Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Oakmore Ranch Project

Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Oakmore Ranch Project Purpose of this Notice: The City of Tulare (City) is the lead agency responsible for preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Oakmore Ranch Project (proposed project). Pursuant to provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the City has prepared this Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the proposed project. Once a decision is made to prepare an EIR, the lead agency must prepare a NOP to inform all responsible and trustee agencies that an EIR will be prepared (CEQA Guidelines Section 15082). The purpose of this NOP is to provide agencies, interested parties, and organizations with sufficient information describing the proposed project and its potential environmental effects to enable meaningful input related to the scope and content of information to be included in the EIR. Public Review Period. As required by Section 15082 of the CEQA Guidelines, this NOP has been prepared and distributed to solicit comments from interested parties and potential responsible and trustee agencies and other public agencies so that project-related concerns relevant to each agency's statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed project can be addressed in the EIR, as well as any related issues from interested parties other than potential responsible and trustee agencies, including other agencies and affected members of the public. The EIR will be the environmental document of reference for Responsible and Trustee Agencies when considering subsequent discretionary approvals. This NOP is being circulated for public review and comment for a period of 30 days beginning June 1, 2026. The City requests that any potential responsible or trustee agencies responding to this NOP reply in a manner consistent with Section 15082(b) of the CEQA Guidelines, which requires submittal of any comments in response to this notice no later than 30 days after receipt of the NOP. Comments in response to this NOP will be accepted through 5:00 p.m., June 30, 2026. Copies of the Notice of Preparation may be reviewed at the following location: City of Tulare, Community Development Department, 411 East Kern Avenue, Tulare, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Submitting Comments: Comments and suggestions as to the appropriate scope of analysis of the EIR are invited from all interested parties. Written comments or questions concerning the EIR for the proposed project should be directed to the City's Project Planner, Steven Sopp, at the following address, or via email, by 5:00 PM on June 30, 2026. Please include the commenter's full name, address, phone number and/or email so that we may contact you for clarification, if necessary. Please submit comments to: Steven Sopp Principal Planner City of Tulare – Community Development Department, Planning Division 411 East Kern Avenue Tulare, CA 93274 (559) 684-4216 ssopp@tulare.ca.gov Project Description: The proposed project consists of approximately 235 acres located in unincorporated Tulare County, located immediately east of Oakmore Street, south of State Route 137 (Tulare Avenue) and north of Avenue 228. The project area is immediately adjacent to the existing City of Tulare city limit boundary to the west and is within the City of Tulare's adopted Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan Area. The site is bordered by: Chandler Grove Master Plan to the southMission Oak High School to the southwestCollege of the Sequoias (COS) Tulare Campus to the southAgricultural and rural residential uses to the north and east See Figure 1 (Regional Location and Vicinity Map) and Figure 2 (Annexation Boundary Map). The proposed project consists of the annexation, pre-zoning, and amendment of the General Plan land use designation for the approximately 235-acre Oakmore Ranch planning area. The project would bring the planning area into the City of Tulare's jurisdiction and establish land use and circulation frameworks consistent with the City's long-range planning documents, including the North COS TOD Plan Area. No specific development project is proposed for approval as part of this action. The EIR will evaluate the annexation and associated land use designations at a programmatic level, with the understanding that future development within the planning area will require separate, project-level CEQA review once detailed site plans, phasing, and infrastructure designs are available. Proposed Actions 1. Annexation The City proposes to annex the entire 235-acre planning area into the City of Tulare. Annexation would require approval by the Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo). 2. General Plan Amendments The City proposes to apply General Plan land use designations consistent with the TOD Plan Area, including: Low-Density Residential Medium-Density Residential Neighborhood CommercialParks and Open Space These designations reflect the conceptual master plan prepared by the property owners but do not approve or entitle any specific development. The project site is designated as COS North Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the City's adopted 2035 General Plan. The land use concept for the COS North plan area is intended to create a new community to serve COS students and staff as well as existing and future Tulare residents, with retail services, housing, and a new park and school. The TOD plan envisions a "complete neighborhood" where residents can access many of their basic activities and needs via walking or biking. The COS North land use concept was included in the General Plan for illustrative purposes. The actual layout of the development is to be determined by future site planning. However, Land Use Element Policy P8.1 in General Plan 2035 calls for the City to implement a TOD land use pattern in the same spirit as the COS North land use concept. The project proponent is requesting to change the General Plan land use designation on the project site to implement the current Transit Oriented Development Plan and establish the following General Plan designations: Low Density Residential (164 acres), Medium Density Residential (45 acres), Neighborhood Commercial (14 acres), and Parks and Recreation (12 acres). See Figure 3 – Proposed General Plan Designations and Circulation Plan. 3. Pre-Zoning Concurrently with annexation, the City would apply corresponding City zoning districts to the planning area. The following zoning designations are proposed: Low Density Residential (R-1-4) (164 acres), Medium Density Residential (R-M) (45 acres), Neighborhood Commercial (C-1) (14 acres), and Parks and Recreation (PR) (12 acres). See Figure 4 – Proposed Zoning Designations and Circulation Plan. 4. Circulation Framework Because the project is a plan-level, programmatic action with no specific development proposed, no roadway construction or detailed circulation improvements are being approved at this stage. The conceptual circulation framework shown on Figures 3 and 4 illustrates only the general location of major arterials and collectors to support programmatic-level environmental analysis and to facilitate early agency review, including Caltrans. Future development applications within the planning area will be required to prepare project-specific traffic impact studies, circulation plans, and infrastructure designs. These future analyses will determine roadway alignments, widths, improvements, and compliance with the City's Transit-Oriented Development, bicycle, and pedestrian network requirements. Areas of Potential Environmental Effects: Potentially significant environmental impacts of the proposed project include, but may not be limited to, the following: Air Quality, Agriculture Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Transportation. An Initial Study will be prepared following the public review period to refine the environmental topics that require detailed analysis in the EIR. Public Scoping Meeting: The CEQA process encourages comments and questions from the public throughout the planning process. Pursuant to Section 15083 of the CEQA Guidelines, a Public Scoping Meeting will be held to solicit public comments on the scope and content of the EIR. The meeting time and location is as follows: Tulare Public Library, Olympic Room 475 North M Street Tulare, CA 93274 Date: June 11, 2026 Time: 4 p.m. Publication Dates LYRK0526911