Board approves immediate rezone and 11-lot tentative final map for Pei property; mitigated negative declaration adopted

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors on April 22 approved a package of actions for the John Pei subdivision: the board adopted a mitigated negative declaration under CEQA, approved an immediate rezone of land previously scheduled to roll out of Timber Production Zone (TPZ) over 10 years, and approved a tentative final map to divide two legal parcels (six APNs, approx. 307 acres) into 11 lots ranging from about 4 acres to 27.4 acres.

Project overview: Associate planner David Nicholas told the board the project would implement an immediate rezone that otherwise was scheduled to complete in 2028. The subdivision proposes 11 residential lots; the county code calculation shows available density for 20 lots overall and the project uses density averaging to make the proposed layout consistent with zoning. Seven lots will connect to Nevada Irrigation District public water; four lots will use private wells. All lots require individual septic systems.

Environmental and fire-safety mitigation: Planning staff prepared a mitigated negative declaration after review of environmental studies and public comment. Mitigation measures include avoidance of building envelopes in intermittent streams, avoidance of slopes over 30%, pre-construction biological surveys, protection of landmark oaks and woodlands and expanded defensible-space requirements on certain lots.

Fire and water provisions: Because some lots are more than 750 feet from existing fire hydrants, Lot 1 must include on-site water storage for emergency supply serving multiple lots; maintenance and service agreements for that water storage will be recorded with deeds. Lots adjacent to the large Lot 3 (approx. 127 acres) must maintain enhanced defensible space; Planning staff required a 30-foot shaded fuel break along Lot 3’s northern property line to be recorded and maintained by the Lot 3 owner.

Roads, traffic and public comment: The parcel is served by county-maintained roads (Red Dog Road, Red Dog Cross Road, Banner Quaker Hill Road and Banner Lava Cap Road). Public Works will require verification from the applicant’s engineer that the existing roads meet county standards before the final map can record; required upgrades would be completed if verification fails. The project was estimated to add about 104 daily vehicle trips in the near term, and about 208 daily trips at full build-out; those trip estimates fall below Nevada County Transportation Commission significance thresholds cited in the staff report. Public commenters raised concerns about traffic, evacuations and wildfire; the Consolidated Fire District’s chief spoke in support of the project’s mitigation approach.

Votes: The Planning Commission recommended approval (3–0) and the Board voted to adopt the mitigated negative declaration, introduce and immediately enact the rezone ordinance, and adopt the tentative final map. The board recorded a roll-call approval for each action: District 5: yes; District 2: yes; District 4: yes; District 3: yes; District 1: yes.

Ending: Staff will record required deed restrictions and service agreements, obtain tax certificates and verify roads to county standards prior to map recordation. The board emphasized the need for vegetation management and ongoing enforcement of defensible-space requirements as homes are built.