Oakdale Planning Commission members voted 5-0 on Wednesday to recommend a development agreement between the City of Oakdale and Trieste Investors LCC, which would allow Trieste to build 155 new residences in Oakdale.
The agreement includes plans for Trieste to add 99 age-restricted senior housing units and 56 single-family homes on land at the corner of Highway 120/108 (East F Street) and Stearns Road. The Planning Commission agreed with the plans and voted that the development agreement be sent to Oakdale City Council for approval. The item was scheduled to be discussed at the council meeting on Tuesday night, Sept. 6, past press time for The Leader.
The tentative subdivision map for the Trieste Subdivision includes plans for several new roads or extensions of existing roads. The development agreement includes an agreement that the City of Oakdale will pay for the extensions of D Street past its current end location to connect it with Stearns Road. The city also agreed that it would reconstruct North Stearns Road using part of the $2,200,000 of funding approved by council in February. The reconstruction of North Stearns Road will move the road slightly to the west of its current location. The land between the old and new Stearns Road, approximately 2.41 acres, will be sold to Oakdale Golf and Country Club, according to the development agreement.
The development agreement is a legally binding contract between the City of Oakdale and Trieste Investors LCC. Danelle Stylos, Community Development and Services Director for the City of Oakdale, said that development agreements are a relatively new thing for the City of Oakdale. In fact, the city had no development agreement process until the Planning Commission members approved one at their Aug. 31 meeting.
“We need to have the framework in there and this is the perfect time to add it,” Stylos said.
A development agreement guarantees to developers that certain codes, requirements and fees imposed by the city will not change during the process of development. It “locks in” certain aspects of the project, according to City Attorney Tom Hallinan.
“It’s everything we can control … to the best of our abilities we lock everything in,” Hallinan said.
According to Stylos, the main advantage for the city in a development agreement is that the developer pays for all of the infrastructure of a major development project.
“It allows development to occur and the applicants put in all the infrastructure,” Stylos said.
The Trieste Subdivision project is located within the Oakdale East F Street Specific Plan. Trieste paid an estimated $675,120 in specific plan related fees, including a fire protection study, environmental impact report, financing study, legal fees and staff expenses. Under the development agreement those fees will be spread out over the 187 acres within the specific plan and collected by the city for reimbursement to Trieste Investors LCC.
The development agreement, if approved by council, will be valid for 10 years. The agreement can be extended or canceled if both the city and Trieste agree to it.
“I think the project itself will be exciting for the city,” Stylos said.