Commission split on initiating Hemet-area general plan amendment for mixed-use and assisted-living proposal

A proposed general plan amendment to reclassify an approximately 18-acre parcel near Whittier and Lake Street in the San Jacinto Valley from Rural Community Low Density Residential to Community Development (Mixed Use with Low Density Residential) produced a split Planning Commission on July 30.

The applicantteam described a revised vision that would preserve a roughly five-acre estate on the site (including a large residence, pool and recreational features) as a community center while allowing an assisted-living or lifecycle housing facility and new low-density residential lots on the remainder of the property. Brandon Barnett, representing the applicant, said the estate house is approximately a 28,000-square-foot residence and that the application is intended to provide lifecycle housing…