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Modesto council rezones 3213 Coffee Road to allow medium‑density housing; vote 7‑0
Summary
The Modesto City Council voted unanimously to rezone 1.35 acres at 3213 Coffee Road from professional office to medium‑density residential, enabling roughly 14–30 housing units and advancing an ordinance that council introduced and waived first reading.
The Modesto City Council on March 10 unanimously approved rezoning 1.35 acres at 3213 Coffee Road from Professional Office (PO) to Medium‑Density Residential (R2), a change staff said would allow between about 10.9 and 22 units per acre—roughly 14 to 30 units on the site.
Jessica Hill, the city’s director of community and economic development, told the council the property was annexed in 1963 and was rezoned to PO in 2012 but remained vacant. “If it’s rezoned, the allowable density will be 10.9 to 22 units per acre, so we’ll allow between 14 to 30 units,” Hill said, and noted the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval. Hill also said staff reviewed the programmatic environmental impact report and determined no further environmental review was required.
During the public hearing, Ron West, representing the property owner, said the site has no immediate development plan but that residential remains the “highest and best use.” He said the applicant conducted outreach and that the proposed R2 zone would not permit the taller, denser development neighbors have criticized nearby.
Neighbor Colleen Fitzgerald told the council she was concerned about building height, setbacks and potential shading of nearby rooftop solar. Hill responded that no development is proposed with the rezoning and that two‑story development would be subject to second‑story review, noting a minimum 15‑foot rear setback would apply and that second‑story provisions consider impacts to neighboring solar.
Council members voted first on a resolution finding the rezoning conforms with the Modesto Urban Area programmatic EIR (SCH No. 2024091127) and then introduced and waived first reading of an ordinance amending the zoning map to rezone the property; both measures passed 7‑0. The ordinance will follow the city’s formal publishing and adoption sequence before becoming effective.
The staff report said the rezoning would restore the property’s prior R2 designation and that no immediate building permit or development application accompanies the zone change. The council’s action moves the parcel back into a residential designation that planning staff said better reflects market demand and adjacent land uses.
