BY JENNIFER MADRIGAL

Past aerial view of the Leal Property (Photo Courtesy: City of Eastvale)

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 been working 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 that what is ultimately built on his property is beneficial to Eastvale.

After many negotiations, the property has been re-zoned to be primarily used for commercial and retail development, with a small percentage retained for residential housing. The housing is a requirement of the State of California.

The Leal Property was previously zoned for agricultural as well as some residential development. With the new Land Use Plan, the area was able to be re-zoned to include mixed-use purposes for retail, office, civic, etc.  This will 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.

The land is now “entitled,” and according to Eastvale Councilmember Bill Link, this will provide a more streamlined process for applicants to come in and develop the land. Since the re-zoning has already taken place, they will be able to save time and money. Developers can now just draw up plans for their desired location (per zoning requirements), submit their plans to the City, pay their fees, obtain an Environmental Impact Review, and build. Link estimates that this will save them about a year of time.

The new Specific Plan is expected to come before the City Council in January or February 2015 for approval, after it goes through the Planning Commission.

According to Leal at a previous meeting about the project, “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.