Plan amendment to upzone 5.1 acres along Buffalo Drive fails after split commission vote

Marissa Furman, representing the applicant, asked the commission to approve a plan amendment and zone change to redesignate roughly 5.1 acres west of Buffalo Drive from Rancho Estate Neighborhood (RN) to Low-Intensity Suburban Neighborhood to allow an 18-lot residential subdivision at about 3.53 units per acre.

Furman emphasized the change in traffic and development on Buffalo Drive and said the average anticipated sale price is "about $870,000," pointing to market forces she said make the site appropriate for increased intensity. Opponents including Steve Small and Glenn Caprillion urged the commission to preserve the Rancho Estate character, arguing adjacent properties remain large-lot and warning rezoning would set an adverse precedent and increase traffic in an area they described as already saturated with new homes.

Commissioners debated whether Buffalo Drive constituted a proper transition corridor and whether the site sits "on the edge" of higher-intensity zoning. A motion to approve the plan amendment failed for lack of five affirmative votes; because the land-use plan amendment did not pass, the related zone change, waivers and tentative map were rendered moot under the commission's stated practice and were forwarded as denied to the Board of County Commissioners for final action. The commission’s discussion included concerns about neighborhood character, traffic, and the distance to RNP (Rancho Estate) boundaries, and several commissioners said the project would benefit from a redesign that reduced the number of lots or otherwise softened the transition to surrounding neighborhoods.