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REQUEST FOR ANNEXATION AND PREZONING FOR A PROPOSED 217 LOT SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (MURRAY RANCH) AT 2560 HALL AVENUE (APNS 173-030-110 & 173-040-750) (P23-0346)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Find no further environmental review is necessary under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 (Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning);
2. Adopt an ordinance for the Prezoning of APNs 173-030-11 and 173-040-75 to Residential, Low (RL),
3. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the filing of an annexation application with the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of the approved resolutions and ordinances.
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Summary
Tim Lewis Land Group LP (Applicant) proposes to develop a single-family residential project, also known as “Murray Ranch”, on two (2) vacant parcels totaling approximately 37.4-acres, located in the vicinity south of East Charter Way and South Golden Gate Avenue (Project). The Project site is currently in unincorporated San Joaquin County and the Applicant is requesting annexation into the City of Stockton limits that currently abut the Project site. Annexation would provide the applicant with the benefit of receiving municipal sanitary sewer and sanitary storm utilities and urban services from the Stockton Fire, Police, Public Works and other Departments.
The Project application includes: a Vesting Tentative Map to subdivide the existing parcels into 217 single-family lots ranging from 3,211 to 11,165 square feet (SF) in size, and provide additional common-area lots for landscaping, stormwater basins, and open space, a Planned Development Permit, Heritage Tree Removal Permit, a Waiver and Prezoning to Residential, Low Density and authorization for Annexation.
The Development Code identifies the Planning Commission as the review authority for the requested Vesting Tentative Map, Planned Development Permit, Waiver, and Heritage Tree Removal, and is a recommending body for City Council’s consideration of the prezoning. The Planning Commission does not have decision-making authority over the annexation request, as this requires a recommendation by the Development Review Committee.
On April 11, 2025, the Planning Commission approved the Vesting Tentative Map, Planned Development Permit, Waiver, and Heritage Tree Removal Permit, which are in compliance with the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC). The Planning Commission also recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance for prezoning of the site to Residential, Low Density (RL). Additionally, on January 21, 2025, the Development Review Committee (DRC) reviewed the application and recommended approval to the City Council. The Vesting Tentative Map, Planned Development Permit, Waiver, Heritage Tree removal, and prezoning, will only take effect upon City annexation.
The Project furthers General Plan policies aimed at prioritizing development of vacant, underutilized, and blighted infill areas (Policy LU-6.2) and, Goal and Policy, HE-2: Provide a range of housing types, densities, designs, and meet existing and Projected housing needs for all economic segments of Stockton. The Project is compliant with applicable development standards within Stockton Municipal Code Title 16 (Development Code), with approval of a Waiver and Planned Development Permit request.
Staff and the Planning Commission recommend the City Council approve the CEQA environmental determination and prezoning of the Project site to Residential, Low Density, which is consistent with the 2040 General Plan Land Use Map designation of Low Density Residential. Further Staff and the Development Review Committee recommend authorizing the filing of an annexation application with the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo).
DISCUSSION
Background
The subject site consists of two (2) vacant parcels identified as Assessor’s Parcel Numbers (APNs) 173-030-11 and 173-040-75, which are in the general vicinity south of the intersection of East Charter Way and South Golden Gate Avenue (Attachment A - Aerial Photo). APN 173-030-11 has an address of 2560 Hall Avenue and is approximately 28.56 acres. APN 173-040-75 has an address of 2530 East Section Avenue and is approximately 8.84-acres. The overall Project site is approximately 37.4-acres.
The site is bound to the:
• North by mostly vacant land and several single-family residential homes and accessory structures in lands within the County of San Joaquin with a zoning designation of AU-20; and
• South by an established low density single-family neighborhood zoned Residential, Low (RL), lands set aside for a future park zoned Open Space (OS) and vacant lands within the County of San Joaquin with a zoning designation of AU-20; and
• East by railroad tracks and vacant land within the County with a zoning designation of AU-20, and single-family homes also within the County with a zoning designation of R-L; and
• West by single-family homes in the County of San Joaquin with a zoning designation of R-L.
The General Plan Land Use designation for the entirety of the Project site is Low Density Residential (Attachment B - General Plan Land Use Map). Since the site is currently located in the jurisdiction of San Joaquin County, City of Stockton zoning has not been established. With City Council’s approval, the site will be prezoned to Residential, Low (RL) Density zoning, which is consistent with the existing General Plan designation and will take effect when the site is officially annexed into the City of Stockton. The surrounding zoning is predominantly Residential, Low Density as shown in Attachment C - Zoning Map.
Project Description
On December 14, 2023, Tim Lewis Land Group LP filed a development application for all required entitlements, including a Vesting Tentative Map, Planned Development Permit, Waiver, and Heritage Tree Removal permit, to establish a proposed residential subdivision development located at the northern terminus of Madrid Drive, which has access to Farmington Road and Juliet Road. This proposed development has been named “Murray Ranch.”
The overall Project proposes to subdivide the two (2) existing parcels into 217 single-family residential lots, as well as common area lots for a .14-acre park, .87 acres for open space and 2.06 acres for an infiltration basin to manage stormwater. The Project proposes three (3) different residential lot sizes to provide for variation in home sites; 78 lots will be approximately 45’x80’ in size, 49 lots will be approximately 50’x90’ in size, and the remaining 90 lots will be approximately 50’x95’ in size.
Access to the proposed development would entail extending public streets that were intentionally stubbed to the Project site as part of earlier approved subdivisions to connect when future surrounding development occurs. Existing streets to be extended into the Project site are proposed from the south including Brigham Street, Madrid Drive, and Daniellie Drive that are in the Stockton City limits. These streets serve existing neighborhoods and have direct connections from Juliet Road to Mariposa Road, and from Madrid Drive to Farmington Road which is a signalized intersection. Further, Hall Avenue is currently stubbed on the western boundary of the Project site and a new connection is proposed to provide for complete circulation for the area. Hall Avenue is currently under the jurisdiction of San Joaquin County and serves an existing neighborhood (Mariposa Heights).
Planning Commission Review Authority
The Project application includes a request for a Vesting Tentative Map, which vests the right to develop the property according to the approved plan, even if regulations changes later; a Planned Development Permit which provides flexibility with their lot sizes, lot widths, and setbacks; a Waiver to enable their Project to deviate from the net density (dwelling units/per acre) requirement allowed by the Development Code for parcels with Residential, Low Density zoning; and a Heritage Tree Removal permit. The Planning Commission is the Review Authority for these requests.
STAFF ANALYSIS
To develop the project, the City Council is asked to consider approval of annexation of the Project lands into the City of Stockton and adoption an ordinance for the Prezoning of APNs 173-030-11 and 173-040-75 to Residential, Low Density (RL). Each request and staff analysis are provided below.
Annexation
The Project site is presently located within the jurisdiction of San Joaquin County and is located within the City’s Sphere of Influence. The Applicant has requested annexation of the Project site into the City of Stockton and is shown in Attachment D - Annexation Map.
If the annexation request is approved by City Council, the City Manager will be authorized to file an annexation application with the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo).
Development Review Committee
Per SMC 16.212.050(C)(1) the Development Review Committee (DRC) is required to review the Annexation request and forward a recommendation to the Director. On January 30, 2025, the DRC reviewed the Project merits and recommended approval of the Project to the Director.
Prezoning
Since the Project site is presently located within an unincorporated area of the County of San Joaquin, annexation must occur and be preceded by “Prezoning” through a Zoning Map Amendment. The Project, therefore, includes a request to Prezone the site to Residential, Low (RL) zoning (Attachment E - Prezoning Description and Map).
The 2040 General Plan Land Use Map designates the project site as Residential. Pursuant to Table 2-1 (General Plan Relationship to Development Code) of the General Plan, the RL Zone is compatible with the General Plan Land Use designation of Residential. As reflected in the attached Proposed Ordinance, all necessary findings can be made to support the proposed Prezone action. Upon approval of the Annexation by the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), the Zoning Map Amendment would become effective and applicable.
Environmental Clearance
Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15183, states that “…(P)rojects which are consistent with… general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project-specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project.”
The proposed Project is consistent with the adopted Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan and which was evaluated in its certified EIR (SCH# 2017052062). The City Council certified the 2040 General Plan EIR and adopted the 2040 General Plan on December 4, 2018. The Project is also consistent with the applicable General Plan designation and all applicable General Plan policies. Finally, there are no Project specific significant effects related to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality; and the Project site has no apparent value as a habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species. Thus, the Project does not result in project-specific effects which are peculiar to the Project, and the Project does not require further environmental review under CEQA.
Future Review: Design Review
SMC Section 16.120.020(A)(1) requires Design Review approval for new single-family tract development in a subdivision of (5) or more parcels, subject to the design standards located in Section 3.01 (Single-Family Design Standards for New Tract Development) of the Citywide Design Guidelines Manual.
There is no proposed architecture at this time, however the Project will need to comply with the SMC requirements and Citywide Design Guidelines. A Condition of Approval was added to the Vesting Tentative Map resolution that requires future Project architecture to go through the City’s Design Review process.
PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING
On April 10, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider the proposed Project request for approval of a Vesting Tentative Map, Planned Development, Waiver, and Heritage Tree Removal, and a recommendation that the City Council approve prezoning of the site to Residential, Low Density based on recommended findings provided in the City staff report.
Many residents residing or having interest in Hall Avenue attended the Planning Commission hearing to express their concerns in opposition to the Project, specifically citing concerns with increased traffic along Hall Avenue, concerns with biological resources, tribal cultural resources, and the process by which they received notice of the Planning Commission hearing. For clarification, due to the SMC 300’ foot public hearing noticing requirement from the Project site boundary, only a small portion of the residences on Hall Avenue received a meeting notice.
After hearing public testimony from the applicant and general public, the Planning Commission voted 6-0, to approve the Vesting Tentative Map, Planned Development, Waiver, and Heritage Tree Removal requests, and a recommendation that the City Council approve Prezoning for the site to Residential, Low Density. Further, the Planning Commission’s approval included a condition that the public hearing notice for the City Council hearing be sent to all residences on Hall Avenue at a minimum 20 days prior to the meeting.
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
In accordance with SMC 16.88.025, a neighborhood meeting was held by the Applicant on May 7, 2025, and attended by City staff and residents in the area. The purpose of the meeting was to inform nearby residents and interested parties about the development and answer any questions they may have.
The majority of those in attendance resided on, or had interest in, Hall Avenue. Many of the residents cited their concern with the Project, stating that their “neighborhood will be gone forever” and that “closing off Hall Avenue is the only solution and the only option they would entertain.” Another resident stated concerns with heavy truck traffic driving down Hall Avenue and that it would “ruin the foundation of her home.” Other attendees wanted assurances that the park would be built with the project, as the proposed City Park at the terminus of Madrid Drive was never constructed. Another attendee stated that they wanted a traffic signal at Juliet Road and Mariposa Road.
The Applicant has had additional dialogue with the County Supervisor’s Office, and County Public Works Department, regarding the neighborhood meeting and the concerns raised to come up with mutually beneficial solutions. The Applicant has also initiated additional correspondence with the neighbors along Hall Avenue to continue the dialogue.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Planning Commission requested that notice for the City Council public hearing be published in The Record and mailed out to all residents within the 300’ buffer per SMC 16.88.003, as well as all owners on Hall Avenue, 20 days in advance of the City Council hearing.
The Project notice was published in The Record on June 25, 2025, and mailed notice was sent to all property owners within a 300-foot radius, as well as those owning property along Hall Avenue and Learned Avenue, 20 days prior to the City Council hearing. As of the writing of this staff report, no written comments have been submitted.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Approval of the project, and subsequent development, would provide the City’s General Fund with additional revenue collected through property taxes.
Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photo
Attachment B - General Plan Land Use Map
Attachment C - Zoning Map
Attachment D - Annexation Map
Attachment E - Prezoning Description and Map