The City of San Luis presented a final draft of updated subdivision regulations intended to replace rules the city has used that were based on older county regulations. Assistant Director of Development Services Juan Leon Rubio said the rewrite aligns municipal standards with state statute and modern infrastructure needs and that the draft has been reviewed by legal counsel, stakeholders and staff.
Rubio explained the draft seeks to remove ambiguous language in Section 17.1015(f) on required perimeter road improvements and recommends simplifying the text to require that “streets adjacent to the properties to be subdivided shall be required to be developed. No half streets will be accepted.” He told the council removing the second sentence in the current draft would reduce interpretive confusion and that the draft also adds a formal modification process so developers can request deviations if conditions (for example, federal/state-owned adjacent land, canals, or steep topography) make full road improvements infeasible.
Developers and a representative of Von Verde Partners, Elizabeth Carpenter, urged the council to reconsider several elements of the draft. Carpenter said developers “have reservations” about minimum lot sizes, the increase in internal subdivision road widths (cited by staff as 52 feet within subdivisions versus the city’s historical 50 or Yuma’s 48), the half‑street requirement and the warranty/assurance timeframe. She asked whether the city could return to 5,000-square-foot lots to support affordability, asked that road widths be reconsidered because wider roads raise construction and long‑term maintenance costs, and asked council to reconsider requiring developers to build full opposite halves of perimeter roads when adjacent landowners may never develop or may be unable to pay their share.
Staff and public‑works representatives responded to questions about polymer manholes and warranty periods. A public‑works speaker explained polymer manholes have higher upfront costs but are corrosion resistant and carry long warranties; staff cited recent repairs that cost about $1.5 million to rehabilitate multiple manholes and said polymer products can reduce long‑term maintenance and replacement costs. On warranties and assurances, staff said the subdivision regulations currently require developers to post assurances equal to 100 percent of improvement costs with 10 percent withheld as a warranty; the city has required a two‑year warranty period and staff said that some municipalities use one year but the city has seen post‑first‑year issues and believes two years gives additional protection.
Rubio outlined the timeline staff has followed and the next steps: the draft was posted on the city website and circulated to stakeholders in early 2025, presented to the Planning & Zoning Commission and stakeholders in March and July, and staff planned a public hearing before the commission on Aug. 12 and a return to council on Sept. 10 for potential adoption; a 30‑day referendum period would follow if council approves. No formal vote was taken at the work session; council members asked questions and staff indicated changes could be made before adoption.