Brad Leal speaks to the Eastvale City Council
BY JENNIFER MADRIGAL
Eastvale – The Leal Property, a 160-acre parcel of some of the last open land in Eastvale, has been a popular subject around the community. The land is owned by dairyman Brad Leal, who has tried to work with the City of Eastvale in developing a plan that brings his ideas into juxtaposition with what is best for the City. Leal has long been a proponent of ensuring what is most beneficial to Eastvale as a neighborhood is built on his property. The idea for a “downtown feel” is one that Leal is adamant about maintaining. He has worked with the City on making that dream a reality and at the City Council meeting on Wed., April 21, it seemed that Leal and the City are one step closer to making his dream come to life.
The Leal Property is currently zoned for agricultural as well as some residential development. With the Land Use Plan, the area would be re-zoned to include mixed use purposes for retail, office, civic, etc., and pave the way for the development of a large downtown area that combines commercial and retail with open spaces and landmark features that would become a major part of Eastvale’s economy and esteem.
Since February’s Leal Property update, the Leal family and the City have been busy moving away from the strict “bubble map” version of the property layout, which included exact sections to be developed (i.e. commercial in one specific area, retail in another), and moved more toward a flexible approach. The City sat down with Mr. Leal, who was concerned with the property plan being “too specific” about where things are and showing too little retail development. The City then took his comments and came up with a new, more flexible approach.
The New Leal Property Plan allows more retail to occur, doesn’t specify locations and uses at this time, and focuses on setting a higher bar for the quality of development. The new plan calls for 326,700 to 1,300,000 square feet of commercial development, up to 920,000 square feet of office/medical development, up to 450 hotel rooms, a possible Civic Center, as well as medium and high density housing. The plan also includes many community features like open spaces and entry features.
Leal and the City have been able to agree on most of the plan with the exception of the high density housing. Leal wants to ensure that the city remains flexible to development and that there aren’t any “dead spaces.” Councilmember Bill Link seemed to have the same concern but was informed that this housing doesn’t necessarily have to be in a certain area of the property development, but instead can be a more integrated part of the overall plan. Also, according to Eastvale’s Planning Director, Eric Norris, if the project is successful, then high density housing may not even have to be built at all.
The next step is to formalize a Vision Plan that will reflect this new land use concept. The City hopes to get this reflected into some type of brochure that will describe the land use ideas to potential developers by showing them that this project is open for business and they need only bring us their ideas. Members of the City and City Council will be attending the International Council of Shopping Centers Conference in May 2014, where many developers attend; this will allow them to get the project out to interested parties.
Once this Vision Plan has been created, the next step is the Specific plan. This will provide processes and act as more of a rule book to continue to guide the project to fruition. The City Council agreed to harmonize with the general direction that the plan is going in.
Leal, who has remained adamant about emphasizing a Downtown Eastvale area and maintaining quality for the people of Eastvale, got up to speak many times during the presentation. He explained that his original idea for a downtown “contained pockets for whatever gets built there”. He wants to make sure that the City and future developers provide a destination where all the different aspects of a downtown area blend seamlessly together. According to Leal, “This is a big project and it will develop slowly. I don’t want some guy to just come in and build a big building.” Instead Leal hopes that it will come in phases of construction and establish a real downtown Eastvale feeling.
For this project, which is roughly the same size as Victoria Gardens, attention to the finer details and the overall feel of community is apparent in Leal’s determination to ensure that it is developed in the best interest of everyone involved. The project will be a large part of Eastvale and there are many who hope it will serve as a “landmark,” bringing in jobs, business and revenue for our ever growing city.
For a dairy farmer who has been an integral part of this community, it’s about seeing his dreams and hopes come together in unison with the ideas and hopes of both the City and the Eastvale Residents.
