(Published June 15, 2022)

July 6 hearing set for final phase of 110 Sycamore Creek homes

The final phase in the 110-home The Highlands at Sycamore Creek development is on the agenda for a public hearing at the county’s Wednesday, July 6, Planning Commission meeting.

Approval is being sought to subdivide about 34 acres into 15 single-family lots and three non-residential lots. Proposed lot sizes are an average of 13,305 square feet, with a minimum size of 8,109 square feet. About 3.48 acres are to be designated for three open space lots. 26.8 acres will remain undisturbed open space.

The location in Sycamore Creek is south of Santiago Canyon Road and adjacent to the Lennar homes.

The first phase of 16 homes was approved in 2019 and the second phase with 79 homes was approved in 2020. When built, the community will have its own HOA. Also planned is a passive park with picnic tables, open space area with trails and a water quality basin.

Comments on this phase of the development and the Mitigated Negative Declaration sould be sent to county Planner Brett Dawson at bdawson@rivco.org, through Monday, July 4.

VIEW THE DOCUMENTS HERE

(Published August 2020)

NEW COMMUNITY: A public hearing for the second phase of The Highlands at Sycamore Creek is on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda for Tuesday, Aug. 4. Approval is sought by the Wayne Kiley Family to build 79 single-family homes on 57.3 acres located south of Kingbird Drive and east of Towhee Lane. Also planned is a 3.95-acre nature park, a 6,657- square-foot passive park and two retention basins.

(Published May 2020)

County planners give The Highlands a thumbs up

The county Planning Commission earlier this month voted to recommend approval of the second phase of The Highlands at Sycamore Creek to the Board of Supervisors.

This phase – on 57.3 acres located south of Kingbird Drive and east of Towhee Lane – includes 79 single-family homes, a 3.95- acre nature park, a 6,657-square-foot passive park and two retention basins.

Lot sizes range from 4,050 to 10,300 square feet, with the average lot size for the 79 homes being 6,000 square feet. Larger lots will be located on the exterior of the project with smaller lots in the center. These are the smallest lot sizes for the 110 homes eventually planned for The Highlands’ property, owned by the Wayne Kiley Family, long-time Temescal Valley residents.

The first phase was approved last year – 16 single-family homes on 8.1 acres with an average lot size of 8,800 square feet. A 0.75- acre pocket park and trails also were approved. The final phase, yet to be submitted for approval, calls for 15 single-family homes built on 34 acres with average lot sizes of 13,300 square feet.

The Highlands will provide recreational opportunities for all Temescal Valley residents. A new public trail is planned to connect to the trail at the county’s Deleo Regional Sports Park and continue to Kiley Park, the almost 4-acre nature park approved in the second phase. This park will have vehicle parking and is within walking distance to the trailhead of the Indian Truck Trail in the Cleveland National Forest. To deter vandalism, criminal activity and homeless encampments, the park will have no restrooms.

Additionally, the Kiley Family donation of 56 acres to the county’s Regional Conservation Authority for wildlife preservation guarantees that nothing can ever be built on that acreage.

A builder has not been selected for The Highlands which will have a homeowners’ association. Residents will have the opportunity to comment on the development at a yet-to-be announced public hearing before the Board of Supervisors.

(Published March 2019)

Planners give OK to 16 homes in Sycamore Creek

The Riverside County Planning Commission at its March 6 meeting voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors approval of a 16 single-family housing tract to be constructed on 8.1 gross acres in the Sycamore Creek area.

Also recommended for approval was a general plan amendment to change the land-use designation from Community Development: Very Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential and a zone change from Rural Residential to General Residential.

This tract of 16 homes would be the first to be built in The Highlands at Sycamore Creek, a community planned on about 90 acres of property owned by the The Kiley Children’s Trust. The location is south of Santiago Canyon Road and next to the Lennar homes now under construction. Two future tracts are planned and each also will require county approval.

Included in the first phase of what would be an HOA-governed community is a 0.75-acre pocket park with picnic tables, open space area with DG trails and a water quality basin.

The project isn’t new – it’s been under consideration for about 15 years, according to Wayne Kiley, a long-time Temescal Valley resident. Kiley said his original plan was to build estate-sized homes on estate-sized lots.

As Sycamore Creek started to build out its specific plan in that area, and particularly the 192 Lennar homes now under construction, it became apparent to Kiley — who would purchase an estate-sized home on acreage directly adjacent to homes on 5,000- and 6,000-square-foot lots?

The 16 homes approved by the Planning Commission will be surrounded on three sides by the new Lennar homes. The average lot size for the 16 Kiley homes is 8,800 square feet – considerably larger than the Lennar homes, according to Kiley.

A total of 110 homes are planned in all three phases of The Highlands. Tract No. 37155, south of Kingbird Drive and Towhee Lane, proposes 79 homes with an average lot size of 5,900 square feet. Tract No. 37154 at the south end of Towhee, proposes 15 homes with an average lot size of 13,300 square feet.

Although separate approvals are being sought for each of the three phases, construction will not begin until all phases are approved. Tentative tract maps for phases 2 and 3 have been submitted to the county and are anticipated to be reviewed by the Planning Commission in three to four months.

Proposed also is a 6.2-acre nature park with 25 parking spaces and trails that would connect the park to Deleo Regional Sports Park and to the Indian Truck Trail that heads into the Cleveland National Forest. Kiley also will donate 56 acres of land to the county for permanent conservation.

The land use changes and tract map for the first phase, with the recommendation of the Planning Commission, will now go before the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing at a yet-to-be determined date.

(Published February 2019)

Hearing planned for 16 homes in Sycamore Creek area

Adkan Engineers, on behalf of property owner The Kiley Family Trust, is seeking land-use and zoning changes that would allow 16 single-family homes to be constructed on 8.1 gross acres in the Sycamore Creek area.

Also planned in what would be an HOA-governed community is a passive park with picnic tables, open space area with trails and a water quality basin.

This tract of 16 homes will be the first to be built in The Highlands at Sycamore Creek, a community planned on about 90 acres of Kiley-owned property south of Santiago Canyon Road and next to the Lennar homes now under construction. Two future tracts are planned and each also will require county approval

Adkan is seeking a general plan amendment to change the land-use designation from Community Development: Very Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential and a zone change from Rural Residential to General Residential.

Public comments about the project can be made at a Planning Commission public hearing at 9 a.m., Wednesday, March 6 in the Board of Supervisors Chambers on the first floor of the county Administrative Center, 4080 Lemon St., Riverside. Comments also can be emailed prior to the public hearing to county planner Brett Dawson at bdawson@rivco.org.