking from 50 covered spaces to 38 covered spaces proposed
5. Decrease of width of covered parking space from 9.5 feet wide to 9 feet wide proposed Statements of how the requested waivers of development standards would physically preclude the construction of the project at the density permitted and with the incentives granted-
1. Increase in Building Height at Building D from 35’ to 45’- Compliance with the height limitations of the zoning code in Building D would result in the reduction of the number of units developed from 50 to 43, physically precluding the project from using the benefit of the proposed density bonus units to make it feasible to build affordable units.
2. Decrease in Front Yard Setback at Summerfield Road from 15’ minimum allowed to 7’ proposed-
Compliance with Santa Rosa’s Municipal Code front yard setback standard at Summerfield Road would result in reducing the floorplate area and building envelope of Building C. Without the waiver, the number of large family units in the project would be reduced from 5 to 2 four-bedroom units. The requested waiver results in the design efficiency of a total of 5 standardized and replicated four-bedroom units in Building C. Without a waiver to allow a reduction of front yard setback, the project does not meet the programmatic needs of the sponsor of the affordable housing units for 5 large family units.
3. Decrease in Front Yard Setback at Hoen Avenue from 15’ minimum allowed to 10’ proposed-
9 Compliance with Santa Rosa’s Municipal Code front yard setback standard at Hoen Avenue. The waiver to reduce the setback from 15’ to 10’ is required to provide a 10 foot wide Public Utility Easement behind the back of sidewalk on the parcel’s north, Hoen boundary. The waiver results in design efficiency by standardizing and replicating 4 two-bedroom and 4 three-bedroom townhome unit types in Buildings A and B.
Application of a 15’ setback standard would preclude the construction of Buildings A and B as proposed.
4. Decrease of standard for covered parking from 50 covered spaces to 38 covered spaces proposed-
Requiring covered parking at fifty stalls would preclude the construction of the proposed project as designed. Precedent was established by case law in Bankers Hill 150 v. City of San Diego, which affirms that density bonus projects are entitled to waive development standards that would prevent the project as designed from being built – even if the project could be redesigned to comply with the relevant standards.
5. Decrease of width of covered parking space from 9.5 feet wide to 9 feet wide proposed-From the National Parking Association’s “Parking Space Design: Guidelines for Parking Geometrics”, for 90-degree angle parking stalls in structured parking, where turnover is low, stall width is recommended to be between 8’-9” – 8’-9”. The stall widths in the structured parking stalls are aligned with the width of the units above them and with each unit’s structural walls. The width of each typical townhome unit determines the width of the stalls below them. The locations and dimensions of exterior walls of the units in Buildings A and B are determined by the requirements of the fire code for separation of exterior walls of buildings from actual and assumed property lines.
Parking
63 parking stalls are provided, 38 of which are covered, and 3 of which are accessible for users with disabilities, including van accessible and covered accessible. 26 of the stalls in the project will be equipped with infrastructure for future EV charging capability, and 10 of the stalls will be EVSE ready stalls, in adherence with the State’s CalGreen Building Code Tier 2 standards.
An expanded traffic study prepared by WTrans Traffic Engineers (attached) demonstrates that existing on-street parking on Hoen Avenue, bracketed by 2 crosswalks, makes the site well suited to propose supplementing onsite parking with on street public facilities. There is sufficient on street parking supply (up to 29 spaces) on the south side of Hoen Avenue available for overflow parking needs from the project.
10 12 covered parking stalls are on the ground floor of Building A. 22 covered parking stalls are at the ground floor of Building B. 20 of the 22 stalls in Building B are tandem. All of the tandem stalls are assigned spaces for 10 households. 2 covered stalls are on the ground floor of Building C. Three additional covered stalls are in the surface parking lot. 27 surface stalls are available for residents and guests, including 3 accessible stalls and 1 short term parking stall. Parking will be managed by an onsite property manager and regulated by a parking management program. The parking management program includes a placard which is required in any vehicle parking on site, whether it belongs to the resident or a guest. The exception is for one parking stall reserved for short-term delivery drop off and loading parking. There is provision for long term bicycle storage in most units. See the attached Parking Management Plan.
The number of parking spaces proposed on site, in combination with the availability of up to 16 on street parking spaces on the south side of Hoen Avenue, and the addition of a new crosswalk enhanced with RRFB on Hoen Avenue 300 feet west of the project driveway, will generate parking facilities sufficient for safe, convenient and efficient operation of the housing development and which is compatible with the neighboring properties.
Circulation and Emergency Vehicle Access
An Improvement Variance was approved for the project by the City Engineer to waive the City standard for off-site improvements on Hoen Avenue and Summerfield Road. Street improvements at the sidewalks and parkways on Hoen and Summerfield are proposed to align with existing conditions. A 10’ wide public utility easement is located behind the back of sidewalk on Hoen Avenue.
A fire apparatus access road/driveway, with covered parking on both sides along its entire length, provides access to the project site at Hoen Avenue, between Buildings A and B, and extends into a parking lot at the interior of the parcel. The driveway is a minimum of 26’ wide. The building height at Buildings A, B, and C is 30 feet or less from grade to top of structural plate. Aerial access is provided from the surface parking area north of Building D on one of the building’s long sides. The Santa Rosa Fire Department accepted and approved an application for Alternative Means or Methods to allow the proximal distance of laddering access to be located between 27’-6”’ and 53-6’ from the face of Building D. An on-site private fire hydrant will be provided. A conforming emergency vehicle hammerhead type turnaround is provided.
Site and Building Design
The project massing is broken down into four buildings, consistent with multiple building configurations that characterize the adjacent commercial campuse. The four residential buildings, A, B, C, and D, consist of 16 one-bedroom units, 25 two- bedroom units, 4 three- bedroom units, and 5 four-bedroom units. The buildings are three and four stories in height and comprise a total of 50 units.
11 See Sheet A5.6, Colors and Materials for the color and material palette.
The architectural design of the project is consistent with the language of fiber cement siding at exterior cladding and composition shingle gable roofs that characterize the neighborhood. The project uses the organizing principle of the residential campus, where buildings are related by a defining architectural style and delineate the edges of common use courtyard spaces. In the Lago Fresco campus, the public spaces between the buildings act as transitions between the urban street and sidewalk network and the private realm of the apartment community. The campus pattern language in Lago Fresco is signified by four repeating colors in the architectural cladding, fenestration, exterior doors, and railings, barn red, charcoal, cream, and golden green, as well as by repeating gable roofs with shed roofed dormers, low slope eave overhangs, and oriel window box elements, all of which combine to lend texture and scale to the buildings’ street fronts and the edges of the parking and pedestrian courts. The open spaces between the buildings act as legible flows of public spaces extending from the urban street grid into the development. The campus pattern language in this project functions to improve the pedestrian experience of the neighborhood, visually connecting the public street realm to the life of the apartment community within the project’s boundaries.
The four residential apartment buildings work together as a campus, using an organizing principle which imitates the pattern and grain of the adjacent commercial campuses. The apartment buildings create defined courtyard spaces between them, signifying the expression of community and integrating into the suburban settlement pattern of the neighborhood. The project recognizes that its investment is not just in providing access to housing, but in enhancing Bennett Valley’s neighborhood identity. Integrating urban design principals with inclusionary housing and market rate property development, Lago Fresco demonstrates the positive impact that incremental infill housing can have to forward the City’s sustainable growth goals. In turning a vacant and underused site into a linking element in the neighborhood fabric, Lago Fresco makes multifamily development a beneficial social act.
18. Common Open Space, Landscaping, Tree Mitigation
44 of the 47 existing trees on the site and on one adjacent site will be removed. Refer to the attached tree mitigation report in the landscape plans and the attached arborist report.
Replacement or other mitigation of 678 Mitigation dbh Inches of tree trunk are required.
Mitigation of tree removal is proposed by:
Payment of an in-lieu of replacement fee @100.00/tree for 21 -15 gallon trees = $2,100.00.
On site planting of:
18 -24” box trees
22 -36” box trees
7 -48” box trees
The project includes a 6,500 square foot landscaped open space on the east and south facing portions of the site, developed into a usable outdoor garden enclosed by a serpentine brick garden wall on Summerfield Road. The open space includes a circular 12 seating area centered on a firepit and bounded by a seat wall. Barbecues and outdoor dining, a play structure, low water use landscaping with specimen trees furnish this common use area.
Adherence to Land Use Goals, Objectives and Policies
The Lago Fresco Apartment project places housing near jobs and allows the city’s workforce to live close to community services, schools, parks, and transit. With a reduced parking-to- unit ratio, the Project optimizes the utilization of existing public mass transportation. The Project is designed to have no adverse environmental impacts, to comply with the goals of Santa Rosa’s Climate Action Plan, as well as the standards of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and to meet the objective of Santa Rosa’s Housing Element and General Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Lago Fresca is an example of a sustainable infill development, demonstrating an example of a pocket of higher density housing that is an ecologically sound use of an underutilized parcels within a historically lower density neighborhood and commercial zone.
The project adheres to the goals, objectives and policies of the City’s General Plan 2035:
LUL-A Foster a compact rather than a scattered development pattern to reduce travel, energy, land, and materials consumption while promoting greenhouse gas emission reductions citywide.
LUL-E-2 Promote livable neighborhoods by requiring compliance with green building programs to ensure that new construction meets high standards of energy efficiency and sustainable material use. Ensure that everyday shopping, park and recreation facilities, and schools are within easy walking distance of most residents.
LUL-E-6 Allow residential or mixed-use development in the Retail and Business Services or Office designations.
LUL-F Maintain a diversity of neighborhoods and varied housing stock to satisfy a wide range of needs.
LUL-F-2 Require development at the mid-point or higher of the density range in the Medium and Medium High Density Residential categories.
LUL-F-3 Maintain a balance of various housing types in each neighborhood and ensure that new development does not result in undue concentration of a single housing type in any one neighborhood.
LUL-V Establish a land use pattern and residential environment which promotes efficient, harmonious relationships between different activities and reinforces the identity of the southeast area.
13 UD-G Design residential neighborhoods to be safe, human-scaled, and livable by addressing compact development, multi-modal connectivity and reducing energy use.
UD-G-8 Promote personal safety in project design, particularly in multifamily residential uses. Provide a hospitable street environment, with balconies and walkways.
Locate windows and walkways to assure visual access to common areas. Locate children’s play space within view of the nearest units, and discourage designs with unutilized open space.
OSC-L Encourage the development of nontraditional and distributed sources of electrical generation.
PSF-A-15 Require the provision of private play space and/or recreation centers for children, families, and older adults in small lot subdivision, multifamily developments, and gated communities, on each lot or in common open space areas as part of the development project.
Responses to Comments from Neighborhood Meeting, Design Review Board Concept Review
• Parking proposal for the project is reduced from City Standard – See the Parking Management Plan and Traffic Study by W Trans, and this document for Incentive/Concession to reduce parking. Traffic Dept. approves the submittal with no comments. While the proposed on-site parking supply would be inadequate to meet the City code requirements, the parking supply combined with available nearby parking on the south side of Hoen Avenue would be adequate to meet demand based on the ITE parking demand rates as well as parking requirements upon application of the Density Bonus Law. However, because residents needing to park off-site would likely find it most convenient to park on the north side of Hoen Avenue a RRFB crosswalk is proposed. • Height of the buildings inconsistent with neighborhood – see perspective views demonstrating that visibility of 4 story portion of project is largely concealed from street facing views/sides of the project
• Public safety concerns about single ingress and egress from the site during peak travel hours of the day – see Traffic Study by W Trans; queuing for ingress and egress are within acceptable standards for safety and will not cause measurable delays • Design comments:
1. too industrial – see revised elevations for alterations to architectural style
2. too little articulation- see elevations for Building A, B, and C roofs with low gable roofs, shed dormers with eave overhangs and flat roof and parapet at Building D.
Building mass and scale is articulated with oriel window bays with shed roofs and differentiation of exterior wall cladding with 4 repeating colors of siding .
3. lacks 4-sided architecture – see elevations for architectural articulation at all sides of each building
4. too plain and vertical on street elevations- see elevations for articulation of street front elevations to provide scale compatible with neighborhood at the four buildings, composition shingle gable and shed roofs and fiber cement board cladding 14 5. consider alternative architectural style – see elevations for articulation of architectural elements and alterations to building roofs and exterior facades to be compatible with context of adjacent commercial and residential buildings
• Provide child’s play area – A play structure and common open space is provided at the south and east facing landscaped area at the Summerfield Road fronting portion of the site
• Provide ground level bike parking - 3 short term parking bike racks provided at 3 separate locations on the site
• Move the trash enclosure to west end of surface lot – the trash enclosure is relocated to the west side of the site, at the end of the surface parking lot • Revise site plan to increase solar access to courtyard – the courtyard is enlarged to 6,500 square feet, includes a play structure, barbecues, outdoor seating and firepit, and has both south and east facing exposures. Building D is shifted to the rear of the site.
Building D steps down to 3 stories on its east facing Summerfield Road elevation to maximize solar access to this open space.
• Reduce roof slopes or change all roofs to flat roof to decrease the height of the buildings See revisions to elevations for reduced roof slopes and flat roof at Building D • Show mechanical areas and PV panels on roofs – Mechanical equipment and site solar PV arrays shown on Building D in 3 D perspective views. Mechanical equipment in Buildings A, B and C is in utility rooms provided at ground floor of buildings, as shown on the floor plans
• Show site fencing at perimeter of property – the site is fully fenced and gated for security and visual screening of the project from the neighborhood at the ground floor level on all perimeter boundaries, except at the driveway entry on Hoen Avenue 15