VISTA — The Vista City Council declined to make a decision last week regarding an appeal of a proposed single-family residential project along Monte Vista Drive, opting to bring the item back in September following another review of fire safety requirements.
The Monte Vista Residential project proposes 19 two-story homes — 16 of which will include attached accessory dwelling units — on a 6.47-acre site directly east of Monte Vista Elementary bordered by Valley Avenue and Monte Vista Drive.
Due to the inclusion of two deed-restricted affordable units, the project was granted a density bonus increasing the allowed density from 13 to 20 dwelling units per acre.
Carlsbad-based California West Communities, the developer of the project, has developed over 450 homes in Vista.
The Planning Commission previously approved the project in a 5-1 vote in June. Resident Keith Andrew appealed the decision shortly after, with the City Council considering the appeal on Aug. 12.
In a 3-2 vote with Mayor John Franklin and Councilmember Jeff Fox opposed, the council decided to delay a decision on the appeal until next month, and for staff to complete another review of fire safety information for the project.
“I am not satisfied with the way that this has been reviewed,” Councilmember Corinna Contreras said. “I think we definitely have the legal ability to gather more information, and I would hope that the council would stand unanimous in giving the public additional information.”
Andrew’s appeal claims that the applicant and city failed to properly assess vehicle impacts from the project or the impacts of the inclusion of accessory dwelling units, and that the project does not fit the community character. He also said the project does not fully assess fire safety impacts based on updated fire hazard information.
“If this council approves a project without fixing these analytical gaps, you’ll be doing so knowing the data is incomplete, and the safety impacts are underestimated, and the city is legally vulnerable,” Andrew said.
Vista city staff recommended denying the appeal, stating that all city standards had been met in the application. California West Communities also urged the city to allow the project to move forward.
“We really are proud of the work that we’ve done here, and ask that tonight you follow staff’s recommendation, affirm Planning Commission’s approval, and help provide these meaningful home ownership opportunities by denying this appeal,” project representative Arlene Tendick said.
Fire safety concerns
The Monte Vista Residential project will feature a 40-foot-wide private road that allows parking on both sides of the street, creating 24 total feet of vehicle access. City officials said the project was assessed by the fire marshal’s office, which signed off that the road as designed will allow for emergency vehicle and fire engine access.
The project is located directly adjacent to a moderate severity fire hazard zone, as defined under the most recently updated fire hazard severity zone maps adopted by CalFire.
“This has been analyzed and it does have sufficient access, and the conditions of approval are requiring that it meets the standards that would be consistent with the moderate fire zone,” Community Development Director Joe Vaca said.
Contreras said she had concerns about the moderate fire safety risk, and did not feel comfortable approving the project until the city’s Fire Department finishes updating its Standards of Cover, which outlines strategies for fire hazard mitigation and benchmarks for distribution of resources in the area.
City Manager John Conley said the Standards of Cover are currently being drafted, and will likely be completed by the end of the year.
Representatives for California West and the city noted that under state law, projects can only be held to standards that were already in place at the time the application was submitted. This means the project could not be held to any new fire access requirements that may be adopted in the new Standards of Cover.
“If indeed there is a new study conducted by the city, it would be very likely if not definite that that new finding would not apply to the project,” said Kimberly Foy, legal counsel for California West.
City Attorney Walter Chung also advised that while legally, there is no strict timeline within which the City Council must move a project forward, it cannot be subject to more than five hearings in total.
Councilmember Dan O’Donnell said if new information comes forward regarding fire safety standards, he is open to hearing it. However, he said he was not willing to delay a decision on the project past next month.
“In this situation, I think that we are hampered by state law, and while I look forward to the findings that come forward, I just do not foresee anything that would come forward in 42 days from now that would delay this any further,” he said.
Franklin said it wasn’t clear what specific fire safety information Contreras and other councilmembers were seeking, and that it is unlikely an additional review will bring forward new information.
“My guess, well, there’s a 99.97% probability that when we run the numbers twice, we come up with the same answer. For that reason, to make some kind of a public spectacle, I can’t support,” Franklin said. “It’s just delaying things, so we could have done the people’s business and move forward.”
The Monte Vista Residential appeal will likely be brought back to the council at their Sept. 23 meeting.
