Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Modesto council clears multiple Tivoli rezonings and subdivision maps after securing Mabel Avenue improvements for neighbors
Summary
The council unanimously approved a series of Tivoli-specific-plan amendments, subdivision maps and development plans for Mabel, Alves, Owls and Parisian parcels, adding neighborhood conditions — including a 7-foot fence, second-story review and earlier Mabel Avenue street improvements — after residents pressed for protections.
Modesto — The City Council unanimously approved multiple land-use actions April 7 that will enable phased residential development within the Tivoli Specific Plan while adding negotiated protections for homes on Mabel Avenue.
City staff presented four linked applications for the Mabel parcel, Alves, Owls and Parisian parcels: specific-plan amendments, area-plan updates, vesting tentative subdivision maps and final development plans. The projects collectively convert portions of the Tivoli area into single-family lots and adjust some land-use designations to respond to market conditions.
Neighbors who live on Mabel Avenue had objected to earlier staff recommendations that would have delayed construction of Mabel Court and major street improvements until later phases. At hearings and in meetings with staff and applicants, the residents pressed for clearer triggers and earlier construction of the roadway and related infrastructure.
Jessica Hill, director of Community and Economic Development, told council staff negotiated a compromise: the developer will construct the full street improvements, install a 7-foot wooden fence where the new lots abut existing Mabel homes (one foot taller than the usual six-foot requirement), and subject rear and adjacent lots to the city's two-story review process. For the Parisian parcel specifically, the council accepted an amendment requiring the Mabel Avenue improvements be triggered in phase one rather than delayed to a subsequent phase.
“Staff worked hard to address neighbor concerns and built enforceable conditions into the approvals,” Council Member Scooty Brighton said. Residents who had retained counsel praised the revised condition that ensures the full street improvements will be constructed early in the build-out.
Planning Commission had recommended approval (6–1) after public hearings; Council approved each item in a series of votes, including the specific-plan amendments, area plans, subdivision maps and final development plans. The council also adopted a general-plan amendment restoring an eight-acre designation to regional commercial to reconcile an earlier mapping inconsistency.
What happens next: Developers and property owners will proceed with permitting and required improvements under the condition set. City staff will require construction of specified Mabel Avenue street elements and enforce the second-story review and fencing requirements as part of building permit approvals.
