(Final revised article)

The San Luis City Council approved the final plat for Arcadia Park Phase 1 (subdivision case 2024-0578F) after a lengthy debate over a condition that would require developers to install recreational amenities. The 27.84-acre subdivision proposes 124 residential lots ranging from about 6,000 to 7,137 square feet.

Staff and consultants told the council the draft recreational-amenities policy under development suggested an average cost near $6,000 per lot; Jose Guzman, a city staffer, said that figure was an initial estimate drawn from comparisons to other jurisdictions and would be refined with stakeholders. Developer representatives, including Elizabeth Carpenter for Bonverde (presentation name recorded as “Elizabeth Carpenter, Bonverde Partners”), objected to any open-ended requirement at this stage. Carpenter asked that the developer be allowed a fixed dollar cap — “I would like them to put a amount on there that we don't have to pay more than this towards those amenities,” she said — arguing the standards are not yet final and that an open-ended obligation would hurt project feasibility.

Council members expressed a range of views. Some members, citing the need for parks and play areas, supported requiring amenities; others said imposing an undefined cost could damage affordability and development prospects. Council discussion referenced a prior subdivision condition (Mesquites 4) and concerns that a high per-lot requirement could add thousands to housing costs. Jose Guzman said the draft average of about $6,200 per lot was not final, and staff planned a stakeholders meeting on Sept. 25 to refine the standards.

After debate, Councilmember Luis Cabrera moved to approve the subdivision with the removal of an open-ended bullet point requiring amenities as an unspecified obligation. Council then amended the approval to include a not-to-exceed cap of $500 per lot toward amenities (124 lots × $500 = $62,000), which Councilmember Cabrera proposed as a compromise to provide a defined contribution for a ramada or small playground without imposing the consultant’s draft estimate. The amended motion was seconded and approved by the council as recorded at the meeting.

Staff said the city will continue the stakeholder process on amenities, publish the draft standards for public input, and return to council for final adoption. Developers were urged to participate in the stakeholders meeting. The subdivision approval requires the developer to address standard staff comments before recordation; city staff emphasized that engineering and improvement plans remain to be completed.

What happened at the meeting is procedural approval of the plat with conditions and a short-term, defined amenity contribution; the final amenities standards and any additional financial obligations remain subject to the stakeholder process and future council action.