Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission City of Visalia
August 19, 2025
City of Visalia
Discussion on:
Residential land and housing inventories in Tiers I & II, and, Discussion of LU-P-21 regarding movement to and development of Tier III lands.
Permit totals and expansion-
Growth Boundaries historically used.
Methodology simplified in 2014 to permit tracking.
Ability to track readily.
SUMMARY
General Plan Land Use Policy: LU-P-21 -
Established Tier thresholds.
Started April 1, 2010.
Focus of report - Residential lands threshold.
Discussion Topics:
The City has long adopted growth management plans implementing and managing growth through “Growth Boundary Tiers” (i.e. Tiers I, II, and III).
This has served residents and the development community by offering a smart growth pattern, while preventing sprawl and unnecessary burdens on infrastructure and circulation.
On July 19, 2021, the Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-38 memorializing the exact date Tier II residential land use thresholds were reached.
All other land uses, except regional retail.
Residential threshold required 5,850 units; achieved on July 1, 2021.
Staff is now providing a subsequent update of:
Permits issued,
Known acreages of undeveloped residential lands in Tiers I and II, and, Estimated time until Tier III threshold of 12,800 units is achieved (Policy LU-P-21)
BACKGROUND
7,061 SFR permits issued since records kept per LU-P-21 (April 2010) 1,778 SRF permits issued since Tier expansion (Jul. 2021 – Aug. 2025) Expansion to Tier II did not equate to build out of Tier I.
TIERS I& II - Single-Family Residential (SFR)
TIERS I& II - Single-Family Residential (SFR)
Table 1-3 Tier II Residential Projects
Entitlement
TSM #
Status
Location
Total Units
Carlton Acres
5590
Approved
Shirk, Riggin, Akers, Kibler
375
Pratt Family Ranch
5583
Approved
Pratt, Mooney, Riverway
247
Shepherds Ranch I (10 acres)
Shepherds Ranch II (40 acres)
5581
5589
Approved
Shirk, Clancy, Pershing
241
Higgins Ranch
5585
Approved
Lovers & Cherry
174
Crandell / Belissa
5587
Approved
Demaree & Riverway
309
Barr & Wood
5588
Approved
Whitendale & Roeben
136
Pearl Woods
5591
Approved
McAuliff & Cherry
274
Elliot
5597
Approved
Tulare & Shirk
224
Cameron Ranch
5598
Approved
Ben Maddox & Caldwell
178
Ritchie Ranch
5600
Pending approval
Riverway & Demaree
320
Pratt Family Ranch (T3)
5605
Pending approval
NW Mooney & Pratt
293
Blankenship
5602
Approved; pending annexation
Santa Fe & Caldwell
203
Total Units: 2,974
N
1,745 MFR permits issued since records kept per LU-P-21 (April 2010) 1,160 MRF permits issued since Tier expansion (Jul. 2021 – Aug. 2025) TIERS I& II - Multi-Family Residential (MFR)
Development in MFR Zones Citywide:
824 units under construction
1,493 units to be constructed
Tiers I & II have development potential of 5,595 – 10,460 units (min.–max. density)
N
Residential Tier III Development Boundary achieved only when 12,800 units are issued between Tiers I and II (LU-P-21). 8,806 permits for residential units through July 2025, with 2,938 of those residential permits issued between July 2021 and July 2025, a result of Tier II lands being now eligible for residential development.
There are still 3,994 permits that must be issued before the Tier III threshold is satisfied.
Since 2010, the city has averaged issuance of 550 units (SFR and MFR combined) per year.
Based on this average, the city is on track to achieve the threshold metric of 12,800 units issued in approximately 7.14 years, which would be sometime in 2032.
TIER III TIMEFRAME
The uptick in approved lots identify that there is sufficient development to achieve the Tier III threshold much sooner.
The potential is based upon the number of projects that have yet to begin construction and based on other undeveloped lands in both Tiers I and II:
Which will continue to add to the future residential permit threshold totals (i.e. 260 + 1,216 acres).
Consideration of those opportunities along with the approved and under construction projects (i.e., 2,974 SFR units + 2,317 MFR units) add to total.
Potential residential permits in the Tier I and II far exceed the 3,994 units needing to be issued (per LU-P-21), to achieve the Tier III threshold of 12,800 units issued.
TIER III TIMEFRAME
QUESTIONS
This General Plan Land Use Element policy has served Visalia well.
Encouraged the orderly development of land to:
Manage extension of services, and,
Maintain current levels of service for existing development.
Visalia’s historically effective concentric growth pattern remains staff’s preferred methodology to limit sprawl which burdens infrastructure and emergency services like police and fire.
Staff has recently been presented with inquiries from developers regarding development submittals in the Tier III boundary hoping to utilize the italicized segment of LU-P-21 to circumvent waiting for the Tier III threshold to meet its permit issuance metric.
Review of LU-P-21
Predominately this portion of the phrasing states:
“To complement residential neighborhood development, the City also may allow small annexations for sites less than 30 acres in size that are contiguous to the City limits to allow for efficient development of a neighborhood, commercial area or employment center, provided no General Plan amendment is required and infrastructure is available or can be extended at no cost to the City.
Triggers for proceeding from Tier I and Tier II to Tier III may be modified based on subsequent direction from the City Council.” Staff have responded to development proposals intending to capitalize on the above italicized text via City’s SPR and County’s PRC processes.
The City’s position has long been to “hold-the-line” and follow Policy LU-P-21’s explicit threshold metrics subject to available land inventory.
Review of LU-P-21
As shown earlier in the presentation, there is ample land inventory in Tiers I and II to meet and exceed the Tier III threshold metric.
By continuing to use the adopted growth management plan in the GP, as exemplified using Visalia Parkway as the southern delineation for the Tier I and II Growth Boundaries, the City fulfills the following General Plan Land Use Policies:
LU-P-19: Ensure that growth occurs in a compact and concentric fashion by implementing the General Plan’s phased growth strategy.
LU-P-28: Continue to use natural and man-made edges, such as major roadways and waterways within the City’s Urban Growth Boundary, as urban development limit and growth phasing lines.
LU-P-42: Develop scenic corridor and gateway guidelines that will maintain the agricultural character of Visalia at its urban fringe.
Review of LU-P-21
Staff supports continued efforts to proceed with the established boundaries, and proven growth management policies of the GP because:
Adopted growth management plan is perfected through Growth Boundary Tiers, Has served the residents and development community by offering a smart growth pattern, preventing sprawl and unnecessary burdens on infrastructure and circulation.
Staff hold that the explicit thresholds of policy LU-P-21 continue to be applied and that movement to or processing of Tier III projects remain premature since:
Existing approved projects and the undeveloped land inventory continue to provide development in a logical manner in both Tiers I and II Review of LU-P-21
Thank you
2025
City of Visalia - Planning Division