LAKE ELSINORE: Smaller home design approved for project
Change prompted by slump in housing market, credit crunch
By AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer | ∞
LAKE ELSINORE ---- Miami-based home builder Lennar will be allowed to build houses that are smaller than existing homes in a Rosetta Canyon housing tract.
The Planning Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve the request after holding a public hearing that featured testimony by residents who spoke in favor of Lennar's plans.
Jarnne Valdez, a Lennar senior project manager based in Corona, said the home builder was asking for permission to build the smaller homes due to the "extreme slowing" of the housing market and national finance issues, which are hampering the ability of some people to secure mortgages.
The proposed homes, which are dubbed "Jasmine" by Lennar, will range from 2,269 square feet to 2,590 square feet.
The two other types of homes in the tract, which is about 60 percent built, are called "Primrose," which range from 3,504 square feet to 3,873 square feet, and "Magnolia," which range from 2,904 square feet to 3,399 square feet.
Lennar had planned to build more of the Magnolia type homes in the neighborhood before the housing slowdown.
When the 190-home tract is complete, it will feature 37 Primrose homes, 88 Magnolia homes and 65 Jasmine homes, Valdez said. All of the homes will be two stories.
Before pitching its plans to the city, Lennar staged outreach meetings in the neighborhood, located in the city's northeastern corner. At those meetings, Valdez said the home builder talked to residents about building single-story homes.
After listening to the concerns expressed by the neighborhood's existing residents, Lennar scrapped the one-story design and focused on building two-story homes.
Some of the other changes requested by the residents and incorporated into the Jasmine models include architectural elements that will make them look similar to the existing homes, Valdez said.
Also, the paint schemes and the width of the homes visible from the street will be similar to help maintain continuity, she said.
Commissioner Phil Mendoza praised Lennar for holding the outreach meetings and talking about its plans with residents, who likely wondered how the new homes would affect property values.
Mendoza said the company is setting an example for home builders to follow when they request modifications to existing plans.
Referencing a recent controversial decision by the commission, Mendoza said some home builders have taken a different path, taking their concerns to a "higher power" instead of talking to residents.
In August, the commission voted 3-2 to reject a request made by New Jersey-based K. Hovnanian Homes, which asked for permission to build homes in the McVicker Canyon neighborhood that didn't comply with design guidelines for the area.
The chairman of the commission, Axel Zanelli, was one of the commissioners who voted against K. Hovnanian's request. He said during that hearing the commission has been tasked by the council with "raising the bar" on architectural standards in the city and he believed the design submitted by K. Hovnanian didn't meet those specifications.
The City Council in September voted 3-2 to overturn that commission decision, with Councilman Robert Schiffner directly addressing the issue of "raising the bar."
Schiffner said the plans submitted by K. Hovnanian, which was asking to build a type of home similar to existing homes in the area, wasn't "raising the bar" but it wasn't lowering the bar either. The majority of the council agreed, saying the city needs any new housing starts it can get in the current economic climate.
The council adjusted its annual budget in September, letting go of its director of community development and laying off 8 union employees, due to a projected $2 million shortfall largely tied to the housing slowdown.
Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.
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Small wrote on Oct 8, 2008 5:34 AM:Since when did 2269 sq ft equal a small house?
Unbelieveable wrote on Oct 8, 2008 8:45 AM:This City Council is unbelieveable. We cannot move on our roads now and yet they want to build "more" houses. It doesn't matter what size they are there are empty commercial buildings new and old everywhere and houses too. Perhaps this council should concentrate on doing something with out roads to move people from point A to B, instead of more empty houses and buildings sitting everywhere. Or how about doing something with the ghetto on Grand Avenue!!!!!!!!!!
Smart wrote on Oct 8, 2008 10:20 AM:Why are they being allowed to build homes at all. Lake Elsinore is located in one of the most depressed housing markets in the country, yet there building more homes. Way to make a bad situation worse city council.
life long resident wrote on Oct 8, 2008 10:47 AM:The city has very little choice in the matter.
IF, the general plan allows these homes, IF, the developer has submitted the plans, IF, the developer has the approval of the banks, the city must approve them... that's the way the laws are written.
Wendy wrote on Oct 8, 2008 10:48 AM:I completely agree with "Unbelievable"- the roads all around the lake look horrible. They refurnished the street lights on Lake Street, but the hill side looks horrible. They should have built a retaining wall and widen the street.
Ignorance is bliss wrote on Oct 8, 2008 2:39 PM:First of all, the decision was made by the planning commission, not the city council.
Secondly, the builders are only building a few at a time, not hundreds, and although the market has become so depressed, they can sell 1-3 homes a month, which keeps their employees working, keeps cash flow moving etc. If you people only had a clue as to what was going on!
Wendy, you must be talking about Lakeshore, not Lake.... And do you know how much it would cost to cut into the hillside of private properties and then build a wall? Are you nuts>>
Resident wrote on Oct 8, 2008 6:59 PM:Some people just don't get it and never will. The new houses even only 1-3 at a time are important to establish a tax base to improve the roads of the existing neighborhoods. The new residents are paying bonds for their roads and their property taxes assist with existing infrastructure improvements. If you are concerned about your roads get your neighbors together and finance the paving your selves if you can't wait until the tax base is high enough to justify this activity. Typical of people that scream about gov't deficiencies and then in the next sentence beg for a handout from that very gov't. I guess people tend to buy what they want and then beg for what they need.
hyme wrote on Oct 8, 2008 7:23 PM:Nice call, wendy. Your right! Lake street needs to be completed. When?
Ask Mr. Murdock why we must wait and why the city is not moving forward to complete the road that has taken live's. Ask me: Too much money in pockets at city hall.
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