Riverside County supervisors on Tuesday approved a series of foundation‑component general plan amendments and related actions affecting multiple parcels in the Lake Matthews–Woodcrest area, and set further review for a separate contested site in the Leon–Keller area.

Staff presented a slate of items that would change several parcels’ foundation component designations from rural residential types to community development and commercial or medium‑density residential uses. The board approved initiation or adoption for items 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, 22.6 and 22.7 by recorded 5-0 votes, as the staff package recommended. Those actions allow applicants up to six months to submit implementing projects for the newly designated sites.

Mitch Atkinson, representing one applicant, said the properties’ proximity to Van Buren Boulevard made commercial land use more appropriate. "Given the direct proximity to Van Buren, we believe that this property will be more appropriately designated with the land use of commercial," he told the board.

Several items described potential future projects including a public storage facility, a mixed commercial strip with market and drive‑through restaurants, a Brandon’s Diner site, and a proposal that could include outdoor recreational uses with potential ties to training for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Staff said applicants will be required to submit detailed applications and technical studies if the initiatives move forward.

At the hearing for one commercial initiative, a supervisor relayed community requests that a car wash not be included on a particular parcel; the comment was recorded as a community preference for the implementing project design.

Separately, Foundation Component General Plan Amendment 24021 — a proposal to subdivide roughly 78 acres into residential and open‑space components in the Leon–Keller area — drew extended public comment, including petitions and multiple speakers who urged protection of existing rural lot patterns. The applicant and supervisor agreed to continue that item for additional meetings between neighbors, county staff and the applicant. The board continued the item to the October 28 agenda to allow time for further discussion.

What’s next: For the approved items, applicants have six months to file implementing project applications that will return to county staff and, where required, to public hearings. For the Leon–Keller proposal, staff and the applicant will meet with neighbors before the Oct. 28 continuation to explore changes to density and site design that might address local concerns.