Council certifies EIR and approves tentative tract map for Ginkgo Stone House subdivision, with conditions

The City Council certified the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the Ginkgo Stone House residential project and approved the tentative tract map during a public hearing on Jan. 27. The project covers two parcels at 935 and 965 East Grandview Avenue and proposes nine single‑family lots, approximately four acres of permanent non‑buildable open space, new private streets and a required fuel‑modification program for wildfire safety.

Staff briefed council on the EIR process: the draft EIR was circulated for public comment (45 days), the final EIR addresses 20 environmental topics and found most impacts to be less than significant with mitigation. The planning commission recommended approval; staff noted geotechnical investigations will be required for each individual home site prior to construction, and mitigation measures include pre‑construction biological and archaeological oversight, tree replacement and limits on heavy equipment near off‑site structures.

City Attorney outlined the project’s long procedural history, including a 2010 settlement agreement and successive tolling agreements (the fourteenth tolling agreement currently runs to 06/30/2027). The settlement framework limits how substantially the project design can deviate from the settlement plan without reopening litigation.

The applicant, represented by Chad Stadnicki, said the proposed plan follows the settlement plan and that both the proposed project and staff‑preferred reduced‑lot alternative avoid significant unavoidable impacts under CEQA. City staff and the applicant described the fuel‑modification/fuel‑management approach and confirmed the homeowners association or current owner will initially carry brush‑abatement responsibilities until parcels transfer.

Public commenters raised questions about brush management responsibility, impacts to adjacent structures (including a carriage house) and whether the proposed alternatives adequately reduce grading or environmental impacts. Staff said mitigation measures address those concerns, including a restriction that heavy equipment not operate within 10 feet of off‑site structures and that each lot will require a geotechnical report at the building stage.

Council voted to adopt Resolution 26‑09 (certification of the EIR, adoption of the mitigation monitoring and reporting program, and approval of tentative tract map 65348) as amended by recommended changes from staff and the city attorney. Staff will record deed restrictions and conditional requirements, and required conditions (brush management allocation, LID and stormwater standards, construction hours and similar items) will be reflected in the final map and mitigation monitoring plan.