Latest news with #BrightHomes
CBS News
18-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Turlock housing project set to move location of long-standing strawberry field
TURLOCK — The Turlock City Council voted to approve a housing project that will add 114 new homes on Monte Vista Avenue. The City of Turlock's latest housing element update stated that state laws required them to add over 5,800 new homes by 2031. That's through California's Regional Housing Needs Allocation, which requires each city to update its housing element to ensure that there is enough housing to meet projected needs. "We have the small-town charm, and they're deleting it," said Darren Previtelli, who lives in the neighborhood behind the proposed project. Previtelli said he moved from Stockton to Turlock 15 years ago to escape the city and move somewhere with a small-town vibe. "They're going to add a whole bunch of homes. They're going to stress the little poor fire department, the police department, and the school... More kids, more students more stress," he said. Previtelli said he bought his house over a decade ago knowing the strawberry field was his next-door neighbor. He is nervous that the new neighborhood will also congest his limited roads to leave his neighborhoods. Bright Homes Builders, which is behing the project, has owned the lot where the strawberry field is for years. During the latest city council meetings, Bright Home Builders Vice President Loura Erickson said the strawberries would move to Modesto. CBS13 reached out to Erickson to see where and when that will happen, but have not heard back as of the time this story was published.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Turlock approves 114 houses amid neighbor complaints. The site has long grown strawberries
A developer won approval to put 114 houses on a longtime strawberry patch in north Turlock. The City Council voted 3-1 on Tuesday, Feb. 11, for the Monte Vista Avenue project. Dissenting member Erika Phillips cited traffic concerns raised by 40-plus nearby residents in person or by email. The builder, Bright Homes of Modesto, could not be reached for details on the sale prices and timeline. The lots will be just 3,150 to 5,488 square feet, vs. 6,000-plus in a typical project, which could trim the cost. The 14-acre site is at the northwest corner of Monte Vista and Walnut Road. Stanislaus State University lies about a quarter mile to the east. The project will add to the diversity of housing choices, said Adrienne Werner, development services director for Turlock. She added that it also fits the city's goal for 'infill' rather than sprawling growth. Bright Homes is one of the leading builders in and near Stanislaus County, including Turlock's northern growth area in recent decades. 'We do feel that this is a great addition to the city of Turlock,' Chief Operating Officer Loura Erickson told the council. 'We're really proud of the communities that exist in that area, because we built them.' The project will have smaller-than-standard yards on the front, rear and sides. Masonry walls will shield much of the perimeter, though it will not be a gated community. Critics urged that the new lots be closer in size to typical single-family homes. They also objected to the initial plan to have just one entry and exit, on Snowbird Drive on the north side. The developer agreed to add a second on Four Seasons Drive on the west. The Turlock Planning Commission unanimously endorsed the project Feb. 6. The supporters on the City Council were Mayor Amy Bublak and members Cassandra Abram and Kevin Bixel. Member Rebecka Monez was absent. The strawberries have grown for at least three decades on land leased from Bright Homes. It was not clear as of Friday how the coming homes would affect the 2025 harvest, which would run from April to June. This year's plants are well along under weed-controlling plastic sheets . The site has a small stand for selling strawberries and other produce, but it was closed and fenced off Friday. Modesto Bee archives show that Laotian refugee Yong Va Yang started the farm in the mid-1990s. He later turned it over to son Bee Yang. Turlock needs at least 5,802 new housing units by 2032 under a state-mandated plan. Some will be in typical subdivisions for middle- and higher-income residents. Others will be in apartments at various rent levels, possibly on underused retail strips such as Geer Road and Lander Avenue. The project approved Tuesday is just west of an apartment site that will have 348 market-rate units in 12 three-story buildings. The interior parking lots are in place, but the structures have yet to rise.
