City Council prevents lot split, acts to protect neighborhood

The City Council, after deciding an 0.8-acre lot at 718 N. Rancho Road cannot be subdivided into two lots, set in motion a zone change so that the issue in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods won't come up again.

Neighbors opposing the building of an 8,537squarefoot two-story home on a 23,234-square-foot lot and a 4,090-square-foot one-story home on an 11,866-square-foot lot came out in numbers to the Oct. 23 City Council meeting. There were 21 speakers who talked about the area known for smaller homes set back from the street on bigger lots.

Most spoke about the importance of preserving the country atmosphere and horse-friendly surroundings.

Their neighborhood existed before the city incorporated in 1964. Currently, 62 percent of the sites have lots of more than 20,000 square feet.

If all the lots that could be subdivided were, 62 percent of the neighborhood would have lots of less than 20,000 square feet, city officials said.

To protect the character of the neighborhood, the City Council extended for 10 months and 15 days an urgency ordinance adopted on Sept. 25 that prohibits subdividing land within the Hillcrest/Rancho area.

The council also initiated a zone change for the area that would make 20,000 square feet the minimum lot size. The area currently has a minimum of 10,000-square-foot lots.

- Nancy Needham