NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND INTENT TO ADOPT A MITIGATED NEGATIVE
DECLARATION
This is to advise that the City of Visalia has prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Project identified below that is scheduled to be held at the Planning Commission of the City of Visalia meeting on June 8, 2026.
PLEASE BE ADVISED that the Planning Commission of the City of Visalia will consider a recommendation to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration at its meeting to be held on June 8, 2026. Presentations will be made at approximately 7:00 p.m. Action on items on the Commission’s agenda will occur after the presentations. The meeting will be held at the Visalia Council Chambers, 707 W. Acequia Avenue, Visalia, California 93291.
Project Name
Clements Ranch Tentative Tract Map No. 5606
Project Location
The Project site is located within an area of unincorporated Tulare County, southeast of the City of Visalia (City), adjacent to the City limits. The site consists of two separate Assessor Parcel Numbers (APNs), 127-020-20 and 127-020-21, with a combined approximately 78 acres of land. The Project site area is within the City’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) and Urban Development Boundary (UDB) – Tier II. The site is currently zoned AE-20 (Exclusive Agriculture, 20-acre minimum) by Tulare County and designated as Residential Low, Residential Medium, Residential High Density, and Conservation by the City General Plan.
The Project is within Section 3, Township 19S, Range 25E, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian (MDB&M), of the Visalia U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Quad Map. The site is generally bound by Union Pacific Railroad to the north, Road 148 to the east, East Caldwell Avenue (Avenue 280) to the south, and South Lovers Lane (Road 140) to the west. The surrounding land uses are generally agricultural land to the north, east, and south, and mixed-density residential tracts to the west.
Project Description
The Project site consists of approximately 370 multi-family high-density units, 153 single-family medium-density units in a gated community with a Homeowners Association (HOA), and 139 single-family low-density units in a non-gated community, for a total of approximately 662 units.
The Project site area will have three phases of buildout:
• TD 1 – Phase 1: Development of lots 1-78, outlots A-E, G-I, and L, Sunnyside Avenue and Streets A, B, E, and C
• TD 1 – Phase 2: Development of lots 140-158, 197-231, 252-265, 286-292, and outlots O and P
• TD 2 – Phase 1: Development of lots 79-189, outlots F, J-K, and Streets A, C, E-H
• TD 2 – Phase 2: Development of lots 159-196, 232-251, 266-285, and outlots Q, R, and T
There is no proposed development of the multi-family units at this time; however, this area is considered Phase 3.
On- and off-site improvements include circulation roads, interior local streets, curbs, gutters, sound barriers, sidewalks, streetlights, neighborhood connections to walking trail, open spaces, landscaping, a water well to be maintained by the City of Visalia, and stormwater basins. All streets are to be offered for dedication for public street purposes. All residential units will be equipped with 450-watt solar panels, utilize all electric appliances, and will be EV-ready (pre-wired during construction to allow for installation of an EV residential charger in the future). The multi-family portion of the Project will realign and underground the Tulare Irrigation Canal.
Outlots will be utilized and dedicated as follows:
• Outlots A, B, E, F, and J-L: Dedicated to the City of Visalia for open space, pedestrian, and public landscaping
• Outlots D and H: Dedicated to the City of Visalia for trail purposes
• Outlot C: For a water well that will be maintained by the City of Visalia
• Outlot G: Stormwater basin to be dedicated to the City of Visalia
• Outlot I: Dedicated to Tulare County Irrigation District
• Outlots M-R and T: Maintained by private HOA
• Outlot S: To be deeded to Southern California Edison (SCE)
Water will be provided by the California Water Service Company, and sewer will be provided by the City.
Discretionary Actions:
The following discretionary actions are required for the Project:
• Annexation into the City of Visalia (Annexation No. 2025-02)
• Annexation approval by Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo)
• General Plan Amendment (GPA No. 2025-04) to modify existing General Plan designations to optimize the residential development on the parcel and amend Figure 4-1 of the Circulation Element
• Prezone to R-1-5 (Single-Family Residential), R-M-2 (Medium-Density Multi-Family Residential), R-M-3 (Multi-Family Residential) and QP (Quasi-Public)
• Tentative Tract Map No. 5606
• Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) (CUP No. 2025-24)
The Project site would be prezoned as R-1-5, R-M-2, R-M-3, and QP. The General Plan Amendment would modify the existing General Plan designations to optimize the residential development on the parcel and amend the Visalia Circulation Element to remove the “K” Avenue new one-mile-long, two-lane collector from Lovers Lane to Road 248, as referenced in Figure 4-1 Roadway Classifications and Table 4-5 Planned Circulation Improvements of the City’s General Plan. There is an SCE substation approximately 0.50 miles east of the Project site that would not allow for the extension of “K” Avenue. A new Sunnyside Avenue, one-mile-long, two-lane collector from the Lovers Lane/Sunnyside Avenue intersection to Road 248, is to be added to Figure 4-1 and Table 4-5. The CUP/PUD will allow certain deviations of the Visalia Municipal Code standards to develop single-family homes within the Medium-Density land use/R-M-2 designation, allow for reduced setbacks, street sizes, and parcel sizes for the medium-density parcels.
Construction:
Construction of the residential development would occur over a maximum of 18 to 24 months. It is anticipated that the following pieces of equipment would be used during construction activities:
• Roller
• Loaded trucks
• Excavator
• Generator
• Service truck
• Air compressor
The document and documents referenced in the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration are available for review at the City of Visalia Planning Division, 315 East Acequia Avenue, Visalia, California 93291, Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and at the website: https://www.visalia.gov/277/California-Environmental-Quality-Act-CEQ
As mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the public review period for this document will be 30 days (CEQA Section 15073[b]). The public review period begins on May 7, 2026, and ends on June 6, 2026. For further information, please contact Jarred Olsen, Principal Planner, at (559) 713-4449 or Jarred.Olsen@visalia.gov.
05/07/2026 #12306371
