Huntington planners to review proposal for a new subdivision on the Franklin School site

A proposal to develop 11 single-story and 42 two-story homes on an abandoned school site will go before the Huntington Beach Planning Commission Tuesday.

The plan includes constructing private streets, public utilities, a water quality basin lot and a 1.15-acre public park on the 8.75-acre Franklin School site at 14422 Hammon Lane.

Applicant Rick Wood of TRI Pointe Homes is requesting a conditional use permit to develop the single-family homes with reduced lot widths — instead of the minimum 60 feet — and varying lot sizes in lieu of the minimum 6,000 square feet, according to a staff report.

Because the developer is seeking lot size exceptions the project must provide mutual benefits for residents of the new development as well as the general public, Assistant City Planner Jessica Bui wrote in the staff report.

Proposed benefits include the public park and improvements, such as landscaping, irrigation, lighting and playground equipment, that the homeowners association would maintain. Members of the public could also legally park on the private streets to use the new park.

Bui wrote that these proposals exceed guidelines in the Quimby Act, which allows cities to require that developers dedicate parkland or other open space in exchange for permission to build subdivisions.

Bui added that the project could eventually save the public money because it would remove and replace Franklin Park, which is operated and maintained jointly by the city and Westminster School District.

Commissioners are expected to review the proposal in a study session and then schedule a public hearing for July 10.

Franklin School, developed in 1962, has been vacant since 2015, according to the staff report.

The study session begins at 5:15 p.m. at City Hall, 2000 Main St.

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