The Corcoran City Planning Commission on a voice vote approved a preliminary plat and a variance requested by applicant Michael Karanimi to realign a shared property line between parcels at 6855 Willow Drive and 6840 Rolling Hills Road, transferring roughly 10 acres from the Willow Drive parcel to the Rolling Hills parcel.

Staff told the commission the two parcels are zoned rural residential and guided rural/ag-residential, that one parcel is landlocked and receives access from a shared private drive, and that wetlands on the site have been previously delineated and meet the wetland overlay district requirements. "Staff recommends approval of the preliminary plat and variance as outlined within the draft resolution," planning staff member Dwight said during the public hearing.

Commissioners heard from nearby residents who asked whether the private drive easement would be extended into the newly added 10-acre parcel and whether the lot transfer would add development rights. "Are they still allowed to put that road in to the lot if they do the subdivide?" asked Chris, a resident at 6820 Rolling Hills Road. Kevin Shazee, another resident, said he was "concerned with the language that is currently in the HOA pertaining to that extension of the private road."

Staff explained they did not believe the existing private-drive easement extended all the way to the 10-acre portion and said they would double-check the easement location. Planning staff also said the lot-line adjustment does not create additional development rights beyond those that exist today: "He's not gaining any additional development rights other than what already currently exists," the record shows.

The variance sought relief from frontage and lot-arrangement standards because the Willow Drive parcel is landlocked and would require a variance under section 9.45 of the city code. Staff said the parcel's condition is unique (a buildable area exists on a peninsula surrounded by wetlands) and that the request does not intensify existing conditions. The commission approved the draft resolution and closed the public hearing; commissioners gave staff permission to follow up with neighbors to confirm the private-drive easement status.

The approval is subject to the conditions as written in the draft resolution and the follow-up items staff noted during the hearing, including confirmation of the private-drive easement location. Planning staff advised that if the commission had chosen to deny the variance, it would also have to deny the preliminary plat.

Neighbors and staff discussed future subdivision potential and trail easements that cross the Rolling Hills parcel; staff said permanent trail easements would remain in place and would need to be considered if future development were proposed. No specific dates or vote tallies were recorded in the public transcript other than the motion, second and unanimous voice vote reported at the meeting.

Questions raised at the hearing that staff agreed to follow up on included verifying the legal extent and location of the shared private-drive easement and clarifying HOA language affecting potential future road extension across private property. The commission's action allows the lot-line adjustment to proceed subject to the standard platting and variance conditions and the items staff will confirm after the meeting.

The applicant named in the request is Michael Karanimi; the property referenced as the 10-acre receiving frontage on Rolling Hills Road was identified in the discussion as being owned by a person with the surname Brockman. The commission and staff repeatedly noted that the request is a lot-line adjustment and not the creation of a new lot in this phase.