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.
‘A great addition to the city’
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.
Laotian refugee grew strawberries at site
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.
