OLSEN RANCH BEECHWOOD SPECIFIC PLAN
View Notice of
Preparation - Environmental Impact Report
View Charrette Catalog.
The community’s Economic Strategy is oriented towards a
future that includes a vital, expanding and balanced economy
where the great majority of Paso Roblans can live, work, shop,
and play.
Paso Robles needs to actively encourage compact,
pedestrian-oriented neighborhood forms to accommodate a variety
of income levels and lifestyles. Distinctive design concepts are
sought to create streetscapes of beauty and functional benefit
to pedestrians. It is through such effort that the “quality of
place” is improved and presents an attraction for investment,
commerce, and living. It is through “place-making” that economic
development is achieved.
Therefore, the City Council is taking action to actively
encourage community development in mixed use, compact,
interconnected, and pedestrian oriented form.
The Olsen Ranch Beechwood Specific Plan area neighborhood
concept harkens back to traditional neighborhoods where one
could walk safely to a neighbor’s house, to the park, to the
corner market, and to school.
The 2003 General Plan also includes many policies and actions
that direct and support development of neighborhoods that have
these types of traditional neighborhood qualities. The General
Plan requires that a Specific Plan be prepared for the Olsen
Ranch and Beechwood planning areas before development can be
considered.
The City has been at work preparing a specific plan for this
area that meets these high standards - to create a very livable
network of neighborhoods with tree-lined interconnected streets,
land use patters that include a mix of housing densities and
uses, minimize the impact of cars, and promotes walking to meet
daily needs. As a traditional neighborhood design, the Olsen
Ranch Beechwood Specific Plan is being designed to encourage
social interaction and balanced integration.
The General Plan provides a starting point for design
parameters, which allows up to 673 dwelling units (including 95
multi-family residences) within the Olsen Ranch, and up to 674
dwelling units (including 200 multi-family residences) within
the Beechwood planning area.
The early public participation phase of preparing this specific
plan included a 5-day design "charrette". This is a method of
public participation that brings all interested parties together
for a series of days where everyone with a stake or interest
participates directly with the consultant team to develop and
review ideas about the project at hand.
Prior to conducting the charrette, baseline existing condition
information was gathered to help inform the charrette
participants in developing the plan. This helped narrow down
development constraints, and identify the special qualities
about the area that should be protected such as the beautiful
landforms and stately oak trees. View
pre-charrette information [pdf:5mb/23pp] provided.
Out of this intensive, multi-disciplinary process, detailed
design concepts, including a plan layout with block patterns and
circulation, a regulating plan that indicates where different
land uses and densities should occur, and architectural concepts
for future buildings were created. This information was put into
what is called a “Charrette Catalog”, and is the basis of the
draft specific plan being prepared.
Links to the various topics in the Charette Catalog is provided
below.
The first few links include images from the Charrette and
existing conditions information. The next few links provide
images of how the planning area is intended to be designed with
streetscapes, open space areas, and the overall plan layout. The
last links to the catalog provide information and images of the
architecture, uses, and regulations intended for this planning
area. The Draft Specific Plan will provide greater detail of
this information in addition to all of the information required
by State law.
The project schedule anticipates completion of a public review
Draft Specific Plan by the end of June 2007. The Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) which is being prepared concurrently, is
planned to be completed by mid-October 2007. Additional public
workshops and public hearings will be conducted upon completion
of these documents. The City anticipates holding public hearings
on this project by Winter 2008.
For more information contact Ron Whisenand, Community Development Director (email), or Susan DeCarli, Project Manager (email); (805) 237-3970.
Click on the links below to download and view the named section of the catalog.
Cover
Photos
Schedule
Aerial
Photograph
Perspectives
Illustrative
Plans
Landscaping
Analysis
Diagrams
Traffic
Regulating
Plan
Code
Architectural
Styles
Economics
Infrastructure