Council approves first reading to rezone 328 North Birch from R-1B to R-2 after contested public comments

On its first reading May 6, the Valley Center City Council approved an ordinance to rezone 328 North Birch from R-1B (single-family) to R-2 (allows duplexes), passing the motion 3-2.

The rezoning request followed an earlier, broader R-3 application that council had previously denied. City staff said the R-2 application came with a favorable planning-and-zoning recommendation. Several neighbors spoke in opposition during the meeting, citing parking congestion, narrow lot fronts that date to historic plats (50-foot lot lines), and concerns the owner could split the parcel later and construct multiple duplexes, doubling the effective unit count on the block. One resident said the block historically featured mostly single-family homes and that adding duplexes would increase on-street parking demands.

The applicant and his agent said the existing house is vacant and that rehabilitation would be prohibitively expensive; the developer said he intends to build single-story duplexes with two-car garages, a fence around the property, slab-on-grade construction and accessible interior dimensions (36-inch doors, 42-inch halls). The applicant said he purchased the property to redevelop and that a duplex under R-2 zoning is less intensive than the previously proposed R-3 plan.

Council discussion acknowledged the competing priorities: the need for housing supply and the applicant’s concessions versus long-standing neighborhood character and parking realities. Staff clarified that approval of R-2 zoning would not by itself grant lot splits or specific building plans; lot splits and building plans would require separate administrative or planning-and-zoning review and must meet setback and subdivision standards.

The motion to approve the first reading carried 3-2; the transcript recorded the vote as “3-2.” The item will return for a second reading and final ordinance adoption at a subsequent meeting.