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Council moves to pre‑zone Belle Muir Special Planning Area to R‑1; Autumn Leaf Estates subdivision advanced
Summary
After a staff report and public hearing, the council voted 6–1 to introduce an ordinance pre‑zoning the Belle Muir Special Planning Area to R‑1 and directed staff to apply to LAFCO to annex the 20‑acre Autumn Leaf Estates site; Planning Commission had recommended approval 7–0.
City planning staff told the council that the Bellmere Special Planning Area (SPA) has complex ownership patterns and that staff and council previously directed a study of whether the SPA remains appropriate for the area. Senior planner Mike Solly said staff recommended dissolving the SPA, pre‑zoning most of the area to low‑density R‑1, and approving a 20‑acre Autumn Leaf Estates subdivision subject to environmental mitigation and conditions.
Solly described environmental mitigation measures in the mitigated negative declaration, including protections for nesting birds and bats, procedures for tribal cultural resources, hazardous materials mitigation during construction, interior lighting limits, standard tree conditions and a requirement that annexation be completed within 36 months. He said the Planning Commission recommended approval 7–0 and staff supported adoption of the general plan amendment, pre‑zoning and subdivision approvals.
Applicant Chris Champalli of Epic Homes presented the subdivision design: approximately 3.4 units per acre, two access points (Henshaw and Nord), a stormwater treatment parcel, 68 new single‑family homes oriented to a loop street, and a proposed maintenance district to fund a roughly five‑acre Henshaw Park. "We would be helping with the ongoing maintenance," he said, and described sidewalk and landscaping commitments intended to fit the project into the surrounding area.
Public comment included support from the Chico Area Recreation and Park District for the park and maintenance funding, and several neighbors urged more outreach and cautioned about traffic, flooding and changes to neighborhood character. Council discussion covered infrastructure timing, the sewer and storm drain master plans, traffic study funding and whether it was appropriate to process a major general plan amendment at the same time as a subdivision application.
Council voted 6–1 to introduce the ordinance amending pre‑zoning from SPA to R‑1 (Council member Winslow opposed). On a related item, council also voted 6–0 to adopt a resolution directing staff to apply to LAFCO to seek annexation of the 20‑acre Autumn Leaf Estates site; the annexation application will begin the LAFCO process but does not itself annex the land.
