Oakdale council approves Sierra Point annexation application, sends amended specific plan to LAFCO

The Oakdale City Council on March 3 voted 4–1 to advance amendments to the Sierra Point specific plan and to authorize staff to file an application with the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to annex roughly 297 acres into the city for future development.

City contract planner Mark Niskinen told the council the package before them included a general plan amendment, a “minor” specific-plan refinement and a pre-zone/annexation application for a project known as the Sierra Point specific plan. “Annexation doesn’t necessarily mean that actual development will occur,” Niskinen said, adding that annexation is a step to allow future subdivision filings and that physical construction likely would not begin for several years.

The council’s approval followed a lengthy staff presentation and a public hearing with about a dozen speakers. Applicant representatives said they had revised the plan after neighborhood meetings and a February planning commission workshop; the planning commission previously recommended approval by a 4–0 vote.

Key changes approved by the council include swapping a small area that had been designated high-density residential for very-low-density residential behind existing homes on Twilio Avenue and adding mandatory language requiring a school-mitigation agreement between the developer and the Oakdale Joint Unified School District before the first tentative subdivision map is approved.

Developer attorney Dave Romano told the council the applicant supported the changes and asked the city to move the annexation forward to LAFCO. “We would ask you to continue to move this project forward. Let us go to LAFCO,” Romano said.

Public commenters raised a range of concerns. Clarence Steen, a retired paramedic, urged the council to require developers to address emergency medical services response times and suggested the city consider requiring a staffed fire/EMS facility if growth would change the area’s designation from suburban to urban. “I request that the city council should press a developer to address these problems regarding EMS response,” Steen said.

Other commenters pressed the council on water supply and wells, the timing and sequencing of the plan’s eight phased improvements, traffic and road widening along Orsey Road, and recreational field capacity. Resident Justin Labadee described past construction impacts and a dry well he experienced during earlier nearby development, and Samantha Franco of Oakdale Baseball and Softball Association said the town lacks fields for current youth teams and asked the city to plan for more athletic fields in the Sierra Point park acreage.

Staff and the applicant said the specific plan retains a certified environmental impact report; the council adopted an addendum to that EIR as part of its action. Niskinen noted the EIR requires agricultural land mitigation (a one-to-one replacement), and the applicant has executed a memorandum of understanding with the California Farmland Trust to meet that obligation. He also said developers would pay for infrastructure improvements identified in the plan and that the applicant is funding staff time and LAFCO application costs.

On school impacts, staff presented student-generation estimates in the plan: about 220 elementary students, 72 junior-high students and 152 high-school students would be generated by full buildout of the plan area. The council-approved language makes entry of a mitigation agreement between the developer and the school district a prerequisite to the first tentative subdivision map.

Council discussion reiterated that annexation is an early step that does not itself authorize site-specific building permits. Council members who voted yes said they wanted to preserve the city’s ability to require infrastructure and mitigation through later subdivision and development approvals; one council member voted no.

Votes at a glance

- Item 10.1 — Sierra Point specific plan amendment, EIR addendum, pre-zoning and resolution of application to initiate annexation proceedings to LAFCO: approved 4–1 (Mayor Pro Tem Smith — yes; Council member Gilbert — yes; Council member Potassie — no; Council member Kettering — yes; Mayor Barrios — yes). Council approved the land-use swap (HDR→VLDR behind Twilio) and the school mitigation language requiring an executed agreement before the first tentative subdivision map.

- Item 10.2 — Ordinance to designate Third Avenue (E–F Street) an entertainment zone for the Oakdale Morning Market (streamlines ABC permitting): approved 5–0.

- Item 10.3 — Adjustment of capital facility (impact) fees to reflect construction-cost index increases (retroactive to 2016): approved 5–0.

- Item 11.1 — Appointment of Oakdale Police Chief Jerram Amar as interim city manager and approval of interim employment agreement: approved 5–0.

What happens next

Council approval authorizes staff to file the annexation application with Stanislaus LAFCO; LAFCO holds its own noticed public hearing and has the authority to approve or deny annexation. If annexed, subsequent steps (tentative subdivision maps, improvement plans, grading, building permits) would require separate approvals and public hearings. Staff estimated, based on prior local projects, that heavy-site construction is unlikely before 2027–2028 under normal market conditions.

The council’s action does not change existing uses that are currently “grandfathered” on properties; owners may continue existing agricultural or animal uses until they choose to change use or apply to develop. The Sierra Point specific plan continues to require developers to fund infrastructure and to implement mitigation measures adopted in the EIR.

Council documents and staff materials list the specific plan’s phasing (now eight phases), the sites identified for parks and open space, and the developer’s commitments for agricultural mitigation, water and roadway improvements. The record shows the city will require executed school mitigation before processing the first residential subdivision map if and when the applicant files it.

The council’s approval sets the local policy framework for Sierra Point and sends the annexation request to LAFCO, where the final determination will be made.