Riverbank planning commission approves 48-unit apartment project at 2644 Morrill Road

RIVERBANK, Calif. — The City of Riverbank Planning Commission on July 15 approved an architecture and site plan review (ASPR 07-2024) and adopted Resolution No. 2025-013 to allow a 48-unit, market-rate multifamily apartment complex at 2644 Morrill Road.

The commission voted 5-0 to approve the project after amending the published resolution to strike a finding that the project was consistent with the downtown specific plan’s mixed-use designation and by adding a condition requiring all fences on the project’s eastern property line to be a uniform 7 feet in height.

Staff planner Michael Arroyo recommended approval, saying the 2.4-acre site carries a higher-density residential land-use designation and R-3 (multifamily) zoning and that the proposal meets the city’s development standards. Arroyo said the project is exempt from CEQA under state guidelines for qualified housing projects and that site layout, circulation and fire access meet the Consolidated Fire Protection District’s standards.

The approved design calls for four three-story buildings with 48 total units, approximately 72 on-site parking stalls, and one on-site manager’s unit. Units are described in staff plans as two-bedroom, two-bath layouts of just under 1,000 square feet; buildings have a maximum roof apex of 41 feet, 1 inch (below the 45-foot maximum in the R-3 zone). The site plan includes a masonry (CMU) wall along the westerly boundary adjacent to the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) canal, a wood fence along the eastern boundary, a trash enclosure, a maintenance building, a dedicated dog park, ADA-accessible picnic areas, a large shade structure and more than 3,500 square feet of multiuse turf.

Neighbors spoke at the public hearing, raising privacy and property-maintenance concerns. Robert Calvo, a resident who lives near the project site, said he had recently installed a professionally built 7-foot fence and asked whether new construction would force property owners to accept a 6-foot replacement. The applicant’s project architect said the canal-facing wall is required by MID and that the developer intends to address deteriorated fencing along the eastern property line on a case-by-case basis, adding that the applicant is willing to coordinate with individual homeowners about fence replacement.

A resident who identified herself as Alicia asked whether the units are restricted in any way; staff and the applicant confirmed the complex will be market-rate, subject to fair-housing laws. The applicant said the design includes adaptable units compliant with the California building code so ground-floor units could be converted to accessible units if needed, and noted there will be an on-site manager and a maintenance building to support property upkeep.

Commissioners asked questions about elevators, accessible routing and window placement on buildings facing the single-family neighborhood to the east. The applicant said building code requires ‘‘adaptable’’ units rather than universal elevators in every three-story structure and that clerestory-style, raised windows and other architectural choices were used to preserve privacy for neighboring homes.

The motion approved by the commission reads: approve ASPR 07-2024 via Resolution No. 2025-013 with the removal of the published mixed-use downtown specific plan finding (item 4) and with a condition that the eastern property-line fencing be uniform at 7 feet in height. The roll call vote recorded all five members in favor and no dissenting votes.

The project was referred to and conditioned by MID for canal protection; staff said MID standards require a CMU wall adjacent to the irrigation facility. Arroyo told commissioners the project meets required setbacks and the city’s development standards for the R-3 zone and that the property was previously redesignated for higher-density residential use in earlier general plan actions.

There was no formal timeline for construction presented at the hearing and no final building-permit issuance was announced; subsequent permits and conditions required by MID, fire district approval and standard building permits remain part of the implementation process.

Votes at a glance: ASPR 07-2024 / Resolution No. 2025-013 — approved 5-0 (motion amended to strike published item 4 and add uniform 7-foot eastern fence condition).