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Beaumont council asks for changes to 49‑lot tentative map after safety and drainage concerns
Summary
At a public hearing on tentative tract map No. 38926, planners described a proposal to subdivide about 12.58 acres into 49 single‑family lots. Council members raised safety, drainage and access concerns—especially about a proposed private Lot D off Orchard Heights—and directed staff to return with revisions and re‑notice the hearing.
Jillian Fountain, the city’s associate planner, presented Tentative Tract Map No. 38926, saying the applicant proposed to subdivide “approximately 12.58 gross acres into 49 single‑family residential lots” and that no homes are being approved at this time.
Several council members focused on traffic and emergency access near Orchard Heights and on Brookside. Council member Martinez said she was “mostly worried about the safety,” citing Orchard Heights as “very narrow” and saying parked cars could turn the proposed private drive into a hazard for large emergency vehicles. Council member Finn asked whether drainage improvements could change the floodplain designation, and staff said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) map can be amended through the FEMA process if the developer pursues it.
Council member Laura and others pressed the question of Lot D, a proposed private driveway/alley arrangement that would serve multiple homes. Laura noted that if a driveway is private the city’s routine code‑enforcement and police parking enforcement are limited and that the Homeowners Association (HOA) would initially be responsible for monitoring no‑parking restrictions. Laura said, “This map as it exists right now, I could not support,” and urged staff to explore extending Orchard Heights as a full public street rather than leaving a private alley that could be blocked during typical residential activities.
Developer Brian King told the council that the narrower private street and additional lots were not his original proposal but were included after discussions with staff to offset the cost of improving Norman Road. King said, “Everything that you are complaining about was not originally proposed by us, by the developer. They came from city staff. We thought it was reasonable…so we went along with it.” He said the developer is willing to work with the council but noted the project has already spent months in entitlement processes.
City staff summarized options for the council: (1) require Lot D to be built as a full public street (Orchard Heights) providing continuous secondary access, which may shift the number and orientation of lots; (2) retain the private drive arrangement but add conditions such as stop signs or turn pockets on Brookside; or (3) return a revised map that reduces density at the private‑drive location and reorients lots to improve driveway lengths and emergency access.
After extended discussion, council members instructed staff to prepare a revised tentative map reflecting the council’s direction (including exploring full Orchard Heights extension, possible removal or reorientation of lots in the Lot D area, and adding traffic control or turn‑lane conditions where appropriate). Staff indicated the revision would likely be renoticed and the public hearing reopened; the council voted to close the hearing for this meeting so staff can prepare and publish the revised project materials for public review.
What happens next: staff will prepare a revised tentative map and a public notice for the revised hearing; depending on the extent of changes, staff said the revision might come back directly to the council or could return to the Planning Commission first. The council did not take a final approval vote on the map at this meeting.
