Planning Commission approves condo project
Steve Powell and Elaine Thompson now have a tentative map for their 31-unit condominium project bounded by Day, Vermont and La Brea streets.
The county’s Planning Commission voted 6-0 April 10, with Commissioner Bryan Woods absent, to approve the tentative map and site plan for the Paseo Village Townhomes and to adopt the environmental Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project. A mitigated negative declaration acknowledges that environmental impacts of a project have been identified and that the impacts can be mitigated if the specific measures are taken.
When the conditions of a tentative map are met and all fees and deposits have been paid, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors votes on a final map. When that is approved, grading permits can be issued and the infrastructure necessary to serve the homes can be built.
In addition to the 31 condos, which will be in nine detached two-story buildings, the 2.28-acre site will have group open space consisting of a 7,000-square-foot residential park and a 678-square-foot children’s play area.
Each of the residential units will have at least 350 square feet of private open space in the form of fenced yards and second-floor balconies, and each unit will be a two-story townhouse with common rooms on the ground level and three bedrooms on the second floor.
The residence and accessory structures now on the property will be removed. Grading will raise the lower portions of the site to an elevation above the adjacent street level, which will enhance drainage on the site in conjunction with biofiltered swales and will enable an underground detention basin system to flow into the existing off-site storm drainage system. A bioswale is an open channel lined with grass vegetation to filter and remove runoff pollutants.
The drainage system will limit off-site stormwater discharge to pre-development levels. Sewer lines will be routed to an existing Vermont Street sewer manhole at the southeast corner of the site.
Off-site road improvements include the eastern half of Day Street adjacent to the project, the southern half of La Brea Street adjacent to the project, and the northern half of Vermont Street along the project frontage. Those road segments are to be improved to a minimum graded width of 30 feet from the center line and a minimum paved width of 20 feet from the center line.
Residents will access the site by driving north on Day Street from State Route 67 and then east on Vermont Street. A private driveway that will connect to Vermont Street in two locations will provide vehicular access to the residential units themselves.
The Mitigated Negative Declaration was submitted for public review from Oct. 30, 2008, to Dec. 1, 2008. The site does not contain sensitive biology or habitat, so no biological mitigation is needed.
Noise mitigation will include a 10-foot-high temporary construction noise barrier along the northwestern and northeastern edges of the property during construction. The building plan itself includes three-foot-high patio walls as a noise control element. The entity known as Day Street Development, LLC, will pay $1,258 for the traffic signal installation at SR-67 and Montecito Road and $1,644 for the signal at SR-67 and 14th Street.
The property will be annexed into Zone A of the San Diego County Street Lighting District, subjecting it to an annual assessment to maintain streetlights. The project will also install streetlights to county standards.
The density of 10.3 dwelling units per acre is within the maximum density of 14.5 dwelling units per acre in the Residential (8) land use designation and the RV15 Variable Residential zoning.
The site is also subject to B, D3, and F designators, which require a site plan to ensure consistency with community design guidelines. In August 2006, the Ramona Community Planning Group voted 10-0, with then member Helene Radzik abstaining and four members absent, to recommend approval of the tentative map. The Ramona Design Review Board approved the site plan in May 2007.