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Council approves 24‑unit Creston Road project with density bonus; oak removals, mitigation planned
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Summary
Council approved a 24-unit for-sale condominium project at 420 Creston Road that uses a state density bonus to add four units and includes removal of 10 oak trees (staff says several are fire-damaged or in poor condition); the developer will plant replacement mitigation oaks and install underground conduit for future utility undergrounding.
The Paso Robles City Council unanimously approved a 24‑unit residential project March 17 that uses a state affordable‑housing density bonus to increase units from 20 to 24 with one unit restricted to very‑low‑income households for 55 years. Staff and the applicant described the project as 12 duplex buildings (each two-story, four-bedroom homes) with attached two-car garages, 61 total parking spaces and private open space for each unit.
Planning staff said the applicant requested one concession under the density-bonus law: omission of an on-site toddler playground; the city's draft conditions would require a common open area for informal play in the rear undeveloped portion of the lot. The project also proposes to remove 10 oak trees; staff reported several are in poor condition or were damaged in the 2020 River Fire and said replacement plantings (29 oaks) are proposed as mitigation. "We discovered all the fire damage" around a large historic oak (tree 6) and determined it is not salvageable, staff said.
The draft resolution continues an earlier council decision to allow utilities along Creston Road to remain above ground but requires the installation of underground conduit so future neighborhood undergrounding projects can be undertaken without trenching. Staff recommended amending a grading-condition phrase to remove the word "rough" from the grading plan requirement, and the council approved that edit and the entitlements by unanimous roll call.
Applicant architects emphasized neighborhood-facing porches, pedestrian connections to Creston Road and large backyards; the applicant said they expect an HOA and anticipate the units will be owner‑occupied but noted the market ultimately determines buyers. Council members expressed interest in a later policy discussion about tools the city could use to encourage owner occupancy across projects generally but acknowledged that the city has limited authority to restrict buyers on a private-sale condo project that meets all code and density-bonus rules.
