Supervisors approve Fallbrook Ranch final map

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the final map and secured agreements for the planned Fallbrook Ranch subdivision.

The supervisors' 5-0 vote July 19 also accepted noise protection easements and access restriction easements for the 44.17-acre subdivision on the east side of Old Highway 395 and the north side of Sterling View Drive.

"The final map approval for the Fallbrook Ranch subdivision means there will be eleven new single-family houses available to anyone who wants to make Fallbrook their home," said Supervisor Bill Horn.

The land is owned by Frulla, Inc, and has A70 (Limited Agriculture) zoning. The final map creates 11 residential lots ranging from two to four acres. Approximately four acres will be preserved within permanent biological open space and another four acres will be preserved within steep slope open space easements. The open space provides for a habitat corridor for California gnatcatchers and also covers a drainage which runs along the northwest corner of the site.

The county's Planning Commission approved the tentative map along with an environmental Mitigated Negative Declaration on a 7-0 vote in March 2010. In April 2007, the Fallbrook Community Planning Group voted 14-0 to recommend approval of the site plan and tentative map, and in May 2007 the I-15 Design Review Board voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the site plan.

Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Endangered Habitats League identified concerns during the circulation of the draft Mitigated Negative Declaration, a December 2009 meeting with the wildlife agencies led to their concurrence that the project had addressed significant issues. The Board of Supervisors action found the final map and secured agreement portion of the project to be categorically exempt from further environmental review.

The existing single-family residence and a farm employee housing trailer will remain on the site. The existing private driveway, known as Topa Topa Place, will be improved from Sterling View Drive to meet current private road standards. Topa Topa Place will provide access to nine of the lots and will terminate in a cul-de-sac, and the remaining two lots will be accessed from the existing private road Fallbrook Hacienda Lane, which connects to Mission Road. Access restriction easements into and from Old Highway 395 and Sterling View Drive were placed on seven of the lots.

A total of nine lots have noise protection easements. The project's proximity to Interstate 15 will require mitigation to reduce noise levels on five of the lots, and each of those lots will have a specialized building layout to reduce exterior noise levels. The I-15 corridor design guidelines will prohibit two-story structures on two of the lots while limiting four other lots to a single story unless a finding can be made that a two-story home would maintain a low profile appearance and would substantially maintain the natural physical character of the ridgeline.

A tentative parcel map becomes a final map after all conditions of the tentative map, other than those for which permits cannot be issued until a final map is recorded, are fulfilled. The conditions include secured agreements to ensure that the infrastructure will be built and that payment for labor and materials used to build the infrastructure will be made.

County staff determined that all conditions have been satisfied, that the final map is technically correct and in compliance with all state and county ordinances, and that the map is consistent with the elements of the county's general plan and the Fallbrook Community Plan. Although a grading permit cannot be issued until a final map is recorded, the conditions of a final map include a grading plan.

Septic systems will be used for sanitation. Letters of service availability have been provided by the Rainbow Municipal Water District, the North County Fire Protection District, the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, and the Fallbrook Union High School District. The North County Fire Protection District has also approved the private and public improvement plans.

The secured agreements cover both private and public improvements. Although no new public roads will be created, the project will create approximately 300 feet of private roads. Frulla, Inc., has posted a cash security deposit of $630,675 with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors which covers $187,500 for improvements of streets and easements, $81,600 for improvements to drainage facilities, $144,100 for the construction of water facilities, $7,250 for border marker monumentation, and $210,225 to guarantee payment for labor and materials.