Gum Ranch Housing Developers Explore Alternative Plans

It's been more than five years since development stalled on what was to be an . The status of the project was long ago filed away, many of those files forgotten even within the Sacramento County Planning Division. However, renewed efforts to develop that property appear to be underway. What that development will take the form of, or when development will begin, however, remains to be seen.

Property development company MBK Homes maintains the rights to develop the land, and in coordination with the county, recently extended a subdivision improvement agreement on the property for an additional five years. The property will remain a part of the Madison-Kenneth avenues special planning area, designated by the county. That designation, zoned for RD-20 development under county ordinance, allows for residential uses at 20 dwelling units per acre.

"MBK is currently in preliminary discussions with county planners regarding potential alternative uses that will comply with the current zoning regulations," said MBK development director Matt Hamilton.

Hamilton, who is overseeing the project, explained in those preliminary discussions he hopes to have some conceptual plans within the next couple of months.

According to officials within the county's planning division, those plans could include multi-tenant rentals and condominiums. Though MBK is actively maintaining the property and had made off-site as recently as November 2011, the county's principal planner, Tricia Stevens, defined the project as very much "on-hold." 

"MBK Homes does not currently have a timeline for developing the property," Hamilton said.

MBK Homes initially put development activity on hold in late 2007 due to deteriorating market conditions. Due to the prolonged downturn in the housing market, MBK Homes was forced to explore the alternative housing plans.

According to the County of Sacramento Assessor's Office, the leading California home builder is backed financially by its parent, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a giant Japanese firm described on its website as "one of the world's oldest and largest trading companies with 864 subsidiaries in over 91 countries."

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