The owners have already been meeting with appropriate city departments, said Dyer, and consultants will be hired for special studies, including traffic impacts.Resident Carl Barringer noted the proposed number of homes and traffic impacts in the area - that has no sidewalks and street lights - and the cumulative affects on access to Highway 150 and Thelma Bedell School.Alan Atmore, also an Oaks resident, said Santa Paula Creek turns just above property and could threaten the future residents of Sparkuhl Ranch; the grade will be raised slightly and other improvements undertaken to offset the results of a 100-year flood event, said Dyer.Lot size - now set at slightly over a third of an acre - was also contested by audience members, as was access.Several audience members suggested that the number of homes be scaled back, especially since other construction - notably seven homes on Stewart Ranch property - is in the planning stages. The city will study cumulative impacts, and want to look at the whole area “globally,” said the consultants. In addition, a series of hearings will be held during the approval process allowing for more public input.The Sparkuhls are expected to formally submit plans to the city in about 60 days; initial up front costs paid to the city will be up to $50,000, Dyer said.
Sparkuhl Ranch: Neighbors question Oaks development, traffic among concerns
February 09, 2001
Santa Paula News
The planned residential development in the Oaks is moving closer to reality, neighbors learned at recent meeting where they again objected to the projects impacts on the rural residential area.
Concerns over traffic ranked as the top topic of discussion, followed by doubts that construction so close to Santa Paula Creek is viable, lot size and the fear that the homes will forever change the character of the Oaks
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe planned residential development in the Oaks is moving closer to reality, neighbors learned at recent meeting where they again objected to the projects impacts on the rural residential area.Concerns over traffic ranked as the top topic of discussion, followed by doubts that construction so close to Santa Paula Creek is viable, lot size and the fear that the homes will forever change the character of the Oaks.The Jan. 27 meeting drew about 50 people who learned that the development has been scaled back from 27 to 26 homes, planned near the intersection of Cliff and Forest drives.Owned by Dr. Michael and Debbe Sparkuhl, their representatives told the crowd of the revisions to the original plan on the 11.6 acre parcel. “We want to create something consistent with the Oaks,” said Dawn Dyer of the Dyer Sheehan Group, a Ventura-based consulting firm.Not only have the number of units been scaled down, but the size of the houses: initially, each house was estimated to be between 2,400 to 3,000 square feet. New plans call for houses to be 1,800 to 3,500 square feet, of a mix of up to five different architectural designs.
