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Board directs application to State Land for up to 120 acres near Loma Linda for housing options
Summary
After an extended work session on state‑land site options, the Board voted to apply to the State Land Department for an acreage target between 100 and 120 acres near Loma Linda to explore housing development; staff was authorized to proceed with the application and necessary surveys.
The Board of Supervisors held a work session on possible state‑land parcels near Loma Linda for potential housing development and voted to direct staff to apply to the State Land Department for a parcel in the 100‑to‑120‑acre range.
County staff and consultants described the multi‑step process required by the State Land Department: initial parcel identification, an ALTA survey (meets and bounds), cultural/archaeological studies, appraisals and potential pre‑zoning or infrastructure planning. Staff noted the roughly 18‑ to 24‑month cadence typical for the application, review, appraisal and auction phases and warned that expanding an acreage request later can require repeating parts of the review.
The nut graf: staff framed the Board’s decision as a staged, low‑risk approach with “off‑ramps” — the county can stop at multiple points (after survey or appraisal) if private development interest does not materialize. Staff emphasized two competing constraints: asking for more acreage upfront reduces rework risk but increases upfront study costs; asking for less reduces initial cost but may require repeating work later.
Staff summarized key development factors that will affect feasibility: water and wastewater provisioning (on‑site septic for low density vs. a common wastewater plant for higher density), developer appetite for absorbing initial infrastructure cost, and the need for a market signal (builders’ willingness to buy served lots) before private developers will commit. Builders the county consulted said they generally do not want to act as developers, but several said they would buy “build‑ready” lots if streets and utilities were in place.
Specific mapped options were presented (35 acres, 43 acres, 53 acres and a 107‑acre footprint were shown as illustrative options). After discussion about water availability, wastewater siting, archaeological studies and local contractor participation, Supervisor motioned and the Board voted to proceed with an application for an area in the 100‑to‑120‑acre range, with staff authorized to refine boundaries so that infrastructure (including a possible wastewater treatment site) could be accommodated.
Ending: Staff will begin application work — including ALTA survey and related studies — and will return with updated costs and refined boundary maps as the process moves forward.
