Two years ago, the city annexed over 700 acres in the western hills just off Redwood Avenue in a deal with David Hull of D&J Investments LLC. While most of the land would be dedicated to nature and the public, 54 acres, or seven parcels, remain available to Hull to develop up to one primary residence and an accessory dwelling unit for each parcel. Now, another 84 acres have been added to the annexation project. Hull wants to keep the right to develop three parcels on 15 of the 40 acres that the city would buy. The Planning Commission recommended allowing development on only one parcel, which Sean White, the city’s director of water and sewer, reported would be a deal breaker.
If the city does not get the 40-acre parcel according to Hull’s terms, there will be no public access to the landlocked preserve. White said the purchase would not have an impact on the city’s general fund, though the city would contribute $200,000 from its water fund to buy the property. White wants the city to have control of a significant aquifer in those hills. Adventist Health and the Ukiah Valley Trail Group are each contributing $50,000 to the purchase price.
But neighbors question the wisdom of allowing more development in the western hills, which are at high risk for wildfire. Redwood Avenue would continue to be the only access for future residents, which worries neighbors thinking about nightmare evacuation scenarios. Matt Keizer, the city’s Fire Marshall, assured the council that any homes in the area would be built to a strict standard for fire safety, including non-flammable building materials and special venting that expands to prevent embers from entering the home. “What these are all called in the building code are the WUI standard, which is the wildland-urban interface standard,” he said. “All these homes that we’re talking about here, that standard would be applicable.”
The city thinks it can do a better job than the county at maintaining fire breaks and keeping development to a minimum. But during public comment, Ukiah resident Karen Rosen urged the council to consider other options and not get pressured into making a deal. The western hills annexation has been controversial for years because of the development option.
“You cannot ignore that you are giving away 15 acres of annexed property,” she said. “It doesn’t take an appraiser to understand that 40 acres of undeveloped hillside high fire zone county property is not comparable to 15 acres of developable with three three dwelling units and three ADU’s in an annexed situation. Why are we giving this? Because the person who’s selling it is saying no deal to the recommendation of the Planning Commission? No deal to one unit and one AD U? I say walk away. We can do something better here. I’m willing to help raise the money to pay for the whole 40 acres.”
Alex de Grassi, the city planning commissioner who suggested limiting the development, told the Council that he thinks Hull’s plan is not viable anyway. “Given the current situation with fire danger and all that,” he began, “Who’s going to insure these properties if people decide to develop them? How is it that we’re getting manipulated by one property owner in this deal? If he’s going to get $300,000 plus one 15-acre development property, what’s not good about that for him?... I think we’re looking at three things. We’re looking at fire safety, we’re looking at access for a very great cause, which is development of this property for trail groups. And we’re also looking at, is this viable? Is this what the Fire Council looks at? This does not square with the Ukiah General Plan. So I just don’t see it making any sense. What I see is one person with a certain amount of private equity leverage, lording it over the city.”
Hull spoke last, saying not one of the parcels that’s already gotten the green light to offer for development is in escrow. He also doubts future buyers would build ADUs, noting the scarcity of these living units in the existing neighborhood. He said he’s already tied up $5 million in the property, including paving three quarters of a mile on Redwood Avenue and extensive vegetation management. He didn’t sound like he was willing to budge on his desire to build three houses in exchange for the linchpin property.
“One parcel doesn’t work for me,” he declared. “I have ways of making some money with that, and I’m getting a little old. I’m getting very close to retirement, and I can't lose a lot of money at this stage of my life. So I will continue to try to figure out a way to make money.”
He hinted that if the property stays under county control, rather than being annexed by the city, the county zoning will allow him to build far more than three houses.
“I can tell you what I know,” he said. “R-1H is the new zoning. It was always R-5. You couldn't develop more than five acres. So I’ve designed everything I’ve done up there with nothing being less than five acres. There’s ten-acre parcels, there’s nine-acre parcels, there’s going to be five-acre parcels…We’re going in and taking the majority of the underbrush and the vegetation out to make sure it’s firesafe to begin with…The insurance is still possible up there. It’s not going to be cheap. Nothing about this up there is cheap. It will hopefully draw more doctors to town, more professionals that are looking for that type of housing, and I think a lot of people would admit that we have a shortage here in the valley of some of that type of housing.”
The Council voted unanimously to authorize City Manager Sage Sangiacomo to negotiate and execute the purchase of the final property in the western hills annexation project.