A popular strawberry patch in north Turlock will soon be developed to accommodate more than 100 houses after the city council voted Tuesday to rezone nearly 13 acres of land for residential use.
By a 3-1 vote, the city approved the rezoning of two adjoining parcels of land, on which Bright Homes of Modesto will develop 114 single-family dwellings. One is a nine-plus acre lot that had been zoned as community-commercial, while the other is just over three acres and was zoned for medium-density residential use.
Bright Homes has owned the property for decades, and had leased the land to local strawberry growers.
According to Bright Homes COO Loura Erickson, the growers have relocated their operation to Modesto, on the corner of Sisk Road and Pelandale Avenue.
The subdivision will be bordered by Monte Vista Avenue, Walnut Road to the east, Four Seasons Drive to the west, and Snowbird Drive to the north.
The project was under the review Turlock Planning Commission last week, where it was greeted by angry residents and more than 40 letters of protest. However, the mood at Tuesday’s council meeting was less fraught, with only a handful of residents rising to speak on the issue. Most of those comments were focused on concerns about the potential for increased traffic, especially considering a proposed 300-unit apartment complex is planned to go in on the opposite of Walnut Road.
A concession was made during the Feb. 6 planning commission meeting for the addition of a second traffic outlet/inlet, which is seen as a way to relieve traffic congestion.
Councilmember Erika Phillips, whose District 4 is home to the proposed development, was the lone vote in opposition. Mayor Amy Bublak and councilmembers Kevin Bixel (District 1) and Cassandra Abram (District 3) voted to approve. District 2 Councilmember Rebecka Monez was ill and did not attend the meeting.
“I just want to let the residents and neighbors of that area know that I hear you, loud and clear,” said Phillips, who feels that added traffic, and traffic flow, remain as obstacles. “I feel it’s still going to be congested even though they’re adding the second inlet/outlet. We need to take into consideration the neighbors that live there.”
Bright Homes plans to construct roads inside the development that are narrower than the city’s standards, which would make them private roads. Thus, maintenance would be the responsibility of a neighborhood homeowners’ association.
“In hearing the concerns about safety and how to leave the space, and concerns about how the traffic is going to be changed, I feel like the developer has made the concessions and changes that will alleviate some of those,” said Abram. “I think this is a good project and good use of this space.”
A city traffic study found that the development would generate about 1,100 daily vehicle trips — nearly 75 percent fewer trips than if the property were developed commercially.
“The traffic engineers were engaged in June of last year,” said Erickson. “We deliberately held off on having the traffic-study counts conducted until after all school was in session on Aug. 27 to ensure we had the most accurate count of what I think would be a high level of traffic.”
Another point of concern was the smaller-than-usual lot sizes, ranging from about 3,200 square feet to around 5,500 square feet, where the current medium-density residential zone calls for lots of 6,000 square feet.
“As Director (Adrienne) Warner had pointed out, this is actually a fairly common lot size, not only in developments here in the city of Turlock but also in most cities around us,” said Erickson. “Because of the lace of space and lack of land, we’re forced to get a creative. I know that can sound a little scary, but we’ve actually done this exact same project in different cities. It lives great. It feels great. And there’s always been a great response from the community that they’re in.”
