Board affirms Planning Commission, approves Shevlin Place subdivision over Hillmar traffic and water objections

The Merced County Board of Supervisors on March 11 voted to affirm the Planning Commission's October 9, 2024 approval of the Shevlin Place major subdivision (MAS 20-001), a proposed 36-lot residential development in the Hilmar area, overruling an appeal from local residents and maintaining the planning staff's finding that no further environmental review was required.

Planning Deputy Director Tiffany Ho told the board the project "was found to be consistent with the community general the general plan as well as the Hillmark community plan," and that the traffic impact study used standardized methods reviewed by Caltrans and county public works. Ho said the applicant, Wadsworth Property (represented at the hearing), met the county's density and zoning standards and that the Hillmar County Water District had issued a legal acknowledgement that it "does have water capacity" for the subdivision.

Appellant Stephanie Morrison, speaking for Danny Coder, told the board the community "stands by our assertion that a new traffic impact study is needed," saying Hilmar's configuration ' with multiple schools on a state highway and heavy school-period traffic ' creates atypical peak conditions not captured in a standard AM/PM analysis. Morrison and other residents also raised water infrastructure concerns, citing district board minutes that warned the district lacked capacity and showing incidents of pipeline failures.

Supervisors debated conditions urged by public speakers, including limiting initial certificates of occupancy until a Caltrans signal is installed at Geer and Lander and the possibility of redirecting subdivision egress to Williams Avenue. Planning staff and county counsel explained that the county must rely on the Hillmar County Water District's "can and will serve" letters as the district is the service provider and that changes to conditions of approval could require revisiting CEQA findings and the tentative map.

The board first voted to affirm that no further environmental review was required under the county's community-plan consistency rules and then voted to affirm the Planning Commission's approval of MAS 20-001. The final approval passed 4 to 1. Supervisors who voted in favor cited that the project met county standards and planning findings; the lone dissent voiced continued concern about traffic safety and infrastructure timing.

The board recorded public input and direction to staff about potential conditions and follow-up steps, including working with the applicant on mitigation if the board chose to pursue them. The county noted Caltrans has control over signalization at Lander and would schedule any state-funded signal project on its own timeline.

The board's decision allows the project to proceed under the approved findings and conditions; staff noted specific steps for implementing the tentative map, including potential coordination with Caltrans and the Hillmar County Water District.