“Developers are coming to Santa Paula and you can either take what developers want to give us or direct the developers,” on what the city wants, Nelson added.“. . .as an employer I have nine key employees who all live outside Santa Paula,” due to a lack of housing, said John Macik of Santa Paula Chevrolet.Macik “. . .worked against the Todd Road Jail and Toland Landfill, but this is seven beautiful homes,” that is drawing protest.“My heart is with more affordable housing,” said Ofelia de la Torre, but although she has traffic impact concerns, more types of housing are needed to stimulate rotation home ownership.The fate of several oak trees and possible replacement concerned Alex Navarro. “Nothing has been said about their safety. . .the oaks must be protected.”When it was the council’s turn, they had their own concerns and questions regarding everything from fees to reducing the amount of houses.On the issue of the General Plan’s designation of the Oaks, Bartlett said there are different interpretations: “It is not a historic neighborhood but is a unique neighborhood. . .”City ordinance mandates tree replacement 3 to 1, and replacement oaks would be 24-inches.Rieder said the homes in the development are expected to sell for about $400,000.The council voted unanimously to approve the project although Councilman John Procter asked Rieder if he would consider building six homes and was told no. Councilman Don Johnson had excused himself from the discussion due to a conflict of interest.
City Council approves Oaks seven-home development
January 11, 2002
Santa Paula City Council
The City Council approved the construction of seven homes in the rural Oaks area of Santa Paula at the Jan. 7 meeting after opponents and supporters offered their comments about the development.
Mayor Ray Luna had imposed a three-minute limit on pubic speakers but only 10 people offered input outside the developer, John Rieder and city staff.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe City Council approved the construction of seven homes in the rural Oaks area of Santa Paula at the Jan. 7 meeting after opponents and supporters offered their comments about the development.Mayor Ray Luna had imposed a three-minute limit on pubic speakers but only 10 people offered input outside the developer, John Rieder and city staff.Rieder’s development is slated for a 2.14 acre parcel located north of Bedell School above Laurel Road. Now a lemon grove, the property would be converted to homesites with houses ranging up to 3,196 on lots averaging about 10,600 square feet. A new private road, Grant Line Street, will be created that can be expanded for future development.The Planning Commission had considered the development over two meetings that drew over 100 Oaks residents objecting to the plan. Opponents have cited traffic and visual impacts, drainage, dust, changing the character of the Oaks, lot size, emergency access, a retaining wall and density.Tom Bartlett, city planning director, said Rieder’s development fits into the General Plan and “staff has no concerns with this project. . .”Rieder said he has been working on the project “for the last 18 months. . .the road here was challenging to say the least.”Many concerns of residents have been addressed, he added. “I’ve been as sensitive to the concerns of the neighbors as I could be,” including delegating final design decisions to the Planning Department to ensure the homes will adhere to the custom character of the Oaks.Rieder said he assumed that a concern over the size of the homes would center on them being too small, but, “I quote, they would look like ‘Homes on steroids,’ too large to fit into the neighborhood.”“What I called them were ‘Tract homes on steroids,’ ” Oaks resident Jim Nelson told the council later.The General Plan describes the Oaks as of historic importance, Nelson said, and the project fails to meet several standards of compatibility. Alternatives - including reducing the number of homes to six - were discussed and rejected, he noted.
