The Atascadero City Council will be discussing the processing schedule for the Eagle Ranch Specific Plan Project on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. The Council will be giving staff direction on the processing of the project and environmental impact report. The public is encouraged to attend and will be given an opportunity to speak.

The Eagle Ranch Specific Plan proposes the annexation of an undeveloped 3,450± acre area adjacent to Atascadero’s southern boundary, to the City of Atascadero. The majority of the site is part of the Historic Atascadero Colony and contains approximately 452± undeveloped Colony lots and a network of un-built Colony roads, originally established by E.G. Lewis’ 1914 Atascadero Colony Map. The Specific Plan will propose reconfiguring these existing lots and roadways, and will identify a variety of land uses including housing, commercial uses, parks, trails, open space, and tourist-serving facilities.

On May 27, 2008, the Atascadero City Council approved a resolution to authorize the processing of a General Plan Amendment and begin the annexation process for the Eagle Ranch project. The applicant held two community meetings in January and September of 2008 to facilitate citizen participation and public outreach. In 2009 the applicants and their project development team continued working on a conceptual layout and preliminary project proposal. Conceptual design analysis has taken into consideration the information from the two previous public meetings, as well as further site mapping of the project site, including trees, slopes, historic resources, and other site analysis and constraints.

Conceptual Land Use Plan
The applicant has identified the following major project components and included these in a conceptual Land Use Map. Site plan and project components are in the preliminary design stage and are subject to change through the planning process:

• Single-family Residential – Preliminary, 452 colony lots reconfigured into clustered lots ranging from 8,000 square feet to 1 acre.
• Village Center – small scale retail and offices in middle of project.
• Multi-Family Residential – Preliminarily, 90 multi-family dwellings including affordable units and senior housing near the Village and Park.
• Highway Commercial – along US 101/Santa Barbara interchange.
• Resort Hotel – Tourism component.
• Parks – A neighborhood public park is proposed adjacent to a creek side setting and within walking distance of the Village.
• Open Space – The majority of the 3,500 acre site is proposed to remain as open space to be utilized for agricultural activities and conservation.
• Schools – reviewing the need for a possible school site at Eagle Ranch.
• Roads – Roads are, to the extent practicable, aligned to coincide with existing ranch roads.
• Trails – Public pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian trails are proposed and conceptually designed to lead to the Village Center and to connect with the surrounding neighborhood.

The applicant has requested authorization from the City to initiate the EIR process concurrently with the development of the project design and Specific Plan. The concurrent processing is proposed in order to incorporate the studies and findings of the EIR into the early stages of the project design. A timeline for the concurrent processing of the EIR and Specific Plan and a proposed schedule for public participation is provided for Council consideration at the August 10, 2010 meeting.

The complete staff report for the August 10, 2010 Council meeting as well as additional project information, is available on the City’s website, at www.atascadero.org under Council Agenda’s and Minutes. You can also contact the Community Development Department at (805)461-5000, or visit City Hall at 6907 El Camino Real, Atascadero, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Applicant Project Description

Conceptual Land Use Map

Development Constraints Map

Existing Lot Map