Plymouth Harbor plan raises fire access concerns around Sorrento Avenue; DRC asks applicant to coordinate with fire and Orange County

The Development Review Committee on Jan. 8 reviewed the second submittal for the Plymouth Harbor major development plan and spent the bulk of the discussion on secondary emergency access and right-of-way ownership.

Jeremy Waterfield, representing the fire department, told the committee he had driven Sorrento Avenue and was concerned about relying on an unpaved segment for emergency access. “We try to stay off non paved roads,” Waterfield said, adding that unpaved access “is really a bad spot for a secondary access.” He said the right-of-way narrows and that the road segment in question appears to be a county road, not city-owned.

The applicant said Plymouth Sorrento will be paved only to the parcel’s southern boundary and that the remainder of Sorrento Avenue is currently an unpaved dirt road. The applicant and staff discussed an alternate idea: establishing a paved emergency-only access at the northeast corner off the northern cul-de-sac to provide a firmer secondary route. Committee members noted the county’s control of the road could affect whether an additional paved access is allowed and asked the applicant to pursue coordination with Orange County.

Planning staff and the applicant agreed the project’s pending rezoning for two parcels to the south must be resolved before scheduling public hearings. The DRC asked the applicant and fire staff to coordinate directly; Jeremy Waterfield agreed to handle coordination with Jeff (public services/engineering) to determine whether the proposed secondary access can be paved or otherwise made acceptable to the fire department.

No formal vote was taken at DRC; the committee recorded the access concern and required the applicant to show a conceptual alternate access in subsequent submittals and to coordinate with county and fire officials.