Redmond planning commission backs High Desert Ranch PUD with conditions, urges alternate trail alignment

The Redmond Urban Area Planning Commission voted Wednesday to recommend approval of the High Desert Ranch plan unit development, a proposed annexation, tentative subdivision and conditional-use permit for about 42 acres at 3220 Northwest Way that would create 194 residential lots and a network of open space and multiuse paths.

Kyle Roberts, Redmond’s planning director, told commissioners the application meets the city’s standards or can meet them under recommended conditions and highlighted three deviation requests: reduced minimum lot sizes for much of the R3-designated single-family area (the median lot size on the plan is about 4,500 square feet, compared with the R3 standard of 7,500), narrower street frontage for roughly 110 of the single-family lots (about 40 feet versus the 50-foot standard), and reduced intersection spacing on the proposed extension of Northwest Pershall Way (one proposed segment is about 860 feet, under the city’s roughly 1,320-foot arterial spacing requirement).

Roberts also summarized benefits the applicant offers in exchange for deviations: a mix of housing types that staff says aligns with the…